Remarks by the Honorable James K. Stewart, Director of the National Institute of Justice, to the U.S. Conference of Mayors Second National Conference on Crime and Drugs

• NCJ Number: 115545
• Author(s): J K Stewart
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Presentation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Enforcement, medical treatment, and education are the three principal approaches to solving the drug problem.

Abstract

Underlying every effort to address the drug problem must be empirical data that suggest appropriate policies; for example, research sponsored by the National Institute of Justice indicates significant drug use by offenders, suggesting that efforts to halt drug use by offenders may reduce crime. Drug treatment and preventive education are thus significant tools for fighting crime. Data also show a link between intravenous drug use by heterosexuals and the spread of AIDS both through 'dirty' needles and subsequent contact with sexual partners. Treatment and education are again required to reduce high-risk behaviors for AIDS among drug abusers. Evidence is overwhelming that the Nation needs a massive nationwide education and health-awareness program that targets both drug abuse and high-risk behaviors associated with AIDS. The Department of Health and Human Services has a plan to reduce the demand for illicit drugs by weaving prevention into the national social fabric, providing incentives for individual drug users to stop using drugs, and developing drug treatment programs.