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The
Effective
Flag
National Drug
Control Strategy
1999

Network of Reform Groups

Table of Contents

AUTHORS OF THE EFFECTIVE DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THE NEED FOR A NEW MODEL OF DRUG CONTROL

THE NEED FOR A NEW MODEL OF DRUG CONTROL How many people must be incarcerated for current drug policy to work?
Does the U.S. drug strategy protect children from drugs?
Does the current drug control strategy reduce the supply of drugs and raise their price?
Does the current strategy protect public health?
It is time to develop a drug strategy that works.
GOAL NUMBER ONE: REDUCE THE HARM ASSOCIATED WITH DRUG ABUSE

FIND A SOLUTION TO DRUG ABUSE THAT REALLY WORKS Commission a non-partisan panel of experts to evaluate America's longest war
Allow cities and states to experiment with their own approach to drug control
Make efforts at all levels of government to separate the markets for marijuana from other illegal drugs
REDUCE DRUG ABUSE AND USE AMONG YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS
Triple the current National Drug Control Strategy budget share for reducing youth and young adult drug use
Focus funding and efforts on strategies that have documented success in reducing youth drug use
Use facts, not scare-tactics to educate youth
Redirect DARE funding into more productive and effective programs
Be responsible with the provision of anti-drug messages
REDUCE DRUG USE AND ABUSE AMONG WOMEN
Fund prevention programs that target women
Increase services for women
Fund research on women's experiences
REDUCE DRUG ABUSE AND USE AMONG ALL AMERICANS
Provide drug treatment upon request and a variety of treatment options
Enact legislation that provides full continuum insurance coverage for substance abuse
Reduce children's exposure to cigarette and alcohol advertising
REDUCE THE SPREAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Repeal State and Federal laws designed to prevent access to and possession of sterile syringes
Make prevention and treatment of Hepatitis-C a high public health priority
GOAL NUMBER ONE: CHAPTER SUMMARY

GOAL NUMBER TWO: REDUCE THE HARM CAUSED BY THE "WAR ON DRUGS"

REDUCE CRIME AND VIOLENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THE DRUG WAR
Commission a study on the relationship between drugs, alcohol and violence
MAKE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FIT THE CRIME
End mandatory minimum sentencing (statutory and guideline)
Alter sentencing guidelines, so judges have more room to maneuver within Guideline boxes and make Guidelines advisory, rather than mandatory
Allow judges to determine whether a drug prosecution is handled more appropriately by state, local or federal courts
Cease the costly and ineffective targeting of marijuana possession cases
END THE RACIAL BIAS IN DRUG LAWS
End the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentencing
Stop targeting black and Latino communities for needle possession arrests
DO NOT UNDERMINE EDUCATION IN THE NAME OF THE "WAR ON DRUGS"
State governments should not spend more on prisons than on education
Eliminate the ban on student loan guarantees to persons with a drug conviction
ALLOW DOCTORS GREATER FREEDOM TO ADDRESS PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES
Transfer scheduling authority to the Department of Health and Human Services
Begin clinical trials of drug maintenance therapy
Allow doctors greater freedom in prescribing medications for pain control
Allow a broader distribution of opiate agonist chemotherapy (e.g. methadone, LAAM) and move oversight of such programs to the Center for Substance Abuse and Treatment
Recognize the rights of states, doctors and patients to make their own decisions regarding the usefulness of medical marijuana
End the de facto moratorium on medical marijuana research
Develop a distribution system for medical marijuana
PROMOTE HEALTH SERVICES FOR ALL WOMEN, NOT PROSECUTION OF PREGNANT WOMEN
Address the problem of drug abuse by women as a women's health issue not a criminal matter
ENCOURAGE "FAMILY VALUE FRIENDLY" POLICIES AND FAMILY UNITY THROUGH TREATMENT AND SUPPORT SERVICES, NOT PUNITIVE RESPONSES
Repeal section 115 of the TANF and Food Stamp benefits programs, and reform welfare to help, rather than penalize women struggling with drug abuse problems
Fund alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs that work with women and their children
PROTECT CIVIL LIBERTIES AND THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION
Stop the misuse of forfeiture laws
Restore voting rights to non-violent drug offenders and allow unhindered public referenda and initiatives
Restore civil liberties undermined during the drug war
REDUCE GOVERNMENT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRUPTION
Establish checks and balances to oversee drug enforcement activities and establish strict hiring standards for drug enforcement officials
REDUCE WASTEFUL SPENDING AND DAMAGE CAUSED BY INTERNATIONAL DRUG CONTROL EFFORTS
Place less emphasis on drug interdiction and source country eradication strategies and greater emphasis on domestic drug prevention and treatment programs as well as alternative economic development
End the drug certification process
Stop encouraging a role for the military in counternarcotics activities properly performed by civilian law enforcement agencies, both at home and abroad
Stop the use of herbicides and biological agents in efforts to eradicate illegal drugs outside of the United States as well as within the US
GOAL NUMBER TWO: CHAPTER SUMMARY

CONCLUDING REMARKS

List of Figures

Figure 1:  Incarceration for Drug Arrests and Drug Overdoses Deaths Rise after Mandatory Minimums
Figure 2:  Availability of Marijuana for Kids
Figure 3:  Lifetime Use of Any Illicit Drug (8th, 10th, 12th Grade)
Figure 4:  Heroin: Price Per Gram over Time
Figure 5:  Heroin: Purity Increases During Drug War
Figure 6:  Emergency Room Drug Episodes
Figure 7:  ONDCP National Drug Control Budget vs. The Effective Drug Control Budget
Figure 8:  A Brief Chronology of Independent Drug Policy Reports
Figure 9:  Adolescent Use of Crack and Heroin
Figure 10:  Youth Prevention Spending in National Drug Control Budget
Figure 11:  SAMHSA funding for women
Figure 12:  Partial List of Organizations Which Support Needle Exchange Programs
Figure 13:  Homicide Rates in the 20th Century
Figure 14:  Societal Costs of Drug Use in 1992
Figure 15:  Average Length of Imprisonment Federal Penitentiaries
Figure 16:  Partial List of Organizations Opposed to Mandatory Minimum Sentences
Figure 17:  Marijuana Arrests Over Time
Figure 18:  Drug Use vs. Incarceration Rate by Gender and Race
Figure 19:  Trends in State Spending: 1987 - 1995
Figure 20:  Partial list of Organizations Supporting Physicians' Right to Recommend or Discuss Marijuana with Patients
Figure 21:  Partial list of Organizations Supporting Access to Medical Marijuana
Figure 22:  Partial list of Organizations Supporting Legal Access to Marijuana Under Physician's Recommendation
Figure 23:  Partial list of Organizations Supporting Medical Marijuana Research
Figure 24:  Voter Approved Medical Marijuana Initiatives 37
Figure 25:  Public Letter to Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General 52-54



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