Obama Puts Drug War Focus on Demand Reduction

Recent comments by President Barack Obama and drug-czar nominee Gil Kerlikowske indicate that the War on Drugs could see a significant shift in focus from supply reduction to reducing demand by investing in more prevention and treatment, CNN reported April 18.

Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano have both indicated that the administration won’t consider legalizing drugs, but Obama pledged in meetings with Mexican President Felipe Calderon to do more to cut U.S. demand for drugs being smuggled across the border with Mexico.

“Demand for these drugs in the United States is what is helping to keep these cartels in business,” said Obama. “Now, are we going to eliminate all drug flows? Are we going to eliminate all guns coming over the border? That’s not a realistic objective,” he said. “What is a realistic objective is to reduce it so significantly, so drastically that it becomes once again a localized criminal problem, as opposed to a major structural problem that threatens stability in communities along those borders.”

Both the White House and Congress want to invest more money in drug courts that divert offenders into treatment rather than prison. “The success of our efforts to reduce the flow of drugs is largely dependent on our ability to reduce demand for them,” Kerlikowske said during his recent confirmation hearing in the Senate. “It requires prosecutors and law enforcement, courts, treatment providers and prevention programs to exchange information and to work together. And our priority should be a seamless, comprehensive approach.”

But advocates want to see more investment in treatment for those outside the criminal-justice system, too. “For individuals who don’t have the resources, don’t have public health insurance, can’t afford it themselves, the single best way that they can access treatment is to get arrested,” said Ryan King of the Sentencing Project. “And that’s wrong. What we need to do is make sure for every American that is abusing drugs and wants to stop, that they have the resources made available to them, regardless of whether they can afford them.”