GAITHERSBURG, Md., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Overview
A review of the federal drug control budget shows that the current
administration continues to favor supply reduction programs over demand
reduction programs to reduce the demand for drugs by youth and adults.
Since federal fiscal year (FY) 02, the budget has emphasized what research
has shown to be the least effective ingredients of a federal drug control
policy. This translates into almost a decade of lost opportunity in
achieving performance results.
Drug Policy Main Ingredients
There are five main ingredients of a federal drug control policy.
Treatment includes helping users of illicit drugs to become drug free
through such means as in-patient and out-patient counseling and other
similar services. Prevention includes discouraging the first-time use of
drugs and encouraging those who have begun to use drugs to cease their drug
use. Law enforcement includes activities focused on the criminal justice
system, such as the courts, police, prosecution, and task forces designed
to stop domestic drug distribution. Interdiction includes efforts intended
to stop drugs from entering the country by targeting the transportation
link from the shores of source nations up to and including the United
States border. International, or source country programs, focus on a wide
range of activities to eradicate crops and destroy processing capabilities,
including alternative crop development, and promoting the involvement of
other nations to reduce cultivation and production. A sound federal drug
control policy contains all of these ingredients. The art of developing the
most effective drug policy involves taking the evidence that research has
to offer regarding each of these main ingredients and applying it to come
up with the best mix.
Budget Contradicts Research
As the table on page two of this Policy Brief shows, according to data
from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, resources for supply
reduction have grown the most since FY02, by nearly 57 percent. In fact,
supply reduction resources now represent nearly two-thirds of the total
federal drug control budget. By comparison, resources for demand reduction
grew by less than 3 percent and its share of total resources now represents
only about one-third of all resources.
What is truly most effective in drug control policy and funding?
Research suggests that treatment and prevention programs are very effective
in reducing drug demand, saving lives, and lessening health and crime
consequences. It has demonstrated that attacking drugs at their source by
focusing on eradication is expensive and not very effective. It has
demonstrated that interdiction has little effect on drug traffickers'
ability to bring drugs into the United States and on to our street corners
where they are sold. It has also shown that law enforcement and the broader
criminal justice system can be a powerful partner in using its coercive
powers to help drug users stop using drugs and committing drug-related
crime.
In budget terms, and considering what research has taught us, one would
expect marginal changes in the drug budget to emphasize treatment,
prevention, and law enforcement more so than source country programs and
interdiction, yet the federal drug budget does not do this:
-- Interdiction grew the most over the FY02-09 period, growing by 100
percent from about $1.9 billion to $3.8 billion.
-- Source country resources grew the second fastest, by nearly 50 percent.
-- Law enforcement grew the third fastest, increasing by 31 percent over
the period.
-- Treatment comes in fourth place, increasing by 22 percent.
-- Prevention comes in last place with its resources actually declining by
almost 25 percent.
Budget/Performance Link
If research were our guide, then one would expect the opposite ordering
of increases in budgetary resources for drug control. The failure to
incorporate research into the budgetary process is a lost opportunity to
produce results. The only positive news in this decade is the reduction in
youth drug use, a trend which started in the previous decade. Today's
discussion of drug policy performance overlooks the fact that adult drug
use and rates of addiction remain unchanged in this decade. According to
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National
Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH):
-- Drug use for those over 18 years of age has not changed since 2002.
Almost 20 percent of those 18-25 years of age and 6 percent of those
over 25 report using illicit drugs on a regular basis.
-- The number of persons addicted to or abusing drugs and in need of
treatment has also not changed since 2002. Over 22 million people are
in this category.
According the NSDUH, the drugs that enter the United States illegally
(mostly cocaine and heroin) are less of a problem today than drugs that can
be sold or produced or cultivated in the United States, such as
prescription drugs, methamphetamine, and marijuana.
Conclusion
For the federal drug control policy to be most effective, it must both
be evidenced-based and supported by a budget specifically designed to
implement it. The federal drug control budget in this decade, however, has
not funded programs that research suggests would be more effective in
reducing drug demand and its associated damaging consequences. Simply
stated, the federal drug budget trend runs counter to what research would
otherwise suggest is necessary for an effective federal drug control
policy.
Additional publications can be found at:
http://www.carnevaleassociates.com/publications.html
Bush Administration Record on
Federal Drug Control Spending, by Function
FY 2002-FY 2009
(Budget Authority in Millions)
FY 2002 FY 2003 FY 2004 FY 2005
Final Final Final Final
By Function:
Treatment (w/Research) $2,784.6 $2,876.0 $3,028.3 $3,053.0
Percent 26.2% 25.9% 25.5% 24.1%
Prevention (w/Research) $1,996.4 $1,936.5 $1,955.9 $1,952.1
Percent 18.8% 17.5% 16.5% 15.4%
Domestic Law Enforcement $2,867.2 $3,018.3 $3,189.8 $3,317.9
Percent 26.9% 27.2% 26.9% 26.2%
Interdiction $1,913.7 $2,147.5 $2,534.1 $2,927.9
Percent 18.0% 19.4% 21.4% 23.2%
International $1,084.5 $1,105.1 $1,159.3 $1,393.3
Percent 10.2% 10.0% 9.8% 11.0%
Total $10,646.4 $11,083.4 $11,867.4 $12,644.2
By Supply/Demand Split
Supply $5,865.4 $6,270.9 $6,883.2 $7,639.1
Percent 55.1% 56.6% 58.0% 60.4%
Demand $4,781.0 $4,812.5 $4,984.2 $5,005.1
Percent 44.9% 43.4% 42.0% 39.6%
Total $10,646.4 $11,083.4 $11,867.4 $12,644.2
FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009
Final Final Enacted Request
By Function:
Treatment (w/Research) $2,941.9 $3,060.9 $3,226.0 $3,402.8
Percent 22.6% 22.1% 23.6% 24.1%
Prevention (w/Research) $1,862.6 $1,841.8 $1,756.8 $1,507.1
Percent 14.3% 13.3% 12.9% 10.7%
Domestic Law Enforcement $3,474.7 $3,748.8 $3,800.3 $3,763.3
Percent 26.7% 27.1% 27.8% 26.7%
Interdiction $3,285.6 $3,175.9 $3,214.2 $3,830.9
Percent 25.3% 22.9% 23.5% 27.1%
International $1,434.5 $2,016.6 $1,666.3 $1,609.8
Percent 11.0% 14.6% 12.2% 11.4%
Total $12,999.3 $13,844.0 $13,663.6 $14,113.9
By Supply/Demand Split
Supply $8,194.8 $8,941.4 $8,680.8 $9,204.0
Percent 63.0% 64.6% 63.5% 65.2%
Demand $4,804.5 $4,902.7 $4,982.8 $4,909.8
Percent 37.0% 35.4% 36.5% 34.8%
Total $12,999.3 $13,844.1 $13,663.6 $14,113.8
FY 02 - FY 09
Dollar Percent
Change Change
By Function:
Treatment (w/Research) $618.2 22.2%
Percent
Prevention (w/Research) -$489.3 -24.5%
Percent
Domestic Law Enforcement $896.1 31.3%
Percent
Interdiction $1,917.2 100.2%
Percent
International $525.3 48.4%
Percent
Total $3,467.5 32.6%
By Supply/Demand Split
Supply $3,338.6 56.9%
Percent
Demand $128.8 2.7%
Percent
Total $3,467.4 32.6%
Quick Facts
-- The Bush Administration's drug control budget since FY02 has emphasized
supply reduction programs over demand reduction programs.
-- Resources for supply reduction (interdiction of drugs, source country
programs, and law enforcement), grew by almost 57% from the FY02
baseline level to the FY09 request now before Congress.
-- By comparison, demand reduction resources (prevention and treatment,
including resources for research for agencies like the National
Institute on Drug Abuse) grew by only 2.7 percent -- prevention is
actually cut 25 percent.
-- The nation's current drug strategy emphasizes reducing demand among
youth and adults, but does so by mostly targeting source country and
interdiction programs -- focusing on the source and flow of drugs
rather than this nation's underlying demand for illicit drugs.
-- The FY02-09 budget trend runs counter to what research has found: that
efforts to reduce demand are best addressed through treatment and
prevention rather than supply reduction.
This Policy Brief is a publication of the Research and Policy Analysis
Group of Carnevale Associates, LLC. Views expressed herein reflect those of
its President, John Carnevale, Ph.D. Carnevale Associates provides
strategic leadership to public and private organizations through its three
practice groups: Strategic Planning; Research and Policy Analysis; and
Performance Measurement. http://www.carnevaleassociates.com
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