The President's National Drug Control Budget: Continuing Increased Support for Prevention and Treatment

Yesterday, President Obama announced his Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 budget requests, which includes the National Drug Control Budget request of $26.2 billion to reduce drug use and its consequences in the United States. This request demonstrates a continued commitment to the National Drug Control Strategy and its comprehensive approach to drug policy.

The FY 2012 budget request includes funding for critical areas of drug control policy, including:

• Prevention - Spearheaded by the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education, Federal resources totaling $1.7 billion support education and outreach programs aimed at preventing the initiation of drug use.

• Treatment - The FY 2012 Budget proposes $8.9 billion in Federal funds for early intervention and treatment services for substance abusers.

• Domestic Law Enforcement - Over $9.5 billion in FY 2012 Federal resources are requested to support domestic law enforcement efforts, including facilitating partnerships between Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, to identify, dismantle, and disrupt sophisticated national and international drug-trafficking and money-laundering organizations.

• Interdiction - The Federal budget for interdiction activities, which is designed to interrupt the trafficking of illicit drugs into the United States, totals $3.9 billion in FY 2012.

• International Activities - The FY 2012 Budget requests over $2.1 billion to provide international support for the disruption or dismantlement of significant international drug organizations.

In addition, the FY 2012 budget request includes funding to support programs to reduce prescription drug abuse and drugged driving.