"White House Shifts Away From ‘War on Drugs’ Rhetoric"

[Cha]

<snip>

"Government Moves More Toward Treating Addiction as Illness"

"Quietly, free of headlines and fanfare, the Obama White House is toning down the bellicose “war-on-drugs” position that’s defined the country’s narcotics policy for the last 25 years.

Appearing in Vienna last week for the 53rd annual United Nations meeting on global drug policy, administration officials shifted away from the decades-old approach of attacking drug use as a crime to be penalized. Instead they moved toward a strategy of tackling addiction as an illness to be treated, a number of health and human rights advocates who attended the event told TWI.

Drug reformers for years have promoted so-called “harm reduction” measures as a more effective and humane way to treat drug addiction and the diseases that often accompany it — an approach that runs counter to the punitive attitude epitomized by the Reagan administration’s “war on drugs.” And while the Obama White House — behind Gil Kerlikowske, the White House drug czar, and his deputy, Thomas McLellan — remains officially opposed to the hot-button harm reduction language, officials have also conceded that the current strategy isn’t working, advocates say. That sharp break from past administrations has left reformers hopeful that the Obama White House will mark a new era in the nation’s fight against drug abuse — one that prioritizes treatment and prevention above rap sheets and prison time."

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http://washingtonindependent.com/79552/white-house-shifts-away-from-war-on-drugs-rhetoric

[goclark]

1. K

[Lindsey]

2. Addiction IS a true medical condition. People are self-medicating

because of brain chemistry issues. I feel so bad for folks that are put in the "criminal" category when they should be receiving medical treatment just like a diabetic does. This "war on drugs" is absolutely ridiculous.

[Cha]

3. Totally agree..and hopefully

there will be help for them instead of lumping them in with the criminals. It only makes good sense.

[FrenchieCat]

4. This is what I'm talking about!

A friend of mine's daughter was denied health care insurance,
because she had been treated for addition (meth)when she was like 16 years old or something,
and the insurance company had to pay....now they don't want to insure her once she turned 19.

This News goes hand in hand with health Insurance.

Has this been posted elsewhere? Cause it should!

[Drunken Irishman]

5. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

He needs to start selling heroin out of the WH and using the south lawn for marijuana fields.

[Cha]

7. Poppy Fields on the South Lawn..

who the hell needs an Organic Veggie Garden?:P

[Hekate]

6. "Quietly, free of headlines and fanfare..." I think there's a lot of that good work going on...

... behind the scenes in this Administration.

Whether it's simply Obama's style of getting things done and taking care of business, or whether they simply believe it can get done better out of the spotlight-glare of Repubs and media -- stuff is getting done.

Very necessary, overdue, and important stuff.

Hekate

[Cha]

8. I think it's both and some

extra thrown in that we don't even know about.