NCJ Number
222844
Date Published
March 2008
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This review of the successes and challenges of current U.S. drug policy addresses trends, the current status of drug use in the United States, programs that are addressing the drug problem, the international situation, and Federal spending on drug control by function.
Abstract
Data and information on trends in efforts to reduce the consumption of illegal drugs in the United States focus on progress in achieving the president’s goals for addressing youth drug use; data from the Monitoring the Future Study; a report that marijuana, the most prevalent illicit drug, has declined according to workforce drug testing; the possible peaking of the use of methamphetamine in the workforce; and how substance abuse behaviors respond to concerted action. Data and information on the current status of drug use in the United States indicate cocaine shortages according to law enforcement intelligence reports; the continuation of high levels of illegal drug use and the social problems that derive from it; the increased potency of marijuana; the addictiveness and dangerousness of marijuana for younger users; a decline in domestic methamphetamine superlabs and small toxic lab incidents; the initiation and misuse of prescription drugs now being even with the use of marijuana; and the diversion of prescription medications as a contributor to their misuse. Among the drug programs discussed are the Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, Drug-Free Communities, drug courts, greater accessibility and effectiveness of drug treatment, progress in mainstreaming screening and brief intervention, and student drug testing as a tool for prevention and treatment. The section on the international situation pertains to the United States’ cooperation with various drug source countries in an effort to reduce the drug supply coming into the United States.