ONDCP Blog

Alternatives to the “War on Drugs:” Obama Drug Policy and Reforming the Criminal Justice System

Compared to their representation among the U.S. population, African Americans are disproportionately incarcerated for drug offenses.  These two groups have consistently higher proportions of inmates in state prison who are drug offenders compared to whites - about 50% higher. 

Over the past two months, we have met with African American leaders across the country – in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles – to listen to what they had to say.  We discussed their concerns and ideas, and we outlined the Obama Administration’s approach to drug policy, presenting our view that it is guided by three indisputable facts:  Addiction is a disease that can be treated; people can recover from drug addiction; and new interventions are needed to appropriately address substance abuse and drug-related crime. Simply put:  We cannot arrest our way out of our Nation’s drug problem.  

Addressing drug addiction as a public health issue will help us break the cycle of drug use, crime, and incarceration.  And in keeping with a balanced public health and safety approach, the Obama Administration is taking unprecedented actions to restore balance to how we address our Nation’s drug problem and its disproportionate effects on communities of color.  As Director Kerlikowske has said, the “War on Drugs” metaphor is not something that captures the complexity of the problem, or our innovative response:

• This last fiscal year, the Obama Administration spent $10.4 billion on drug prevention and treatment programs compared to $9.2 billion on domestic drug enforcement;
• In August of last year, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act into law that dramatically reduced a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine, which disproportionately affected minorities;
• The Administration also advocated for, and the U.S. Sentencing Commission approved, the retroactive application of these sentencing guidelines which became effective on November 1st.
• We are supporting the expansion of drug courts, which place roughly 120,000 non-violent drug offenders into treatment instead of prison each year;
• The Administration is implementing the Second Chance Act, which passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support and provides resources for common sense, evidence-based approaches to reducing crime;
• The Administration has worked to clarify rules regarding the eligibility of housing authorities to allow ex-offenders access to public housing and ensure that they understand that they have the discretion to lease to all but two types of criminal convictions: Individuals convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine in public housing and registered sex offenders; and
• Attorney General Holder has also contacted State Attorneys General to urge them to review the legal collateral consequences of their State laws being placed upon ex-offenders that may burden their successful reentry into society. 

Why Police Officers Need to Understand Addiction

The Lexington Division of Police operates one of the four police training academies in Kentucky and provides certified instruction, as set by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council.  Our recruits receive the same instruction as other recruits concerning narcotics identification and investigation (certified); however, we offer additional training we feel is critical to an officer’s development – the understanding of drug addiction and the behaviors associated with addiction.  We believe having this basic understanding helps the officers make practical policing decisions when dealing with this population.

For the past 14 years, the Lexington Division of Police has had a full time Drug Court Liaison Officer.  This position and our relationship with our local Drug Courts is critical to the Lexington community’s understanding that the Lexington Division of Police takes a truly comprehensive approach to addressing illegal drug use in our community.  While we maintain aggressive enforcement of drug laws we also have a real commitment to the treatment of those individuals who qualify for our Drug Court programs and want help to change their life.  

Our Drug Court Liaison Officer conducts four hours (non-certified) of instruction to our new recruits outlining the role of our agency in working with drug courts and the results of that relationship.  It describes the Liaison Officer’s responsibilities of conducting periodic home visits and the importance of law enforcement involvement in the Drug Court process.  In addition, the officers speak to Drug Court graduates and current participants and learn about the life changing experiences of those who successfully complete the programs and the very real challenges that current participants face in treatment. Accompanied by their counselors and our Liaison Officer, the participants speak to their particular addiction and how it affected their life. 

Also included in this instruction is a four-hour block on the chemistry of addiction – what is happening in the brain of the drug user and why that translates into specific kinds of behaviors including criminal behavior. Developed with the help of the Drug Court treatment professionals, the course provides a basic understanding as to why an individual may display a particular kind of behavior.   For instance, it is beneficial for our officers to understand why a drug dependent individual will have difficulty following multiple step instruction especially if they are asked to perform the task the following day.  The officers learn that this particular individual is not, at this time in their life, able to resolve even minor conflicts that we take for granted.  The portion of the class that seems to garnish the most interest is walking the recruits through what happens emotionally with the addict based on the chemical changes occurring in the brain.  This benefits the Division because the officers come to recognize that if they do not take an active role in assisting the individual in resolving the issue, it is likely they will be returning to that location for subsequent calls for service. 

In this class, we use actual criminal investigations of crimes to demonstrate many of the principles discussed.  I find that by tying this information directly to what officers experience on the streets makes the material more relevant. They begin to understand how this information will assist them in doing a better job as officers and for the community.

When we don’t understand someone’s behavior, we have a tendency to resort to making moral judgments.  Judgments concerning the behaviors of those dealing with addiction only hamper an officer’s interaction and clouds the practical decisions police officers must make on a daily basis.  In my 29 years of law enforcement I have noticed a significant difference in officers who have a basic understanding of addiction and the behaviors associated with it.  These officers tend to be less judgmental, more patient and ultimately more efficient than officers who don’t have this training and tend to see the addict more as a problem rather than a person.  Officers who don’t have this type of understanding tend to resort to arrest rather than committing to resolving the problem that brought them to the addict.  While both scenarios take time, assisting the addict with resolving the problem when it is practical to do so prevents call backs.  Always settling the issue with arrest uses resources we don’t have and is only a temporary solution since the problem still exists.

Mike Bosse is Assistant Police Chief of the Lexington Division of Police 

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