News - National
US drug war has met none of its goals
Posted: May 14, 2010 7:33 AM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: May 14, 2010 7:33 AM
Forty years and $1 trillion later, the U.S. drug czar says the war on drugs hasn't been successful.
Gil Kerlikowske says that, if anything, the concern about drugs and drug problems has "magnified, intensified."
President Barack Obama this week announced a new policy to treat drug use as a public health issue. But his administration has also increased spending on interdiction and law enforcement.
Kerlikowske says "nothing happens overnight" and that it will take time for the spending to achieve its goals.
Former czar John Walters says judging the drug war is complicated -- marijuana and prescription drug abuse are climbing, while cocaine use is way down. Seizures are up, but so is availability.
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