ONDCP Blog

Breaking the Cycle of Drug Use and Crime

In 2009, nearly seven million individuals were under supervision of the state and Federal criminal justice systems.  Nearly two million of these individuals were incarcerated for their crimes, while the remaining five million were on probation or parole.  While both the Federal and state correctional systems must address this challenge, states generally bear the costs related to this population, and correctional spending has increased accordingly.  Between 1988 and 2009, state corrections spending increased from $12 billion to $52 billion per year.

Despite these significant expenditures, far too many offenders return to drug use and crime upon their reentry into society.  Part of the reason for this phenomenon is that many offenders are dealing with chronic substance abuse - a disease for which too many are inadequately treated.

Among state prisoners with a substance use disorder, 53 percent had at least three prior sentences to probation or incarceration, compared to 32 percent of other inmates.  Drug dependent or abusing state prisoners (48 percent) were also more likely than other inmates (37 percent) to have been on probation or parole supervision at the time of their arrest.

The revolving door of the Nation’s criminal justice systems is one of the most significant challenges in reducing the devastating consequences of drug use.  This cycle deprives too many Americans of their chance to lead healthy, safe and productive lives.  That’s why the Obama Administration is taking steps to prevent Americans from becoming involved in drug use and crime, and providing a continuum of interventions, treatment, alternatives to incarceration, and reentry support for those that do. We are also focusing on getting treatment to people before their substance use becomes chronic.  

The Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy supports comprehensive change within the criminal justice system, promoting the implementation of a continuum of evidence-based interventions to address the needs of drug-involved offenders, while ensuring the safety of the community.  The goal is to integrate these approaches throughout the justice process:  at arrest, in jail, in the courts, while incarcerated, or upon release back into the community.  One aspect of comprehensive change within the system is to ensure effective alternatives to incarceration and reentry support are provided to these populations.

The Administration’s Strategy promotes a variety of evidence-based alternatives to incarceration for drug-involved offenders.  These include Drug Market Interventions (DMI) to disrupt open-air drug markets; Drug and Veterans Treatment Courts designed to effectively treat the substance abuse and mental health disorders of adults, young people, and Veterans in the system; smart probation strategies, like Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE), to use existing community supervision mechanisms to address probationers’ underlying substance abuse issues; improved service delivery behind the walls of jail and prison; and reentry support to ensure that offenders don’t return to drug use and crime once released. 

States are taking steps to improve how their justice systems address substance-abusing offenders, and are re-examining and reforming sentencing structures to better align with evidence-based approaches.  These approaches include treatment and other supportive services, as well as enhanced community supervision.  Despite budgetary challenges, states must invest in these programs and services to ensure the effectiveness of key sentencing reforms.

The Administration is committed to smarter investments in the criminal justice system, recognizing that addiction is a disease and ensuring that the system is improving the health and safety of our communities.  In the coming weeks, this website will highlight a number of these innovative programs, all of which share the same goal of breaking the cycle of drug use and crime, and ensuring the public health and safety of our citizens.

Learn more:

• Criminal Justice System Reform
• Alternatives to Incarceration
• Drug and Veteran Courts
• Matthew Perry Voices His Support for Drug Courts(Video)
• In-Custody Treatment and Reentry

Benjamin B. Tucker is Deputy Director of State, Local and Tribal Affairs at the Office of National Drug Control Policy

Highlighting National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

The home medicine cabinet is a minefield. Each day, nearly 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time – and a majority of those pills are known to come from family and friends, including the medicine cabinet. Most leftover and expired medicines can be thrown in the household trash, and a few must be flushed down the toilet. But I suggest taking advantage of the growing number of community-based “take back” or drug disposal programs that offer a safer alternative.

Disposal programs, cost-effective programs allow the public to bring unused drugs to a central location for proper disposal. The drop-off locations vary across the country. Many are at police departments. Others are at temporary places like pharmacies and community centers. All of them use secure equipment and strict procedures to prevent theft or diversion.

I’ve seen first-hand in Florida as nervous parents returned containers of old drugs, fearful that their toddlers will get their hands on them or that their teens will want to experiment with them.

It’s no joke. Home medicine cabinets have become the new drug dealers. But it’s one drug dealer that parents can put a stop to.  For me, the take-back programs are the only secure and environmentally sound way to dispose of unwanted pharmaceuticals without contaminating surface and ground waters.

Started in the mid-2010s, the take-back programs spread fast to keep up with the prescription drug abuse epidemic that kills thousands and thousands of people annually in the United States. The effort picked up steam when the Drug Enforcement Administration organized the National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in September 2010, April 2011, and again this past August. Nearly 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation have participated in these events, collecting more than 309 tons of pills.  Another national take-back day is planned for tomorrow, October 29, so check the National Prescription Drug Take Back Days website to find upcoming events in your area.  Unfortunately, there are restrictions on disposing of controlled substances.  The DEA is working on changes to these rules to make it easier for people to dispose of controlled drugs.  However, until these changes are made and there are regular disposal sites, many consumers keep prescribed drugs in their medicine cabinets and other places for a long time, not knowing how to get rid of them properly.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the following steps need to be taken to dispose of unused medication: 

• Follow any specific disposal instructions on the drug label or patient information that accompanies the medication. Do not flush prescription drugs down the toilet unless this information specifically instructs you to do so.
• If no instructions are given on the drug label and no take-back program is available in your area, throw the drugs in the household trash, but first:
  • Take them out of their original containers and mix them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. The medication will be less appealing to children and pets, and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through your trash.
  • Put them in a sealable bag, empty can, or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag.

Hopefully, it won’t be too long before take-back programs reach most corners of the country. This will address the real concern that teens could misuse these very accessible drugs.

Until that happens, let’s all make sure we clean out the medicine cabinets and get potentially dangerous leftover drugs out of our homes.

Karen H. Perry is the executive director of NOPE Task Force

National Drug Facts Week 2011

Decades of research on adolescent drug use demonstrate that the only prevention approaches with a chance of having a real impact on attitudes and prevalences are those that are built around scientific facts and delivered honestly.

There are no shortcuts: Even when the scientific picture is partial or incomplete (as it usually is), the best strategy is to give teens the most accurate and straightforward information we have. Most young people are eager to learn (even if they won’t admit it) about what different drugs of abuse do to their brains, their overall health, and their academic and social performance. Luckily, we have a fascinating and relevant story to tell them. Just from the most recent research we have learned, for example, that the human brain is not fully developed until the early 20s, which helps explain young people’s bias toward risky decision making, that addictive substances begin by affecting the pleasure centers of the brain but can go on to disrupt higher functions, like learning, impulse control, and decision-making, and that some of the negative effects that drugs of abuse can have on physical and mental health may result from their ability to change the patterns of gene expression in the brain. Discoveries such as these will no doubt influence how we prevent and treat drug abuse and addiction in years to come.           

Like everybody else, young people want to make their own decisions based on what they perceive to be the best available information. However, young people can only listen and take in that information when they trust the messenger. Unfortunately, it would be hard to argue that we, as a society, have done a particularly good job in this regard.

NIDA’s National Drug Facts Week (NDFW) strives to earn back young people’s trust. From October 31^st through Sunday, November 6th, the second annual NDFW will bring together teens and scientific experts in communities across the country to bring forth the facts and “Shatter the Myths.”

To encourage conversation about drug use during National Drug Facts Week, NIDA has developed the 2011 National Drug IQ Challenge - a 10-question, multiple-choice interactive quiz that teens and adults can take to test their science-based knowledge about drugs. NIDA will also hold its fifth annual National Drug Facts Chat Day on November 1^st. On that day, I will be one of forty NIDA scientists and science writers answering questions about drugs from teens in schools around the country via a live Web chat.  Anyone can follow the Chat by going on NIDA’s Web site.

NIDA recognizes that teens have the need and the right to know about drugs and their effects on brain and body. To cut through all the confusion I encourage you to join us this week and learn the facts about drug abuse and addiction. Information on National Drug Facts Week can be found at http://drugfactsweek.drugabuse.gov.

Nora D. Volkow, M.D., is the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse

Putting A Face on the Issue of Drugged Driving

Cross-posted from the MADD.org blog

Stephanie Call was a normal mother like any other. Her children were bright and full of spirit. They attended a private school and had all the potential in the world for success. Her family was full of love; and as a mother, Stephanie had much to be proud of.

That is, until Stephanie’s life was turned upside down. On a day that started out like any other day, her daughter, Kelsey, got into a car driven by her friend’s mom and headed to school. Suddenly, a driver under the influence of prescription drugs crossed the median in the road and struck their vehicle, killing all three occupants.  The driver pled guilty, but Stephanie and her family still feel the loss every day.

“I have a gaping hole in my heart that will never heal,” Stephanie says.

Now, Stephanie is working to make sure that nobody has to experience that same kind of loss again. At an event held by MADD in Washington, D.C., Stephanie shared her story in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of drugged driving on our nation’s roads. While MADD has always provided support to drugged driving victims who were referred to us, at the event with the help of Stephanie, MADD formally announced a nationally coordinated effort to reach out and support these victims in addition to our continued focus on serving victims of drunk driving.

You can play a part as well.  A victim advocate helped Stephanie’s family deal with the aftermath of a drugged driving crash.  But, we need your help to make sure that other drugged driving victims can also receive support. Make a donation or find out how you can become a trained victim advocate.  Because, while the substances differ, the consequences are the same—needless deaths and injuries.