White House Official Says Drug Addiction Is A Public Health Issue, Not A Crime [View all]

[kpete]

White House Official Says Drug Addiction Is A Public Health Issue, Not A Crime
By Intern on Jun 12, 2012 at 9:00 am

Gil Kerlikowske, President Obama’s top adviser on drug policy and director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, gave a speech yesterday arguing for the treatment of drug addiction as a public health issue, not a crime. “Drug addiction is not a moral failing on the part of the individual, but a chronic disease of the brain that can be treated,” said the White House drug czar. Kerlikowske argued that the paradigmatic shift in policy focus is necessary because an emphasis primarily on incarceration and the criminal status of drug users fails to treat the problem by disregarding prevention, treatment, and recovery:

According to estimates from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 8 percent of Americans age 12 or older – about 21 million people – needed but did not receive substance abuse treatment at a specialty facility in 2010.

We are taking a close look at laws meant to deter drug use that unintentionally hurt people on the path to recovery. Research from the National Institute of Justice found 38,000 state and local statutes that impose additional penalties on people convicted of crimes-including drug-related crimes.

These laws burden people who have already served their sentences-in other words, they have already paid their price back to society. We must modify or repeal laws that keep a qualified person in recovery from getting the basics they need to rejoin society.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2012/06/12/497731/drug-addiction-public-health-issue/
http://news.yahoo.com/drug-czar-kerlikowske-promotes-paradigm-shift-abuse-181822773--abc-news-politics.html