Wht House Czar calls for end to War on Drugs

Gary Fields (Wall Street Journal) May 14, 2009

Gil Kerlikowske, the new White House drug czar, signaled yesterday his openness to rethinking the government's approach to fighting drug use.

Kerlikowske says [war] analogy is counterproductive; shift aligns with administration preference for treatment over incarceration

WASHINGTON -- 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.

In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said yesterday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation's drug issues.

DISCUSS: “That the War on Drugs has been a complete failure is not even a question anymore” -- David Dimston

"Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," he said. "We're not at war with people in this country." More>>

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