Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Rafael Lemaitre 202-395-6618
April 28th, 2003

(Washington, DC) —John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), today released the Spanish language version of President Bush's National Drug Control Strategy. The Strategy commits unprecedented resources to the treatment of drug abuse, including a new $600 million, three-year voucher plan that will expand access to substance abuse treatment, enhance consumer choice, and increase provider accountability.

The Strategy builds on last year's balanced approach focused on preventing drug use before it starts, healing America's drug users, and disrupting the market for illegal drugs. It also reports solid progress over the past year toward meeting President Bush's goals of reducing drug use by 10 percent in two years and 25 percent in five years. Recent data from the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future survey show the first significant downturn in youth drug use in nearly a decade, with reduced drug use noted among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders.

Director Walters stated, "We hope that by releasing this blueprint of our counterdrug efforts in Spanish we will be able to share our plan for reduced drug use in America with our hemispheric partners. Much of the violence that our hemispheric partners face is due to the demand for drugs here in the United States. It's a tragedy that the American drug consumer is the single largest source of funding for anti-democratic activity in our hemisphere. We intend to do our part to reduce the hemispheric problem of drug abuse by continuing to place a heavy focus on demand reduction efforts such as prevention and treatment. We have made important progress in reducing youth drug use. We now must accelerate and broaden that progress. Maintaining our momentum will require a sustained focus on a balanced strategy and a stronger-than-ever partnership with parents, educators, and community leaders who have the power to make the drug problem smaller in communities across America."

Illegal drugs exact an enormous toll on our society. Drugs drain the U.S. economy of $160 billion dollars a year in economic costs to our society. Sixteen million Americans use drugs on a current basis, and 5.6 million meet the criteria for needing drug treatment. Of those, 62 percent are dependent on marijuana.