Pubdate: Sun, 26 Aug 2001
Source: Peoria Journal Star (IL)
Copyright: 2001sPeoria Journal Star
Contact:  http://pjstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/338
Author: Charles F. Manski
Note: Charles F. Manski is Board of Trustees Professor in Economics at 
Northwestern University in Evanston. He recently chaired a National 
Research Council committee that produced the report "Informing America's 
Policy on Illegal Drugs: What We Don't Know Keeps Hurting Us."

U.S. SHOULD ANALYZE EFFECTIVENESS OF DRUG POLICY

The nation has long struggled to reconcile two approaches to control 
illegal drug use - to view it as an illness that can be treated, or as a 
crime that should be punished. Drug policy has reflected both ideas. 
However, the way the nation spends money clearly demonstrates the current 
emphasis.

Expenditures on drug enforcement have increased almost tenfold since the 
1980s. These include measures to limit the manufacture, sale or use of 
illegal drugs, as well as international policies to reduce the supply of 
drugs through crop eradication and the disruption of drug trafficking. Of 
the $19 billion the federal government spends each year on drug control, 
approximately $12 billion is dedicated to enforcement.

Criminal justice figures also tell the same story. In 1998, for example, 
1.6 million people were arrested for drug offenses -three times as many as 
in 1980 - and 289,000 drug offenders landed in state prisons - 12 times the 
number in 1980.

And yet, even though tough enforcement policies have been in place for many 
years now, it still is not clear how these measures affect illegal drug 
use. I recently chaired a committee of the National Research Council that 
examined the data and research available to inform U.S. drug policies. We 
found that the nation lacks the necessary information to gauge the 
effectiveness of current enforcement activities. For a public policy of 
this magnitude, that is simply unconscionable.

It is increasingly clear that the nation has set its enforcement policy 
without the benefit of scientific evidence. For every $100 spent on drug 
enforcement at the federal level, less than $1 is spent on gathering 
crucial data and conducting research. In contrast, an infrastructure has 
been in place since the mid-1970s to study the effectiveness of drug 
prevention and treatment programs. Although there is still much to be 
learned, progress is being made.

A major goal of enforcement is to reduce drug supply and drive up costs, 
thereby cutting consumption. But assessing whether that is indeed occurring 
is severely hampered by the absence of adequate, reliable data on the 
quantity of drugs that users consume and the prices that they pay.

It appears that current enforcement policy has increased drug prices 
relative to what they otherwise would be. But we do not know the degree to 
which higher costs have decreased drug use, or which users have been most 
affected. Moreover, we do not know which drug control measures actually 
affected drug costs, or the magnitude of the price increase.

However, better data alone will not yield an understanding of effective 
drug-enforcement policy. The nation needs to establish a substantial 
research program to determine how drug traffickers and users respond to 
enforcement efforts. To design effective programs, policymakers should know 
the extent to which producers and traffickers thwart enforcement in one 
geographic area by moving their smuggling routes or production elsewhere. A 
better understanding also is needed of the typical time lag between 
successful enforcement operations and changes in the way that producers and 
traffickers conduct business.

A rational drug policy must take into account the costs and benefits of 
drug penalties. In particular, the nation needs research that shows how the 
severity of penalties affects illegal drug use. To what extent do current 
criminal and other sanctions deter initiation and intensification of drug 
use? As matters stand, we do not know.

Taking the steps needed to gather the right kind of information won't be 
easy. However, armed with this knowledge, the nation might finally be able 
to stop debating and develop a coherent, effective drug policy.
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MAP posted-by: Beth