Introduction
When President George W. Bush took office in 2001, drug use had risen to unacceptably high levels. Over the past decade, drug use by young people had nearly doubled, as measured by those who reported having used drugs in the past month: 11 percent of young people had used drugs in the past month in 1991, and 19 percent had done so in 2001. Indeed, in 2000, over half of all 12th graders in the United States had used an illicit drug at least once in his or her life before graduation.
Determined to fight this trend, the President set aggressive goals to reduce drug use in the United States, including reducing youth drug use by 10 percent in two years. That goal has been met and exceeded.
To achieve the goal of reducing drug use, the President set out an ambitious, balanced strategy that focuses on three primary elements: stopping drug use before it starts, healing drug users, and disrupting the market for illicit drugs.
The President’s strategy is producing results. According to the latest University of Michigan Monitoring the Future survey of youth drug use that was released in December 2005, overall teen drug use has declined significantly since the President took office. Current use of illicit drugs by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined has dropped 19 percent since 2001. This translates into nearly 700,000 fewer young people using illicit drugs.
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The survey reports other positive trends for this age group:
The use of methamphetamine by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined has dropped by approximately one-third since 2001. The declines were 34 percent for lifetime use, 30 percent for past-year use, and 36 percent for past-month use.
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Steroid use has dropped dramatically among young people since 2001, particularly in the past year. According to the survey, the use of steroids by 8th, 10th, and 12th graders was down 38 percent for lifetime use, 37 percent for past-year use, and 30 percent for past-month use.
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Although marijuana remains the most commonly used illicit drug among teens, usage rates are declining. Since 2001, marijuana use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders combined dropped 13 percent for lifetime use, 15 percent for past-year use, and 19 percent for past-month use. Current use of marijuana decreased 28 percent (from 9.2 percent among 8th graders to 6.6 percent) and 23 percent among 10th graders (from 19.8 percent to 15.2 percent).
There has been a steep decline in LSD use since 2001. Current use of LSD dropped approximately 50 percent among 8th graders (from 1.0 percent to 0.5 percent), 60 percent among 10th graders (from 1.5 percent to 0.6 percent), and 70 percent among 12th graders (from 2.3 percent to 0.7 percent).
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Use of Ecstasy (MDMA) has declined by nearly two thirds since 2001. Current use dropped 66 percent among 8th graders (from 1.8 percent to 0.6 percent), 61 percent among 10th graders (from 2.6 percent to 1.0 percent), and approximately 64 percent among 12th graders (from 2.8 percent to 1.0 percent).
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The use of certain other club drugs has also decreased, including rohypnol, GHB, and ketamine.
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In addition, consumption of alcohol and cigarettes by minors is down, including the rate of young people reporting being drunk.
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The President’s strategy has an impressive record of accomplishment, but important work remains to be done. Monitoring the Future reports that cocaine and heroin use, while low, has remained stable. And prescription drug abuse remains troubling. Oxycontin, a prescription drug used as a painkiller, is the only drug for which the survey reports an increase in use across all three age groups: past-year use increased from 2.7 percent in 2002 to 3.4 percent in 2005, a 26 percent increase. (The survey began monitoring this drug in 2002.) And, despite the declines in use of many other drugs reported in the most recent survey, overall illicit drug use remains too high among America’s young people.
This year’s National Drug Control Strategy seeks to build on the progress that has already been made by outlining a balanced, integrated plan aimed at achieving the President’s goal of reducing drug use. Each pillar of the strategy is crucial, and each sustains the others. The three components are outlined in the following chapters.
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The first chapter, Stopping Drug Use Before It Starts, outlines the Administration’s work to prevent the initiation of drug use. An integral part of this effort is the new “Above the Influence” initiative by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)—National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign—and the Partnership for a Drug Free America. This initiative, which consists of television advertisements and interactive web-based outreach, calls on young people to be true to themselves by remaining “above the influence.”
The second chapter, Healing America’s Drug Users, highlights initiatives that treat drug users. Key initiatives include the President’s Access to Recovery program, which expands treatment options, and drug courts, which seek to rehabilitate offenders with substance abuse problems.
The third chapter, Disrupting Drug Markets, outlines the Administration’s work at home and abroad to disrupt the availability of illicit drugs, through source country efforts, interdiction programs, and investigative operations. We are attacking market vulnerabilities in the illegal drug trade and applying pressure to reduce profits and raise the risks of drug trafficking.
As in past years, this year’s National Drug Control Strategy highlights the good work faith-based and community organizations are doing to combat the scourge of illicit drugs in their own communities. The Strategy seeks to harness these efforts, and the work of state and local officials, so that Americans work together to reach the President’s goal of reducing overall drug use.
Major Cities Drug Initiative
ONDCP began the Major Cities Drug Initiative to channel the efforts of communities to combat drug abuse in the areas that need it most. Drug use harms communities everywhere, but America’s large cities are particularly hard hit. A recent survey showed that large metropolitan areas in the United States have the highest rates of current illicit drug use. Targeting drugs in these cities can bring about a significant decline in the Nation’s drug problem.
In 2003, the Major Cities Drug Initiative was launched in 25 of the Nation’s largest metropolitan areas. Drawing on the resources and dedication of local officials who are on the front lines of combating drug problems in their neighborhoods, this initiative brings together Federal, state, and local officials working in drug prevention, treatment and law enforcement to identify the unique challenges drugs pose to each community.
ONDCP helps broker these relationships and promotes the development of local drug control strategies by bringing stakeholders together, offering information on current drug use, and developing inventories of Federal, state, and local resources for prevention, treatment and law enforcement. In the two years since the start of the Major Cities Drug Initiative, there have been important achievements in developing better approaches to reducing drug use. For example, Miami and Baltimore have developed city-wide drug control strategies, while Washington, DC, and Denver have strengthened and rewritten their existing strategies. ONDCP is working with other large cities to develop their own local strategies.
To assist cities in learning best practices, ONDCP published Cities Without Drugs: The Major Cities Guide to Reducing Substance Abuse in Your Community, which helps cities learn valuable lessons from one another.
Additionally, ONDCP has facilitated city-to-city dialogue, provided training and technical assistance, and brokered improved relationships between cities and their Federal partners using diverse venues including summits, video and audio teleconferences, and leadership meetings. ONDCP has worked in conjunction with the US Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities to convene and facilitate mini-summits for mayors and their policy staff. Representatives from several cities have been linked via video and audio teleconferences on a variety of issues relating to the drug problem, including prostitution and addiction, community health and epidemiology, and building better community coalitions.
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