NCJ Number
203725
Date Published
March 2004
Length
71 pages
Annotation
This document discusses the National Drug Control Strategy goals for 2004.
Abstract
The first national priority of the National Drug Control Strategy is stopping drug use before it starts through education and community action. Following up with brief interventions for young people that do try illegal drugs (or alcohol) is critical. Student drug testing programs advance the goal of intervening early in the young person’s drug career, using research-based prevention approaches to guide users into counseling or drug treatment, and deterring others from starting in the first place. The second national priority is to heal current drug users by getting treatment resources where they are needed. More than one million Americans receive drug treatment each year. A new program called Access to Recovery will expand access to clinical substance abuse treatment, including recovery support services, while encouraging accountability in the treatment delivery system. Those without means to pay for treatment will be assessed and issued a voucher for the cost of treatment or recovery services as appropriate. A central problem is waiting for individuals that are in denial about their need for drug treatment to recognize that need. A climate must be created in which people can confront drug use honestly and directly with the compassionate coercion of family, friends, and the community. To fight prescription abuse, “doctor shopping” must be curtailed. The third national priority is disrupting the drug market by attacking the economic basis of the drug trade, including Colombia’s cocaine and heroin trade, and exploiting opportunities for success in Mexico. Marijuana cultivation is prevalent in many regions of the United States. Law enforcement agencies will expand their efforts to target the organizations misusing public lands to grow millions of dollars worth of marijuana. Anti-drug efforts will be accelerated in Afghanistan. There is a new focus on synthetic drugs, which involves regulatory controls on pseudoephedrine and ephedrine -- ingredients of methamphetamine. 14 figures, 2 appendixes