Prescription Abuse is Priority, Says Drug Czar
May 21st, 2009 by Rick
In an interview with USA Today on Wednesday, Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, commented that one of his priorities within the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will be to crack down on prescription abuse.
We get overly concerned about drugs coming in, but the pharmaceuticals are here already.
Under his plans Kerlikowske wants doctors and pharmacists to be able to log prescriptions, particularly to the addictive drugs, so that law enforcement can track them. Some states already have a database of such, known as prescription-monitoring programs.
We’re going to shout that from the rooftops. We have a national effort to combat swine flu. In the same way, we can bring all forces to bear on the drug problem.
Although Kerlikowske takes a step back from previous administrations with the view on the war on drugs, he hasn’t completely escaped the dark side — at least not in front of over 300 police, federal agents and other law enforcement:
Legalization isn’t in the president’s vocabulary, and it certainly isn’t in mine.
Two things come to mind about the prescription monitoring programs:
- What rights would we as citizens and patients have for our records to be private and confidential, as the Hippocratic oath assures? Does this mean any local yokel sheriff’s department will have access to the database on a mere whim, or will the information be protected and they would have to have a warrant to access it?
- If more states begin to participate in these programs, what are they doing to safeguard our information from the computer intrusion specialists? After all, we reported a few weeks ago that a prescription monitoring program in VA was hacked. If the script kiddies can get through, what about infiltration by government trained hackers from other countries?
Although the new Drug Czar and his viewpoints are considered by some to be a breath of fresh air, we still need to be vigilant about the stale stench that could easily engulf him.
New Drug Czar Says ‘War on Drugs’ is Over
May 14th, 2009 by Russ
The dreaded 40-year old policy of incarcerating and demonizing drug users in this country may finally be coming to an end. In his first official interview, the new director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy declared that waging a ‘war’ against US citizens was not something he intended to continue.
A week to the day after he assumed office, Gil Kerlikowske, began to make good on the Obama administration’s promise to effect a sea-change in the US’s drug policy. In talking about the policy shift, Kerlikowske noted the uselessness of the ”War on Drugs” slogan:
Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a ‘war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see it as a war on them… We’re not at war with people in this country.
A former police chief of Buffalo and Seattle, Kerlikowske’s administrations have been unusually open minded in allowing experimentation with controversial needle exchange programs and reducing incarcerations of casual drug users.
While Kerlikowski has pledged to focus on the public health aspects of drug use and generally shift away from heavy incarceration policies, one does not get the impression that he’s going to completely reverse course from the status quo.
Described by colleagues as ‘open to discussion’ and a ‘blank slate,’ he’s not known to have ever favored decriminalization or any other radically innovative drug policies. He seems more inclined to go with the flow of public discourse than to forge ahead on any idealistic crusades.
That being said, the idea of an open minded drug czar was unthinkable only six months ago. Thoughtfulness and reasonability have been in short supply in that department for decades. It seems that the winds of change are finally blowing in the right direction.
Seattle’s Top Cop Becomes New Drug Czar
May 8th, 2009 by Rick
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate approved Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske’s nomination to the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Kerlikowske is a 36-year law enforcement veteran, with the past nine being Seattle’s top cop. Kerlikowske is known for his programs in Seattle that reduced the demand for drugs by prevention and treatment instead of following the harsh federal guidelines.
Kerlikowske is highly open to coordinating with other countries, as well as local and state governments to form partnerships to reduce drug trafficking and drug use. Before you blow the trumpets and welcome in the winds of change, realize that because of Vice President Biden’s knowledge of federal drug policy, there is no need for the Director of ONDCP to have Cabinet level access to President Obama.
VP Biden may know about federal drug policy, but it’s him and his buddies that had created the drug czar position, the war on drugs and put us in the quagmire that we are currently muddling through. It’s ironic that they would do something like that, denying Kerlikowske to fufill that part of the job, when he is the right man for the job. Kerlikowske says he will use Biden as a resource to his office but unfortunately if he actually listens to him, then maybe things won’t change for the better.
Kerlikowske is entering the office in turbulent times when it comes to the war on drugs. As he well knows, the Portugal and Switzerland experiments of legalizing drugs were deemed successful. Mexico even legalized a small amount of drug possession, in order to hopefully curb the Mexican cartel violence. Kerlikowske says the demand for the drugs has to be reduced… something which he should know would never happen. Unless drugs were to be made legal, which would take away the currency to the cartels and slowly choke the life out of them.
More on the New Drug Czar
February 13th, 2009 by Perry
The more I hear about our new director of national drug policy, Gil Kerlikowske, more I’m thinking he might not be a total disaster. Naturally, anything short of complete and utter legalization, or views more conservative than Marc Emery, and the MPP and NORML is disappointing. But there have been signs throughout Kerlikowske’s 36-year career that have shown he might not be a rank-and-file drug-war advocate.
Alison Holcomb, drug policy director for the ACLU of Washington, said Kerlikowske’s officers have “demonstrated compassion” in not arresting known growers and users in medical marijuana cases.
He recently gave his blessing to a pilot program in drug-plagued Belltown for officers to send drug users to treatment or job centers instead of jail. Treatment advocates praised Kerlikowske for setting a respectful tone emulated by the rank and file toward the city’s many innovative services for addicts.
In 2003, the chief had initially opposed Initiative 75, a measure approved by Seattle voters that made enforcement of marijuana for adult personal use the lowest priority for police and city attorneys. However, activists say he has since ordered his officers to implement the law.
These are all good signs for those holding out hope for an end to federal raids.
The New Drug Czar Is Here
February 12th, 2009 by Perry
Ending months of speculation, the Seattle P-I reports a former Seattle police chief will be named the country’s next “drug czar.”
Unfortunately, it’s not Norm Stamper, it’s Gil Kerlikowske – and the jury is still out on him.
Kerlikowske has kept a national profile in the last nine years. As Seattle’s chief of police he’s appeared on several major networks as a member or chair of multiple national law enforcement organizations. He’s spoken out on topics like nonlethal weapons for officers to emphasizing community policing.
Impressively, he leaves Seattle with crime at a 40-year low.
I haven’t seen anything from NORML about him yet, but I’m sure we’ll hear more once the announcement is made official.
Having lived next to Seattle for a couple years, I’ve heard several firsthand accounts of the police being fairly reasonable in the city in regards to possession scenarios, as long as you’re not a dirtbag or uncooperative.
How well Kerlikowske meshes with Eric Holder, who heads the Department of Justice, will be an interesting dynamic to watch.
NBPA Voices Disapproval for New Drug Czar
December 4th, 2008 by Perry
Not due in office for at least another six weeks, President Obama’s cabinet decision has already triggered some preemptive signs of concern.
The National Black Police Association, and other nonprofit organizations, recently wrote a letter to Obama voicing concerns over news that Rep. James Ramstad (R-Minn.) would be Obama’s Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, commonly referred to as the “drug czar”.
The NBPA cited Ramstad’s past opposition to medical marijuana, needle exchange and sentencing reform for drug users as their main objections with the choice.
Excerpt from the letter:
While we applaud Representative Ramstad for his courageous and steady support for expanding drug treatment access and improving addiction awareness, and honor his own personal and very public triumph over addiction, we have strong reservations about his candidacy for the drug czar position.
While Ramstad is generally considered a “rank-and-file” Republican according to his voting history, he also has a record of bi-partisan effort, which may have been a factor in his nomination.
Obama has yet to publicly respond to the letter.
