May 25, 2009

Kerlikowske Sees New Direction in National Drug Control Policy

Will Place More Emphasis on Public Health Aspects of Drug Problem

By Laura DeKoven Waxman

In his first interview after becoming Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske signaled that there will likely be significant changes in the way the federal government approaches drug control. The Wall Street Journal in a May 14 article by Gary Fields reports that Kerlikowske said, “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.”

The article also suggests that the use of the term “war on drugs” is likely to cease. “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.”

Kerlikowske, most recently Seattle’s police chief until he became ONDCP Director, was confirmed by the Senate on May 7. He will address the 77th Annual Conference of Mayors in Providence on Saturday, June 13.