NCJ Number
168386
Date Published
1997
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This report outlines national drug control strategy goals for 1997 and provides statistics and information on drug prevention in the United States, prevalence of drug use, the consequences of drug use, drug-related crimes, drug law enforcement, and drug treatment.
Abstract
The 1997 goals of the national drug control strategy are to educate and enable America's youth to reject illegal drugs and the use of alcohol and tobacco, to reduce drug-related crime and violence, to reduce the health and social costs to the public of illegal drug use, to protect America's borders from drug smuggling, and to break foreign and domestic drug supply sources. Federal spending on the national drug strategy for fiscal year 1998 is also reported, followed by a review of the role of drug prevention, the objectives of drug prevention, and a list of the possible factors that affect the weakening of risk perception for illicit drug use. An overview of drug use notes that overall, drug use is down substantially. Since 1979 the number of current users of any illicit drug has declined from 25.4 million to 13 million, a decline of 50 percent. Graphic data show trends in the use of specific drugs over the last few years by age. The consequences of drug use are outlined as well. A section on drug- related crime provides data on the money spent to buy drugs, drug-related murders, drug-related criminal activity, and drug- related arrests. Information and data on drug treatment addresses the adequacy of treatment capacity, trend in clients in treatment, Federal resources for treatment, client substance abuse problems, age distribution of those in treatment (drug and alcohol), the race/ethnicity of clients in treatment, treatment costs and effects, and the benefits of treatment for society. The final section of this report reviews the supply reduction strategy and efforts of the Federal Government. Extensive graphs