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Preventing Teenage Drug Abuse With Drug Testing
Treating drug or alcohol abuse can be di cult at best. But if you want the be...
From John Arkin
i
Foreword
Americans are united in their belief that the drug problem represents a serious threat toour country. The campaign to reduce drug abuse in America is a comprehensive, concertedeffort by all levels of government -- federal, state, and local -- as well as non-governmentalorganizations, the private sector, and individual citizens. The 1999 federal drug control budgetis a record $17.8 billion; of this, over 33 percent, or $5.9 billion, is spent on demand reductionefforts. This does not include spending by states, local communities, or private organizations.We have seen positive results from our combined efforts. Current drug use (that is use of anillicit drug in the previous month) among those 12 or older is now estimated at approximately13.9 million Americans, or 6.4 percent of the population. This is a decline of over 50 percentsince 1979 when 14.1 percent of Americans were current drug users.
Our goal is to cut today’s drug use in half -- to 3.1 percent of the population -- by the year2007. We need to bring down the level of drug abuse. Moreover, drug abuse is costly toAmericans. In financial terms, drug abuse costs approximately $110 billion annually. Moreserious than that, however, is the cost of drug use to the societal underpinnings of our country.Drug abuse fuels crime, fills our emergency rooms, means lost productivity to businesses, andlost futures to teens.The
National Drug Control Strategy
is a ten-year plan for reducing drug use in America.The
Strategy
proposes international, interdiction, and law enforcement efforts to reduce theavailability of drugs in the United States. But primary among its goals is reducing the demandfor drugs. Research has shown that those addicted to drugs impose greater health costs uponsociety and are responsible for more of our crime. Demand reduction’s approach is to treat andrehabilitate the addicted, convince the occasional user to stop using, and prevent non-uses fromever starting.Education, prevention, and treatment are the components of demand reduction. Thisbooklet highlights the major federal, demand reduction programs and initiatives now underwaywhich will help bring drug use to historic new lows. These initiatives and programs are not theonly demand reduction efforts in the United States. The solution calls for a coordinated,nationwide effort that incorporates every level of government, neighborhood organization, andcommunity structure. Demand reduction is everyone’s business. Together, we can have animpact on the future of America
Barry R. McCaffreyDirector
January 1999
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Criminal Justice Reference: drugabuse
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| Upload Date: | 01/22/2008 |
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