NCJ Number
185045
Date Published
2000
Length
338 pages
Annotation
Looking back on the 25-year war on drugs, the author offers a critique of the politics and narrow-mindedness that have caused the national drug policy in the United States to fail: he proposes a new focus on treatment over imprisonment to reclaim addicts from the street.
Abstract
The drug problem in the United States is more complex now than it was in the 1960's. The drug problem in the 1960's was largely limited to heroin, but the drug problem now includes cocaine, crack, methamphetamines, and angel dust. Further, current drug addicts have many more problems than those of the past, from mental illness and homelessness to AIDS and tuberculosis. Instead of a criminal justice response, the focus should be on the creation and maintenance of a comprehensive national treatment system for drug and alcohol abuse. The Federal drug budget, $17 billion in 1999, should be equalized between supply and demand so that adequate resources are available for drug treatment. In addition to drug treatment programs, young people in particular should be provided with good schools, decent housing, recreational programs, and meaningful job prospects. References and notes