NCJ Number
167201
Date Published
1996
Length
103 pages
Annotation
Based on five 1995 oversight hearings before the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice, this report presents the subcommittee's assessment of the status of the Nation's Federal drug control strategy and its implementation; specifically, the subcommittee examined the status of Federal interdiction, source-country, prevention, and treatment programs.
Abstract
With varying degrees of emphasis, all the panels of experts who testified before the subcommittee acknowledged that current Federal efforts to counter drug use and trafficking are under strain from reduced emphasis on certain components of the Drug War, budgetary pressure, and in some cases accountability. The panels also acknowledged that, over the past several years, there has been a marked reversal in several important national trend lines, most notably an increase in casual drug use by juveniles, but also reaching to perceived drug availability (up), perceived risk of use (down), average street price (down), drug-related medical emergencies (up), drug-related violent juvenile crime (up), total Federal drug prosecutions (down), and parental attention to the drug issue (down). Further, all panels agreed, albeit with differing emphases, that renewed national leadership, including both presidential and congressional leadership, will be necessary to combat these recent trend reversals, especially the increase in juvenile drug abuse and drug-related violent juvenile crime. The subcommittee offers 14 recommendations to improve the Federal response to the drug problem. Among the recommendations is that the President should return to promulgating, in compliance with the Antidrug Abuse Act of 1988, a clear set of measurable and quantifiable annual goals as part of the annual National Drug Control Strategy.