Drug Policy Blog » USA

Federal Budget Contradicts Research, Targets Supply over Demand

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 03:39:13 +0000

A private research and policy analysis organization, Carnevale Associates LLC, has released a two page policy brief that examines the federal drug control budget. The document shows that from fiscal year 2002 to fiscal year 2009, federal spending for drug treatment grew at 22% to $618M while federal spending for drug interdiction grew at 100% to nearly 2 billion dollars.

The chart below is included:

FY 02 – FY 09 (Dollars in millions)
	Dollars (change)	Percent (change)
By Function:
Treatment (w/Research)	$618.2	22.2%
Prevention (w/Research)	-$489.3	-24.5%
Domestic Law Enforcement	$896.1	31.3%
Interdiction	$1,917.2	100.2%
International	$525.3	48.4%
Total	$3,467.5	32.6%

By Supply/Demand Split
Supply	$3,338.6	56.9%
Demand	$ 128.8	2.7%
Total	$3,467.4	32.6%

This policy brief unfortunately lacks any footnoting or indication of the research that forms the basis of their program effectiveness rankings. While the numbers speak for themselves, the relative effectiveness of treatment compared to interdiction has still not been demonstrated clearly enough to impact the the federal budgeting process. Failing to source the claimed effectiveness of treatment diminishes from the value this policy brief.

American College of Physicians Calls for Research of Medical Marijuana

admin — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:34:17 +0000

On February 8, the American College of Physicians (ACP) issued a position paper calling for additional research into the therapeutic role for marijuana. The ACP, a national organization of internists – physicians who specialize in the prevention, detection and treatment of illnesses in adults – is the largest medical-specialty organization and second-largest physician group in the United States.The ACP notes:

Marijuana has been smoked for its medicinal properties for centuries. Preclinical, clinical, and anecdotal reports suggest numerous potential medical uses for marijuana. Although the indications for some conditions have been well documented, less information is available about other potential medical uses.

The position paper makes five position statements including:

Position 4: ACP urges review of marijuana’s status as a schedule I controlled substanceand its reclassification into a more appropriate schedule, given the scientific evidenceregarding marijuana’s safety and efficacy in some clinical conditions.

It goes on to explain:

The concern that marijuana is a “gateway” drug also hinders opportunities to evaluate itspotential therapeutic benefits. However, the IOM concluded that marijuana is a gateway drugonly in the sense that its use normally precedes, rather than follows, initiation of other illicitdrugs. Marijuana has not been proven to be the cause or even the most serious predictor ofserious drug abuse.

The report conclusion holds that “[e]vidence not only supports the use of medical marijuana in certain conditions but also suggests numerous indications for cannabinoids”.

Illicit drug use by American teens continues gradual decline in 2007

admin — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:53:36 +0000

Results of the 2007 Monitoring the Future survey where released at the White House by
President Bush on December 11, 2007. The National Institute on Drug Abusesponsors the study, and the University of
Michigan designed and conducted the study. The study has been performed annually for 32 years.

The proportion of 8th graders reporting use of an illicit drug at least once in the 12 months prior to the survey was 24 percent in 1996 but has fallen to 13 percent by 2007, a drop of nearly half. The decline has been less among 10th graders, from 39 percent to 28 percent between 1997 and 2007, and least among 12th graders, a decline from the recent peak of 42 percent in 1997 to 36 percent this year.

The study breaks down trends by drug, with heroin, crack, and OxyContin all showing no decline in the 2007 survey. Concerning anabolic steroids, the study notes:

Monitoring the Future tracked a fairly sharp increase in the use of anabolic steroids by male teens in the late 1990s, with peak levels reached in 1999 among 8th-grade males, in 2000 among 10th-grade males, and in 2001 and 2002 among 12th-grade males.

Since those peak years, the annual prevalence rate has dropped by more than half among the 8th and 10th grader males (to 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively), and by 40 percent among 12th-grade males (to 2.3 percent annual prevalence in 2007).

Also covered where alcohol and tobacco usage, usage of both having decreased in the 2007 study.