|
Clinton's
New
Drug
Control
Strategy
Repeats
Mistakes
of
the
Past
2/5/99
Scott Ehlers, Senior Policy
Analyst, Drug Policy Foundation, [email protected]
There are few things on which
Democrats and Republicans can agree, but the budgetary priorities of the
federal government's drug war is one issue that Presidents Reagan, Bush,
and Clinton have all endorsed year after year. If Clinton has his
way, FY 2000 will be another one of those years when law enforcement dominates
the Drug Control Budget, while treatment and prevention receive lip service
and inadequate funding.
On February 1, the White
House released its $17.8 billion Drug Control Budget for FY 2000, an increase
of $735 million (+4.3%) over 1999's regular appropriations. The request
is actually slightly lower than the $17.9 billion that was allocated to
federal anti-drug efforts in FY 1999 when the $844 million in "emergency
support" is included. Supply reduction efforts (police, prisons,
prosecutors, military, interdiction, and eradication) make up 66% of the
budget, while demand reduction (drug testing, anti-drug advertising, prevention,
and treatment) make up 34%. The year 2000 budget request increases
allocations to supply reduction efforts by almost $525 million (+4.7%)
and demand reduction by $210 million (+3.6%).
Highlights include:
-
$50 million more for infrared
and color cameras with ground sensors along the Southwest Border;
-
$22 million more for the DEA's
Operation FIREBIRD, which will allow "DEA components around the world to
act as one cohesive unit through instantaneous access to critical law enforcement
and intelligence information";
-
$73.5 million more for the Department
of Defense's interdiction efforts; and,
-
$10 million more for the National
Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, for a total of $195 million for the campaign
in 2000.
Despite the lopsided emphasis
on law enforcement efforts, Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy, continues to deceptively claim that the federal
government's strategy is "balanced."
Unfortunately, Republicans
are seeking to make the Strategy even more lopsided. On February
4, House and Senate Republicans held a press conference to accuse Clinton
of being soft on drugs, calling his anti-drug budget a "just say maybe"
plan because more funds were not devoted to interdiction. According
to Rep. Porter Goss (R-FL), "The only way we can win this is to just say
'no'. This is a serious war. This is not a war you just say
'maybe' about. This is a war you win."
Rep. Goss failed to note
how many people he was willing to throw in prison to "win" the drug war.
The FY 2000 drug control
budget request can be viewed at http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press/1999/020199.html.
-- END --
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Issue #77, 2/5/99
Fungus Funding | Clinton's New Drug Control Strategy Repeats Mistakes of the Past | Interview with Timothy Dunn | Needle Exchange Controversy in Australia | Memorial | Event Info | First Prisoner Released Under Michigan 650 Lifer Law Reform | Increased Penalties, Prison Sentences Don't Deter Drug Use, ABA Study Finds
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