Drug War Growing Under Obama's Watch

According to 2011 funding "highlights" released by the ONDCP, the Obama administration is growing the drug war and tilting its funds heavily toward law enforcement over treatment. ...

The budget places America's drug war spending at $15.5 billion for fiscal year 2011; an increase of 3.5 percent over FY 2010. That figure reflects a 5.2 percent increase in overall enforcement funding, growing from $9.7 billion in FY 2010 to $9.9 billion in FY 2011. Addiction treatment and preventative measures, however, are budgeted at $5.6 billion for FY 2011, an increase from $5.2 billion in FY 2010.

In short, the Obama administration's appropriations for treating drug addiction are just short of half that dedicated to prosecuting the war.

The budget for enforcement, interdiction, and international campaigns are more than double that of treatment. Treatment funding increased by a hair, but it's a fraction of enforcement. Moreover, in its drug budget (.pdf), the Obama Administration omits the costs of local drug enforcement and incarceration, which is an obvious attempt to minimize the actual cost of the drug war. But no matter how you look at it: The drug war is growing under Obama, not shrinking, and Kerlikowske's attempt to ditch the term "drug war" is laughable.

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