The Office of National Drug Control Policy, charged with the task of oversight and administration of federal drug policy, has budgeted billions of U.S. dollars each year toward the reduction of illicit drug use, but despite the billions spent, drug use continues to be on the rise.
This graph shows the % of Americans aged 12 and over who are currently using illicit drugs.Since 2003, the ONDCP has budgeted more than $10 billion annually toward the prevention, treatment and overall reduction of drug use in the United States.
In 2014, the estimated budget for drug control spending was set at $25.212 billion.
This budget has grown exponentially in the past ten years but despite increased spending on the practices of prevention, treatment, law enforcement to reduce supply, anti-smuggling operations to further reduce supply and international operations to crack down on incoming supplies from other countries, drug use in the U.S. has continued to spiral out of control.
Unfortunately, despite all of the increases in spending, the trend for drug abuse amongst Americans over the age of 12 is equally rising. An estimated 9% of the public population admits to current drug use, a number up from a few years ago.
Unfortunately, there's no way to know exactly how drug control policy will prevent drug use or reduce the use of drugs by Americans. While projected spending budgets for the upcoming year are expected to be increased by approximately $150 million, will we see a subsequent (and unwelcomed) increase in drug use throughout America? Or, will the nomination of Michael Botticelli to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy prove to be a positive measure in the fight against drug abuse throughout the United States - only time will tell.