How Goes the War on Drugs?

How Goes the War on Drugs? Martin Y. Iguchi, Ph.D. RAND DPRC & UCLA School of Public Health Picture source: LA Times

What are we trying to accomplish? • A drug free society? • User reduction? • Use reduction? • Harm reduction? • Why the focus on “illicit” drugs?

Is the “war” metaphor appropriate? • What are the implications of “war”? • Are we winning? • How can you know? • What are our benchmarks?

UNODC Andean Coca Surveys 2005 Comparison: In 2001 Colombian coffee farms covered 1 million ha Source: UNODC 2006

Are Interdiction Efforts Successful? Comparison: >170,000 mt of coffee shipped to US every year from Colombia Source: UNODC 2006

Cocaine Production Factoids • Cocaine may be grown from cutting or seed - with harvest after 6-18 months • 30+ year plant life • 3-4 harvests per year • UNODC and Colombian government survey: • 6,300kg/ha/yr of fresh coca leaf • Translates to 2,700kg/ha/yr sun dried leaf • 7.7 kg/ha/yr pure cocaine hydrochloride Source: UNODC 2006

Cocaine Profit in 1990 • Farmer cost was $700/ha to grow cocaine • Profit to farmer was $1,600/ha • Sold on streets in US for $150,000 Source: Caulkins et al. 2005

Enforcement Affects Consumption Through Price Grower Risks & Costs Eradication Leaf Price Retail Price Smuggler Risks & Costs Interdiction Import -Export Price Retail Price Risks & Costs Enforcement Retail Price Consumption

Prohibition Does Increase the Price of Cocaine Source: UNODC 2006

Cocaine Prices Declining1981-2000

Prohibition Does Increase the Price of Cocaine Source: UNODC 2006

A Brief Overview of the RAND “Controlling Cocaine” Model

Treatment is Most Cost Effective Option by Several Measures

Different Evaluation Time Horizons Favor Different Drug Control Strategies SOURCE: From Caulkins et al., Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentences, p. 36.

Alcohol and nicotine policies need to be part of a comprehensive illicit drug control strategy • There is significant evidence that alcohol and marijuana are economic complements, not substitutes. • There is additional evidence suggesting that alcohol and cocaine are economic complements. • Cigarettes and marijuana also appear to be economic complements.

Examining the Impact of Criminalizing Drug Use on the Health of Minority Families Martin Y. Iguchi, Ph.D. RAND and UCLA School of Public Health

In 2005, 35 million Americans (age 12 or older) committed an illegal act.

In 2005, 35 million Americans (age 12 or older) committed an illegal act. They used an illicit drug

Prison Admissions for a Drug OffensePer 100,000 Adults (Iguchi & Fain, 2006) Picture Source: NY Times

The Increase in Drug Offender Prison Entries Has Disproportionately Affected Blacks

The Disproportion is Even More Dramatic When Viewed on a Per Capita Basis (per 100,000 Adults)

Comparison of Male Drug Offender Prison Entrants 1983 and 1999 • In 1983, roughly 1 in 1,500 adult black males and 1 in 6,900 adult white males entered prison on a drug offense • In 1999, roughly 1 in 130 adult black males and 1 in 1,800 adult white males entered prison on a drug offense

Drug Offender Prison Admissions also Increased Disproportionately Among Black Women (rate per 100,000 adult women)

Since 1989, Over 50 % of Prison Admissions for Hispanic Women Have Involved Drug Offenses

The Prevalence of Drug Use Is Similar Among Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics Hispanic Black White Percentage of population reporting drug use in the prior month (2005) Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Per Capita Violent Crime Arrests Did Not Change Much During the Same Time Period for any Racial/Ethnic Group

Sentencing disparity - In 1988 Congress decided that 5g crack would be treated the same as 500g powder - resulting in a 5 year mandatory minimum prison sentence. Even though 500g powder = 448g crack Enhancement laws (school zones, weapon possession) Socioeconomic factors (focus on low income populations) Uneven enforcement (profiling) Behavioral/environmental vulnerability (public purchase) Differences in consumption and offending Three Strike Laws exacerbate above effects Many Cumulative Reasons for Disproportions Have Been Proposed

We Decided to Shift Focus from Numbers Incarcerated to Implications for Quality of Life, Access to Care , and Health Disparities • During the past decade, many laws were enacted in the name of public safety that specifically targeted drug offenders • A number of unintended consequences of these laws extends to family members and ultimately to their communities • We made a preliminary synthesis of the effects of these laws, particularly as they apply to women and children in minority communities

How Might a Felony Drug Conviction Affect Quality of Life and Access to Care for the Individual, Family, and Community? • Children and families • Health care benefits • Housing availability • Access to higher education • Immigration status • Employment opportunities • Political representation • Drug use and recidivism Source: Iguchi, London, Forge, Hickman, Fain, Riehman (2002). Elements of well-being affected by criminalizing the drug User. Public Health Reports, 117(1): S146-S150.

Children and Families of Drug Offenders Are Likely to Be Affected • In 1999, an estimated 1.5 million children under the age of 18 had one or both parents in state or federal prison • Black and Hispanic children are much more likely than white children to have a parent in prison

Children and Families of Drug Offenders Are Likely to Be Affected • Other relevant laws include those mandating rapid adoption, parental rights termination, or those that specify imprisonment as ground for divorce • Families are dismantled, greater economic and child care burdens fall to the mother, or if not to the mother, to relatives and the community at large

Both Felons and their Families Lose Health and Welfare Benefits • Drug felons are permanently barred from receiving food stamps or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) although 32 states have modified the ban - using state funds for drug felons • In some states (e.g., Missouri), a criminal conviction can be grounds for losing insurance coverage

Access to Public Housing is Seriously Restricted by New Laws • The “One Strike and You’re Out” legislation of 1996 revised screening and eviction procedures for public housing • The law allows housing authorities to consider substance abuse when making access and eviction decisions. In 2003, 5% denied housing and 6% evicted for drug-related reasons (GAO, 2005) • As written, the law encourages consideration of rehabilitation and drug treatment options • In practice, public safety is often the overriding consideration - leaving drug offenders and their families with few housing options

Higher Education is Less Accessible for Those With Drug Convictions • A conviction for drug possession revokes eligibility for federal education assistance for at least one year • A conviction for drug sales revokes eligibility for at least two years • Eligibility can be reinstated if student completes a rehabilitation program and passes two unannounced drug tests • In 2003-04 - 41,000 applicants denied loans (GAO, 2005)

Immigrants Convicted of Drug Felonies Can Be Deported Without Judicial Review • U.S. prisons currently house more than 84,000 foreign nationals • The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act precluded judicial review of INS decisions • Since 1996, the INS has greatly increased the deportation of “aggravated felons” removing 61,093 in 2000 • Drug felonies make up 41 percent of those cases

How Goes the War on Drugs?