$60 Million Still Being Poured Into National Anti-Drug Campaign Proven a Failure

Description: After research group Westat determined that a major anti-drug campaign for youth was a failure, and after the GAO validated the review, the program still runs and is currently being funded another $60 million.

A study by the Rockville, Maryland research group Westat, validated by the General Accounting Office, showed that $1.2 billion of taxpayer money was pumped into a youth anti-drug campaign that failed to show a positive result. The campaign was the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign that ran between 1998 and 2004, created and run by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), a branch of the White House.

The Westat group measured improvements in drug use or opinions of drug use by students and found that the campaign, rather than lessening drug use, “may have promoted perceptions among exposed youth that others’ drug use was normal.”

Even parents receiving these drug messages were not impressed. The Westat review showed that more parents talked to their kids about drugs subsequent to being exposed to the campaign but did not monitor their children’s drug use any more vigilantly.

Still, the ONDCP was bold enough to recently ask Congress for another $130 million to continue the campaign. On their website they complain of a lack of support when the response was just $60 million for this failed campaign.

“Drug use and addiction are still growing in this country,” stated Gary Smith, Executive Director of Narconon Arrowhead, one of the country’s leading drug and alcohol rehab centers, located in Canadian, Oklahoma. “The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration calculates that 20.4 million Americans are current drug users. That number has been climbing since 1996. The current education and rehabilitation methods cannot, therefore, be effective.

“Investments in drug eductaion must be channeled to programs proven to result in lower drug and alcohol use,” Mr. Smith added. “But when a person of any age can’t decide to quit because he is addicted, it’s a different matter.” Mr. Smith explained that recovery from addiction requires a thorough detoxification step that helps relieve cravings, counseling that assists the addict to recover from the ravages of drug use, and life skills training so the person has the skills to stay drug-free after recovery. The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program results in a 70% success rate for those who graduate from the program.