NCJ Number
178160
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 1999 Pages: 299-322
Date Published
1999
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the drug policy priorities of the Federal Government as expressed in the collection of drug strategies produced since 1973.
Abstract
The authors compare rhetorical emphases with the reported budgeted amounts for Federal programs. The study found that, in general, the priorities expressed in the strategies match the relative distribution of supply and demand reduction resources. Recent attempts by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to increase spending on drug treatment in the 1990's stand out as an exception, however. The factors that account for the difficulty ONDCP encounters in achieving its budget goals include the cross-cutting nature of the drug budget, the fact that earlier legislative decisions "front-loaded" the drug budget with law enforcement programs, and the fragmented nature of the Federal budget process. The authors conclude that if legislators want to hold ONDCP responsible for the outcomes of Federal anti- drug programs, they should provide the Office with discretionary control over marginal resources, an authority the Drug Czar currently does not have. 1 table, 1 figure, 19 notes, and 27 references