There are no "safe heroin injection sites." The only "safe" approach to heroin is not to take it. For addicts, the humane public health response is to help them get and stay sober, or at the very least, opioid replacement therapy in sustained treatment. Any approach without these goals is cruel and dehumanizing - not healing, but perpetuating harm. Addiction is a treatable disease. Millions of Americans are in recovery - living healthy, productive lives. Supporting addicts' heroin use maintains their disease, administering the poison that causes their illness and diminishes their lives. A government-approved place for unlimited heroin injection creates the conditions for neverending addiction and gives government a drug dealer's power over the addicted. [continues 217 words]
President Barack Obama's National Drug Control Strategy in 2010 first proclaimed the major policy goals of the administration's approach to the drug problem and the goals were to be met by 2015. Not only have they not been met, in critical instances, the policies have been going in the wrong direction, rapidly. We learned last week that, in the midst of the opiate overdose crisis, heroin overdose deaths rose an additional 28 percent between 2013 and 2014. That's on top of the 340 percent rise in heroin deaths since 2007, such that beyond the 8,217 deaths of 2013, we now have another 10,574. That is, we now see a 440 percent increase from the Bush years. [continues 948 words]
There's New Opportunity for the Senate Drug Caucus Establishment Washington too often forgets that while most legislative matters affect segments of the country, drug policy is a national concern. When the American people gave Republicans majorities in both houses of the next Congress, they certainly indicated dissatisfaction with the performance of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party. But soon, the voters will ask what the Republican Congress has done with its leadership of the legislative branch. Despite strong majorities, Republicans are unlikely to override presidential vetoes, which means Congress will have limited power to implement sweeping changes that require presidential cooperation. Redefining issues and setting forth a governing agenda may therefore be as important as enacting laws for the next Congress. [continues 541 words]
Progress in Colombia Provides Clear Evidence That the War on Drugs Is Winnable, While History Repeatedly Shows That Relaxed Restrictions Lead to More Abuse and Addiction. Justified alarm over drug-related Mexican border violence has led to the predictable spate of drug legalization proposals. The most prominent was a call by three former Latin American presidents -- from Brazil, Colombia and Mexico -- to end what they claimed was the drug war. While there are many "end the drug war" plans, all of them, as even their advocates admit, result in more drug use and addiction. Their response? We should emasculate prevention and law enforcement and just spend more on treatment. [continues 1619 words]
Countries That Have Experimented With a Permissive Approach Have Always Turned Back. Since 2001 the number of young people using illegal drugs has dropped by 900,000 to about 2.7 million. This drop is an important development for all the obvious reasons, plus one. Substance abuse is a disease. Until recently, we failed to grasp the nature of this disease and how to reduce the suffering it causes. For decades, we did not want to believe that alcohol or drugs could have the power to take over our lives, despite the evidence we witnessed when our loved ones grappled with drug addiction. We did not understand how this disease could alter personality and steal individual freedom. We have paid a high price for this confusion. [continues 779 words]
Workplace Tests for Cocaine Show the Lowest Use on Record. Whatever challenges await him, President-elect Barack Obama will not have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to keeping a lid on the use of illegal drugs. Our policy has been a success -- although that success is one of Washington's best kept secrets. Reported drug use among eighth, 10th and 12th graders has declined for six straight years. Teen use of cocaine, marijuana and inhalants is down significantly, while consumption of methamphetamine and hallucinogens like LSD and Ecstasy has all but collapsed. [continues 628 words]
Daniel Kurtz-Phelan states in his article (July 13) that there "has been no significant decrease in drug flows out of Colombia or in the availability of cocaine or heroin in the United States." Law-enforcement officials in 38 U.S. cities, however, have reported decreased availability of cocaine since January 2007. This coincides with a 30 percent jump in the price per gram of cocaine on American streets over the past year. Even The Times covered the significance of this rise in price and its effect on availability in an article published in October 2007 ("Citing Price Rise, U.S. and Mexico See Antidrug Progress"). Since then, positive drug-test rates for cocaine among our work force have been in a free fall, reaching their lowest levels in 10 years. We've also seen even more dramatic declines in the effective availability of heroin, particularly east of the Mississippi, where the bulk of Colombian heroin is sold, because huge drops in potential production of heroin in Colombia have led to decreased purity and increased price of the drug here. [continues 67 words]
To the Editor: Re "Not Winning the War on Drugs" (editorial, July 2): You say that "some experts argue that the rising price of cocaine on American streets is mostly the result of a strong euro and fast-growing demand in Europe." But this argument doesn't take into account the even greater disruption for methamphetamine, which no one is diverting to Europe. You selectively slice the Monitoring the Future data, citing 12th graders' annual use of cocaine in 2007, to claim that teenagers are using "more" cocaine than they did in 2001. But examination of that data shows a decrease in use by 12th graders from the previous year, to 5.2 percent in 2007 from 5.7 percent in 2006. And this is far below the peak of 6.2 percent in 1999. [continues 99 words]
A Day to Reflect on the Fight Against Meth Today is National Methamphetamine Awareness Day -- the first time a president has designated a day to focus national attention on methamphetamine, an extremely destructive and harmful drug. For parents, today is a reminder of the importance of talking to our children about dangerous drugs. For our youth, it is an opportunity to reaffirm a commitment to a drug-free future. For those struggling with addiction, it is an occasion to seek treatment. And for all Americans, it is an opportunity to thank law enforcement officers, treatment counselors and prevention advocates whose efforts have contributed to a nearly 20 percent decline in drug use among American youth over the past four years. [continues 383 words]
What Is The Real Story On The Threat Of Methamphetamine Methamphetamine has ravaged communities throughout our nation. Meth users suffer devastating mental and physical effects, and they often endanger others. Paranoia, violence, family abuse and child neglect are behaviors associated with meth use. Equally devastating are meth labs, where toxic chemicals, mixed together by people with no regard for safety, jeopardize neighborhoods. The results have been explosions, fires, toxic waste and poisonous vapors that harm children and first responders. This drug has been a national nightmare, entrapping addicts and overwhelming community resources. Meth is uniquely threatening because its impact is so disproportionate to the actual number of users. [continues 577 words]
George Melloan, in his Feb. 21 Global View "Musings About the War on Drugs" and some of the March 7 Letters in response ("Our Unwinnable War -- Against Drugs," March 7) propose new thinking about whether drugs should be legalized, but in the end offer a rehash from libertarians of yesteryear. Arguments that drug prohibition has failed depend upon two points. The first accepts that drug use damages the social fabric, but insists that more damage follows from the prohibition itself. The second argues that drug prohibition doesn't even have the virtue of achieving its goal. After all, some people still use drugs, traffickers still make profits and fighting back against drugs means that there is, well, a fight, producing violence. Hence, our policy should accommodate the fact of drug use. [continues 474 words]
Meeting The Challenge Of The Meth Epidemic Methamphetamine is a dangerous drug that is harming too many Americans. But the federal government, together with its state and local partners, is aggressively addressing this challenge. Our efforts against meth have been unprecedented and increasingly effective. Further, we were engaged in actions well before the recent spate of media attention, and, in accord with our National Synthetic Drugs Action Plan, are bringing forward new programs. The facts speak for themselves. Against meth use, we have new efforts in prevention and treatment. From the launch of nationwide advertising in our media campaign specific to the dangers of meth, to fundamental brain research guiding our understanding of this drug's effects, to focused treatment initiatives leading users to recovery, we have new programs backed with budgetary commitments. [continues 398 words]
Over the past three years, we have seen significant declines in youth drug use in America. Today, there are 600,000 fewer young people using illegal drugs than in 2001. An increasing number of young people deserves credit for making smart choices about their health and their futures. However, it must be noted that the progress we have made in reducing illegal drug use does not happen on its own. We know from 25 years of dealing with the misery of drug use that most of the work to reduce drug use in America happens at the local level. [continues 449 words]
Focus Is Response to New Research on Drug's Potency, Use and Risks. Assertions that our nation's drug policy minimizes cocaine and heroin while focusing on marijuana are misleading. The fallacy involves interpreting drug arrests as signals of changed drug policy, rather than as indicators of drug use. As drug use went down during the 1980s, arrests fell accordingly. When drug use climbed between 1992 and 1997, arrests followed suit. And when the cocaine epidemic struck, cocaine arrests rose steeply, only to drop as the epidemic waned. [continues 266 words]
There is a quiet revolution taking place in the way America's criminal-justice system treats non-violent drug-using offenders. Over the past 15 years, drug court programs, which bring a public-health approach to a law enforcement challenge, have grown from one drug court in 1989 to more than 1,600 today in all 50 states. In fact, 2004 alone saw an increase of more than 400 such courts. Drug courts have become a crossroads for the law enforcement, judicial and treatment communities that, in the past, dealt with drug users without effective coordination. Drug courts represent an integrated approach that is reducing recidivism rates and saving taxpayers' money. [continues 627 words]
It's About Public Health -- Identifying Individuals Who Need Help and Treatment -- Not Punishment Over the past three years, youth drug use in America has declined by 17 percent. Today, there are 600,000 fewer young people using drugs than in 2001. While our prevention efforts are resulting in a national decline, too many young people are still using drugs. Pennsylvania is no exception. Our youth continue to use drugs, particularly marijuana, at an alarming rate. In fact, approximately 15 percent of Pennsylvanians between the ages of 12 and 17 tried marijuana in 2004, a startling statistic. [continues 660 words]
Across America, drug use has declined over the last three years. The 2004 Monitoring the Future study, an ongoing survey of eighth-, 10th-, and 12th-graders, shows a 17 percent decrease in overall teenage drug use compared with 2001. This translates into 600,000 fewer teens using illegal drugs today than there were in 2001. This positive trend is not the only good news. In our major cities, through innovative ideas of concerned citizens and determined leadership throughout city governments, efforts to reduce drug use and crime are starting to pay off. The Office of National Drug Control Policy recognizes that mobilizing the energy and expertise of citizens and city officials is a powerful way to reduce the drug problem nationwide. That is why, in 2003, my office embarked on an effort to engage more directly with officials and concerned citizens in 25 of America's largest cities. [continues 662 words]
Across America, drug use has declined over the past three years. The 2004 Monitoring the Future study -- an ongoing survey of eighth, 10th and 12th graders -- shows a 17 percent decrease in overall teenage drug use compared to 2001. This translates into 600,000 fewer teens using illegal drugs today than there were in 2001. This positive trend is not the only good news in America. In major cities, through innovative ideas of concerned citizens and determined leadership in city governments, efforts to reduce drug use and crime are starting to pay off. The study is just part of the story. The Office of National Drug Control Policy recognizes that mobilizing the energy and expertise of citizens and city officials at the local level is a powerful way to reduce the drug problem nationwide. That is why in 2003, my office embarked on an effort to engage more directly with officials and citizens in 25 of America's largest cities. [continues 521 words]
So-called "medical" marijuana is in fact a medical breakthrough straight from the 19th century. Back then, Americans were exposed to a host of patent medicine "cure-alls." Most "cures" were alcohol, which explains why they made people "feel better." Marijuana was also available as an elixir for everything from migraines to gonorrhea. Passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1907 exposed those claims, and today Americans enjoy the world's safest, most effective medical system, built on an unequaled process of scientific research and testing. [continues 117 words]
Afghanistan is a changing nation. Only three years ago, regional leaders who helped defeat the Taliban agreed in Bonn to a roadmap to democracy. In January they adopted an enlightened constitution, and on Oct. 9, more than 8 million Afghan men and women voted in their nation's first-ever presidential election. Each voted for a single candidate, but all voted for democracy. Progress toward a safe and democratic Afghanistan has been steady and significant. That progress, however, faces a threat that requires renewed attention by the Afghan government and a helping hand from the international community. The threat is illegal drugs and a booming drug trade that transforms innocent and otherwise honest farmers into laborers trapped in the service of a criminal enterprise. The trade is in illegal narcotics, and the challenge is to free Afghan farmers from their dependence on poppy cultivation. [continues 551 words]
