NCJ Number
235714
Date Published
June 2011
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report outlines the key accomplishments of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in coordinating a government-wide public health and public safety approach in reducing drug use and its consequences in the United States.
Abstract
The President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 National Drug Control Budget requests over $26 billion for balanced and evidence-based drug-control programs. Recognizing that drug addiction is a disease, the Obama administration is working to expand access to evidence-based substance abuse treatment and to recovery support services. In addition, in FY 2010, ONDCP awarded $85.6 million in new grants to 169 community-based drug prevention coalitions through the Drug Free Communities Support Program. In increasing access to treatment and recovery support, funding has been provided to 260 federally qualified health centers that serve the neediest Americans, and 12 emergency clinics in the Indian Health Service. In combating the Nation's fastest growing drug problem - prescription drug abuse - ONDCP has developed and implemented the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Action Plan. This plan identifies four key areas for reducing prescription drug abuse: education for prescribers, patients, and parents; prescription drug monitoring programs in all 50 States; secure, convenient, and environmentally sound disposal of medications; and law enforcement measures against "pill mills and "doctor shopping." Among the achievements in addressing the threat of drugged driving is an online training module being developed in order to provide increased training for State and local law enforcement officers in recognizing drugged driving. Other achievements pertain to the reforming of the criminal justice system in order to achieve similar and appropriate sentencing for drug offenses. There have also been achievements in multiagency domestic drug law enforcement, international drug-related partnerships, and accountability and transparency in the development and implementation of drug strategies.