Public Health: How Can America Benefit by Solving Its Drug Problem?

It’s not clear which Federal agency would derive the greatest benefit from resolving the illegal drugs problem in the US. Yes, it’s a public health issue and many would point to the Health and Human Services department. Others would point to the Department of Justice which expends huge amounts of tax dollars on trying to enforce the laws, prosecute, and punish (imprison) those engaged in illegal drug activities; and they work to prevent the drug trade or manufacture in illegal drugs. But there are both benefits to and costs in taxes across many other federal agencies and entities that connect with illegal drugs. Consider the connection of these drugs with Immigration, Homeland Security, Dept. of Defense, Dept. of Education, Dept. of Interior, Congress, and (you can add your own list here). The problem with illegal drugs is that they are not just a one-dimensional problem. Add to this the impact on State and local governmental agencies and the cancerous nature of the problem should be easily understood as a national issue worthy of the attention and action of our government, which has fundamentally failed to adequately or competently cope with let alone address drugs for decades.

So, what is the value of continuing to spend more and more each year on the nation’s illegal drug problems and be not only unsuccessful but allowing the problems to grow more harmful each year? Add to this the funds allocated to deal with drug-treatment efforts and other cost-causing side-effects from illegal drugs. If the US has a “War on Drugs”, it doesn’t seem that we have any generals or strategy that can effectively deal with the problems, and certainly not win the war.

If those elected to represent you, and those appointed to execute a cost-effective policy would clearly not pass an Intelligence Test on this topic; can you?

[Note: Answers follow the last Question.]

Question A:   How much money do illegal drugs generate in the US?

(1). $10 B to $50 B

(2). $51 B to $100 B

(3). $101 B to $150 B

(4). $151 B to $200 B

(5). $201 B to $250 B

Question B:   What is the Drug Enforcement Agency’s annual budget?

(1). $500 M to $1.0 B

(2). $1.01 B to $1.5 B

(3). $1.51 B to $2.0 B

(4). $2.01 B to $2.5 B

Question C:   What Departments/Agencies have budgets that exceed illegal drugs revenues?
Select each entity whose budget is larger than revenues from illegal drugs.

(1). Dept. Agriculture

(2). Dept. of Commerce

(3). Dept. of Defense

(4). Dept. of Education

(5). Dept. of Energy

(6). Dept. of Health and Human Services

(7). Dept. of Homeland Securities

(8). Dept. of Housing and Urban Development

(9). Dept. of the Interior

(10). Dept. of Justice

(11). Dept. of Labor

(12). Dept. of State

(13). Dept. of Transportation

(14). Dept. of the Treasury

(15). Dept. of Veterans Affairs

(16). Environmental Protection Agency

(17). International Assistance Programs

(18). NASA

(19). Social Security Administration

(20). Office of Personnel Management

(21). Other Defense Civil Programs

(22). Others: Legislative Branch, Judicial Branch, …

Question D:   How many years has the US been fighting the drug war?

(1).  29 or less

(2). 30 – 39

(3). 40 – 49

(4). 50 – 59

Question E:    Why haven’t US efforts to prevent illegal drugs been successful?
Select all that apply.

(1). Political corruption

(2). Rebellious youth / counter-culture / peer-pressure

(3). Entertainment Media

(4). Economy

(5). Criminal organizations

(6). Congress

(7). Illegal immigration

(8). Pharmaceutical companies

(9). Citizens

(10). Profit from criminalization

Question F:    Who benefits from the current US Illegal Drug policies?
Select all that apply.

(1). Organized crime

(2). Politicians

(3). Pharmaceutical

(4). Congress

(5). Law Enforcement entities for illegal drugs

(6). Drug cartels

(7). Foreign nations involved in production, trade, or terrorism

(8). Incarceration businesses

Question G:   What is the simplest way to resolve the US drug problem?

(1). Enforce existing laws

(2). Increase law enforcement funding

(3). Legalize drugs

(4). Increase funding for addiction treatment

(5). Convert illegal drugs to prescription approved with treatment program participation

(6). Make non-user participation in illegal drug activities a mandatory death penalty

(7). Continue with the current policies and programs

Question H:   What are the characteristics that would constitute a rational US Drug policy?

(1). It would adhere to Christian values

(2). It would have a positive cost-benefit assessment

(3). There would be less harm done to individuals, families, communities, and the nation

(4). The economy would be improved and be more productive

(5). The US educational system would improve

(6). Treatment for addiction would be commonplace

(7). Involvement in illegal drug sales, production, distribution would remain a crime

Question I:      Which measures should Increase (I) or Decrease (D) as evidence/proof of an effective Drug policy?
Answer each item with either an “I” or “D”.

(1). Use of designated illegal drugs

(2). Funding anti-drug efforts from tax-payers

(3). Illegal drug over-doses occurring year-over-year

(4). Organized and gang crime revenues

(5). Average life-expectancy for each generational age-group

(6). Corruption of medical professionals

(7). Politicians lying about having a plan to stop illegal drugs

(8). The propagation of illegal drug use in adult groups

(9). The propagation of illegal drug use in non-adult groups

Question J:    What prevents Congress from solving the nation’s illegal drug problems?
Select all that apply.

(1). Inability to understand the problem

(2). Allowing legalization of marijuana

(3). Lacking an understanding of basic economic principles

(4). Passing popular anti-drug legislation

(5). Failure to comprehend scientific and medical information

(6). Not following their ideological principles

(7). Being unwilling to compromise with the ‘other’ party

(8). Knowing what the solution regardless of information to the contrary

Question K:   Could a Presidential Commission do a better job than Congress?

(1). Yes

(2). Most likely with proper conditions being agreed to beforehand

(3). Unlikely because politicians will insist on being participants

(4). No

ANSWERS:

Answer - A:  3

Rationale - A:      This is likely to be a ‘bottom’ estimate with the real dollar amount higher perhaps up to double. So, some may consider Illegal Drugs a significant business in the nation. If it were one company it’s in the ranks of companies like Amazon, Costco, Honda, Verizon, a couple of the big pharmaceuticals, and yes lots of names you would know. Perhaps this is noteworthy and should tell us something.

Answer - B:  2

Rationale - B:      Not exactly a puny budget, but then it isn’t a particularly huge one from a governmental perspective for the US. This would be approximately $20M per state. Would you think that $20M for your state would be able to provide an effective organization to deal with illegal drugs? Well, I’m sure that the states all spend a lot more on their own drug enforcement entities that you pay for so that probably explains why all the states have been so successful at eliminating illegal drugs and their consequential problems. Your state is fine, right?

Answer - C:  1, 3, 6, 14, 15, and 19

Rationale - C:      You may be surprised at some of the departments in this group: Agriculture, H&HS, Treasury; but I would point out that it’s the ones who’s budgets are below that of illegal drugs that provide a perspective on the comparative disadvantages they face. Since drugs are not their primary focus being excessively out-gunned puts these departments in a poor position: Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, EPA, Education, and those really small budget entities.

Answer - D:  3

Rationale - D:      If we use Nixon’s drug policy effort in 1971 as the starting point, then it’s 46 years. Of course, the US has been combating drugs for longer than that, it’s just that it wasn’t as prominently identified as a problem across all segments of society. But if we consider the outstanding level of success that we have made against illegal drugs then I am sure that you agree we should continue with this time-tested approach. Thank God, we have had successive Congressional and Presidential leaders from both Democratic and Republican parties sustain this approach.

Answer - E:  4, 6 and 9 are the primary culprits.

Rationale - E:      Item 4 – Economy is simple, there is money in illegal drugs. It money that is easier to make from drugs than many could get from a job. Add to this that there is demand (Item 9 – Citizens), there will be an economic force that doesn’t go away by edict (making drugs illegal).  Add to the mix item 6 - Congress is dealing with the issue in terms of an ideological view that these drugs are bad and making them ‘illegal’ solves the problem. Just prosecute those involved and “problem solved”; except of course there a 41+ years track-record that might indicate not actually solved.

If you considers 1, 5 and 10 then you are indicating that the economics of illegal drugs are able to support political corruption, criminal organizations (where they are different from the political ones), businesses that feed off of bad policies, and other aspects of our society that are destructive to its own goals and values.

Items 2, 3, 7 and 8 as facets of our society that inherently get entangled with any national issue or problem because they are parts of our society and thus part of the reality that the problem exists in and that constrain the problem space that the solution must deal with.

Answer - F:  All do.

Rationale - F:      There are financial benefits to all these entities related to illegal drugs whether directly or from funding related to anti-drug activities. Politicians and thus Congress are able to use illegal drugs as a fund-raising tactic regardless of whether they have any concept of how to resolve the problem.

Answer - G:  5

Rationale - G:     Co-opting the economics of illegal drugs to create a system that embeds treatment with use would negate the profit-driver for others and reduce the costs to society from trying to fight criminalized activities.

Answer - H:  2, 3, 4, 6 and 7

Rationale - H:      Items 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 are goals and objectives that a sane and intelligent society would want under a democratic system that is dedicated to the welfare of its citizens and the protection of the nation’s survival and future.

Answer - I:  D: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9;  I: 5

Rationale - I:        “D” items result in changing the economics of illegal drugs, you fundamentally destroy most of the essential underpinnings required to sustain the illegal drug business in the US.  For item 5, the result is just a statistical consequence of fewer people dying from illegal drugs.

Answer - J:  1, 3, 4, 5, and 8

Rationale - J:       Items 1, 3, 4, 5, and 8 characterize the situation where ignorance, wishful thinking, and beliefs versus facts are highly correlated with failure outcomes.

Item 6 is the opposite of what members of Congress do and so doesn’t prevent them from succeeding but contributes to their failure.

Item 2 is a case if they were to do it, they would likely just reduce the damage that they do; but they will do it in as incompetent a manner as possible thus contributing to the problem again.

Answer - K:  2

Rationale - K:      The significance of item 2 being the answer isn’t related to the approach being a ‘Presidential’ commission, but that there are conditions that need to be met that allow and enable an independent group to effectively address the issue and deliver a solution. These requirements include STEM-oriented and trained individuals, a committee chair that is apolitical and unaffiliated with a party, and authorized to issue their reports and proposal without any approval from any governmental entity. Other conditions should be explicitly established and documented by the commission at its inception and approved by the chair.

Item 3 is the most likely reality because politicians will want to impose their views and solutions into the reports and proposed policies.

Item 1 is correct but assumes Congress isn’t involved. Who couldn’t do better than Congress?

Item 4 is self-evidently false based on the empirical evidence of 41+ years of failed policy.