CRIMINAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

COMPREHENSIVE DRUG PREVENTION AND TREATMENT POLICY

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors Drug Control Task Force has held hearings in numerous cities across the country where mayors testified that drug treatment was woefully inadequate within their communities; and

WHEREAS, drug use and its consequences of increased crime and shattered lives, threaten all Americans from every class, race and religion; and

WHEREAS, among our nation’s youth there has been a substantial increase in the use of most drugs since 1992 when 5.3 percent of youth used drugs compared to 9 percent in 1996; and

WHEREAS, one of every four twelfth graders is an illegal drug user compared to one in eight for eighth graders; and

WHEREAS, chronic users of illegal drugs are estimated to be 3.6 million citizens; and

WHEREAS, methamphetamine is the most prevalent manufactured drug in the United States and is sweeping the country from its western base eastward; and

WHEREAS, 1.4 million prisoners, 80 percent of our national prison population, have a drug problem or violated drug laws; and

WHEREAS, drug treatment success rates exceed that of many cancer therapies; and

WHEREAS, low and moderate income citizens are not covered by health insurance or have plans that do not fund adequate treatment,

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls on the Congress and the Administration to develop a national, comprehensive drug prevention and treatment policy that makes treatment available to any American citizen who desires to rid him/herself of drug addiction; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors enters into a new partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) within HHS to develop effective and innovative community based drug prevention and treatment programs and to convey the success of these programs to the American public; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors commends HHS and SAMHSA for working with mayors to launch the new Targeted Capacity Assistance program that funds local governments directly in their efforts to respond to emerging drug problems and to address unmet treatment needs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a new national policy on drug prevention must solicit the involvement of parents, teachers, community leaders, mentors and the private sector in educating the nation’s youth about the life-threatening consequences of drug use, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the current national advertising campaign to prevent drug abuse, administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, be doubled to ensure that every media market in the United States is saturated with anti-drug messages to help prevent drug use among our nation’s children.