NCJ Number
167200
Date Published
1996
Length
99 pages
Annotation
This report on the status of the national war on drugs, prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives, indicates drug use has been markedly rising over the past 3 to 4 years, especially among juveniles.
Abstract
Rising juvenile drug use and violent juvenile crime are integrally related and have tended to feed on each other. Objective indicators of the overall attention being devoted to antidrug messages in the media and by national leaders have been lower during the past several years than at any time in recent history. Further, objective indicators of Federal support for counterdrug efforts, particularly for drug interdiction, show a substantial reduction in resources committed to key areas. Strategies adopted by the Office of National Drug Control Policy have exhibited two conscious policy shifts, one toward greater drug treatment emphasis within the demand reduction component and one toward greater source country emphasis within the supply reduction component. The report discusses the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, various Federal efforts to control drug use, drug prevention programs, drug interdiction and supply reduction, drug production in source countries, drug treatment, drug testing, and drug task forces. Criticisms of Federal drug control policies are noted, and recommendations to improve these policies are offered. 123 endnotes