Testimony of Edwin Meese III Before US Senate Committee on the Judiciary Regarding Coordination of National Drug Policy and Strategy on May 14, 1987

• NCJ Number: 105429
• Author(s): E Meese
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 28 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Legislative Hearing/Committee Report
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Edwin Meese III testifies on the coordination of Federal drug control efforts, the performance of the National Drug Policy Board, and the Administration's opposition to S.789, the 'drug czar' bill.

Abstract

Attorney General Meese first outlines the organizational structure of the National Drug Policy Board, which was created in March 1987 to oversee all Federal drug control efforts. The Board has jurisdiction over efforts to reduce the demand for drugs in the United States, as well as to reduce the supply. Federal drug control activities in the areas of policy, investigation and prosecution, international programs, drug prevention education, and drug abuse treatment are highlighted. These accomplishments include record levels of Drug Enforcement Administration arrests and convictions in 1986, significant increases in cocaine seizures by Customs and the Coast Guard, the extradition of Carlos Lehder from Colombia to stand trial in the United States, and the creation of the White House Conference for a Drug Free America. The Attorney General urges the Senate to reject S.789, claiming that it is unnecessary and would prove counterproductive in the war on drugs.