White House Czar Calls for End to 'War on Drugs'

Posted by , AlterNet at 7:00 AM on May 14, 2009.

The Wall Street Journal reports: 

"The Obama administration's new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting 'a war on drugs,' a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use."

In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation's drug issues.

"Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he said. "We're not at war with people in this country."

Mr. Kerlikowske's comments are a signal that the Obama administration is set to follow a more moderate -- and likely more controversial -- stance on the nation's drug problems. Prior administrations talked about pushing treatment and reducing demand while continuing to focus primarily on a tough criminal-justice approach.

The Obama administration is likely to deal with drugs as a matter of public health rather than criminal justice alone, with treatment's role growing relative to incarceration, Mr. Kerlikowske said.

As the WSJ points out, the drug czar "doesn't have the power to enforce any of these changes himself;" moreover, Kerlikowske told the WSJ that he has not yet "focused on U.S. policy toward fighting drug-related crime in other countries." Still, "Mr. Kerlikowske plans to work with Congress and other agencies to alter current policies."

Read the rest of the WSJ article here.

Tagged as: drugs, barack obama, war on drugs, wall street journal, gil kerlikowske, white house office of nat