The Limits of the Czar's Ukase: Drug Policy at the Local Level
Abstract
As the concern with drugs has risen ever higher, enormous political attention has been focused on the need for a national strategy. Congress created a new drug czar's office to coordinate federal antidrug efforts. It also charged this new office with setting, for the first time, a national drug control strategy. A focus on national strategy, however, is misplaced because it ignores the local nature of drug problems. During the second half of the 1980s. Congress expressed growing frustration with the internecine feuds between federal agencies and the failure of various coordinating mechanisms to prevent strategic and tactical conflict. In 1984, The executive branch responded by proposing legislation creating the National Drug Enforcement Policy Board, chaired by the Attorney General. Officials from other federal drug enforcement agencies, such as the Customs Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration, were seconded as staff for this new interagency organizations; it had only a small staff of its own. In 1987, the President expanded the Board to include the demand side agencies such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Department of Education, and rechristened it the National Drug Policy Board. Again, the Board was staffed by Personnel from the member agencies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA257671
Entities
People
- John G. Haaga
- Peter Reuter
Organizations
- RAND Corporation