Biden Introduces Drug Czar Nominee

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Domestic Issues

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Lauding him as the most qualified person to reduce illegal drug use in the United States, Vice President Joe Biden today introduced the Obama administration's nominee to be the new drug czar, Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske.

Biden, who was central to the creation of the Office Of National Drug Control Policy, said the economy suffers $350 billion a year in costs resulting from drug and alcohol abuse – and said there is an "even bigger cost in human suffering."

Kerlikowske, meanwhile, said that reducing illegal drugs is "largely dependent on our ability to reduce demand for them – and that starts with our youth."

He referenced on his own stepson Jeffrey's drug arrests, noting that "in my own family, I have experienced the effects that drugs can have on our youth, our families and our communities."

According to the Washington Times, Kerlikowske's stepson is now being held without bail in a Florida jail, apparently because of a parole violation.

As director of the Office Of National Drug Control Policy, Kerlikowske would coordinate drug policy across the government. The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.

Kerlikowske has been Seattle's police chief for nine years and has 36 years of law enforcement experience, and during his tenure in Seattle crime rates have fallen to record lows.

Biden stressed that Kerlikowske faces "daunting" challenges in the Southwest thanks to drug trafficking from Mexico, a concern echoed by President Obama in a statement on Kerlikowske's nomination.

"With escalating violence along our Southwest border and far too many suffering from the disease of addiction here at home, never has it been more important to have a national drug control strategy guided by sound principles of public safety and public health," the president said. "We must demonstrate to our international partners, the criminal organizations threatening to undermine stability and the rule of law in those nations, and the American people, that we take seriously our responsibility to reduce drug use in the United States."

Biden, who lauded drug courts, prisoner re-entry programs and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program in his remarks, added in a statement that Kerlikowske "understands that combating drugs requires a comprehensive approach that includes enforcement, prevention and treatment."

President Obama has specified that drug czar will no longer be a Cabinet-level position, as it was under President George W. Bush, though the White House stresses that Kerlikowske will have direct access to the president.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by honestabe8 March 11, 2009 6:31 PM EDT: ghostofwallygeorge: is demornay anywhere around?; Reply to this comment


by honestabe8 March 11, 2009 6:16 PM EDT: dongo3: communist dictator, eh? you sure are a shrewd student of the political landscape.; Reply to this comment


by ghostofwallygeorge March 11, 2009 6:16 PM EDT: Medical Marijuana; Reply to this comment


by honestabe8 March 11, 2009 5:52 PM EDT: anti-zion: i haven't been at the puking stage in about 10 years. i don't miss it.; Reply to this comment


by scottyusa March 11, 2009 5:31 PM EDT: If ever there was a war we should declare over and a position we should delete it is the drug czar and his army of zealots. What is this czar stuff anyways? Do we admire Russia so much that we steal their titles?; Reply to this comment


by gce651 March 11, 2009 5:26 PM EDT: Please end the ineffective and costly current war on drugs!

LEGALIZE/DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA.

We've created a whole criminal class of millions of Americans by locking up people for petty drug crimes and use.

Time for a reasonable, rational change.; Reply to this comment


by ajmarine2 March 11, 2009 5:20 PM EDT: The current Acting Director is Edward Jurith; his position ubiquitously is nicknamed the Drug Czar, a term first used in the media by then-Senator Joe Biden in October 1982

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_National_Drug_Control_Policy; Reply to this comment


by honestabe8 March 11, 2009 5:20 PM EDT: noloyalisti: in a sense, he is going after the legal drug pushers. i can't help but feel that if pot is legalized, less alcohol will be consumed. after all, pot is a much more pleasant "high" and even if you overdo it, there is no hangover, and you don't puke on your shoes; Reply to this comment


by quapawsix March 11, 2009 5:14 PM EDT: Write your representative in Washington and tell them enough is enough stop the wasteful spending and legalize NOW; Reply to this comment


by noloyalisti March 11, 2009 5:09 PM EDT: Should not this person also go after the LEGAL drug pushers at the big pharmaceutical companies? And the doctors they pay to push "legal" and harmful drugs on the public rat population (and are paid off by big pharma)?; Reply to this comment