If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. National Drug Control Strategy A Nation Responds to Drug Use January 1992 The White HO'use - .. National Drug Control Strategy A Nation Responds to Drug Use . NCJRS ) .\ fEB 5 1992 II ACQUISITIONS 134372 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly .as recei~e? from the person or organization originating it. Points of view or opinions stat~ld in this document are those of the authors and do. not nec~ssan Y represent the official position or policies of the NatIOnal Inslltute of Justice. January 1992 Permission to reproduce this 4Qii1111L1d material has been granted by • Office of Natlonal Drug The White House Control Policv to the National Criminal ,Justice RefNence Service (NCJR~I. Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires pem: $­ sion of the .......... owner. For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328 ISBN 0-16-036053-6 TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES: I am pleased to transmit today for the consideration of the Congress and the American people the 1992 National Drug Control Strategy, in accordance with section 1005 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-690; 21 U.S.C. 1504). This is the Fourth National Drug Control Strategy, and it lays out a comprehensive plan for Federal drug control activities for Fiscal Year 1993 and beyond. The principal goal remains unchanged from the previous three Strategies: to reduce the level of illegal drug use in America. We are fighting a two-front war against drugs. The first front is against casual drug use, and I am pleased to report that significant progress is being made here, particularly among our Nation's youth. Casual drug use is still too high, however, and this Strategy rightly continues to stress efforts to reduce it. The second front, against hard-core drug use, poses a more difficult challenge. Progress here is slower. There are still too many neighborhoods, families, and individuals who suffer the consequences of drug use and drug-related crime. To address this problem, the Strategy proposes a variety of carefully targeted and intensified efforts. I urge the Congress to expedite their enactment. The war on drugs is vital to our country's economy, international competitiveness, and security. Previous Strategies have enjoyed bipartisan political and funding support in the Congress. I ask for your continued support in this critical endeavor. THE WHITE HOUSE Contents Introduction ...................................................................... 1 National Priorities Deterring New and Casual Users ..................................... 33 Freeing Current Users ..................................................... 57 Focus on the Organization .............................................. 79 Focus on the Supply Networks ........................................ 99 Focus on the Street Dealer .............................................. 113 Appendices A. High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas 131 B. Federal Resource Requirements .................................. 139 C. Recommended State Legislation .................................. 149 D. Strategy Implementation ............................................ 159 E. Acknowledgments ....................................................... 179 Acronyms .......................................................................... 204 Index ................................................................................. 207 Introduction Barely three years ago, the Administration published the first comprehensive National Drug Control Strategy, setting forth a unified attack against illegal drugs. At the time, respondents to a 1989 Gallup poll identified drug use as the greatest threat to the Nation. Such a concern was well-justified. Americans spent nearly $52 billion on illegal drugs in 1988. According to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, the number of people reporting cocaine use once a week or more rose to an all-time high in 1988. The Drug Abuse Warning Network reported 315 percent and 214 percent increases in the number of cocaine hospital emergency room cases and cocaine­ related deaths between 1985 and 1988. Total arrests for drug law violations rose from 640,000 in 1985 to 1.2 million in 1988, an 81 percent increase. To address this problem, the Administration undertook a thorough review of then-existing initiatives at the Federal, State, and local levels to control drugs - to see what worked and what didn't. In preparing the 1989 National Drug Control Strategy, Federal Executive Branch Departments and agencies, all 535 members of Congress, State and local offiCials, and other expert individuals and organizations were consulted. This consultation process continued to gUide the development of companion Strategies in 1990 and 1991 and now, this, the National Drug Control Strategy for 1992. The 1989 Strategy was a landmark document. Not only did it establish poliCies to unite the entire Federal effort and join State, local, and private sector efforts in a national partnership, but it committed unprecedented new resources for drug law enforcement, treatment, prevention efforts (in schools, communities, and the workplace), and National Drug Control Strategy 1 Introduction for our foreign allies. That Strategy marked a new beginning in other areas of the war on drugs as well. For the first time, the Federal government committed itself to measure progress by the actual reduction in drug use instead of the amount of drugs seized, or the number of arrests made, or the number of addicts treated. And these drug use goals were articulated publicly so that Americans could judge the success of anti-drug efforts. Central to the new National Drug Control Strategy was the principle of user accountability. Simply put, those who chose to use drugs were to be held accountable. Some critics insisted that until the "root causes" of drug use had been addressed, the war on drugs could not be won. To this charge the Strategy spoke loudly and clearly: drug use is not caused by poverty (most poor people do not use drugs), racism (most minority individuals do not use drugs), or unemployment (most people who are unemployed do not use drugs). Nor is it caused by being a single parent or a teenage mother, or by low educational attainment: These are circumstances that can make life harder, indeed very hard, and they are important factors in locating and influencing drug use. But to explain the drug problem by pointing to social conditions is to "victimize" drug users and deprive them of personal autonomy - the freedom and the will not to use drugs. It is to deny the dignity of those who live in similar circumstances and do not use drugs. In short, the drug problem reflects bad decisions by individuals with free wills. Effective drug policy, however, is considerably more complex than simply the principle of user accountability. No matter how much money government spends, no matter how many programs it implements, government alone cannot solve the drug problem. In the final analysis, the family must be the primary context in which we promote good health, morality, spiritual fulfillment, and the desire to achieve. Yet the family should not be expected to assume responsibilities in isolation. Families need and deserve the support of their communities. To ensure a "culture of character" among the next generation of Americans, our neighborhoods must be bound together by common devotion to the protection and nurturing of children, and by common determination to pass on critical, life-sustaining values and beliefs such as self-discipline, personal responsibility, and service to others. In short, a culture of character at once arises from and serves to sustain "communities of concern," which foster and nurture healthy families and strong children. 2 National Drug Control Strategy Introduction Although individuals are responsible for their choices, actions can be taken to encourage them to make the right choices. For example, the Federal government's efforts to interdict the shipment of drugs into this country can reduce the supply of drugs on the street to make drugs more expensive and difficult to obtain. Ultimately, such efforts may make treatment more attractive. But such a result will follow only if effective treatment is available at the time drug users encounter increased difficulty in finding drugs. Drugs are insidious, and no strategy to combat them can be successful unless it understands the complex relationships between supply and demand and applies that understanding at the national level. Starting from these premises, the Administration crafted and Congress funded a Strategy acknowledging that no single tactic pursued alone or to the detriment of other possible and valuable initiatives would be sufficient. That Strategy contained these major themes, which have been reflected in subsequent iterations of the Strategy, differing only in fme points: • Expanded treatment capacity, improved treatment capability, and more accountability for the use of Federal funds; • Expanded, improved, and focused efforts at prevention and education; • Increased international cooperation to assist in disrupting and destroying international drug trafficking organizations; • Aggressive law enforcement in our communities to return control of our streets to law-abiding citizens; • Increased interdiction efforts along our borders to