Substance Abuse & White House 2008 Budget
The White House budget proposal for 2008 has a few ups and downs for the substance abuse treatment and prevention field.
While some areas are marked for decent increases, such as the Drug-Free Communities Act and the National Anti-Drug Media Campaign, others weren’t quite so fortunate. The Centers for Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention were targeted for a combined cut of nearly $84 million.
One area that is also looking at being cut is the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, by almost $5 million. For many in the treatment and prevention field this would be a good thing, if it meant that there was more money being made available for rehabilitation and education programs, but the cuts to those areas as well are leaving people scratching their heads.
Are there other areas or new programs being planned that are taking some of this funding? If there is a lack of performance from programs that have received funding in the past, then instead of just cutting it outright, maybe advocates and lawmakers could help fund those that do work.
What areas do you think should get more or less funding when it comes to making a dent in the supply and demand of harmful substances in the country?
Since prescription drug abuse continues to out-pace other drugs, perhaps a good start would also be to funnel more money into revising the FDA drug approval line, removing pharmaceutical company influence in medical schools, reduce direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising and beef up the prescription drug monitoring programs in every state.
Article by Eric Mitchell
While some areas are marked for decent increases, such as the Drug-Free Communities Act and the National Anti-Drug Media Campaign, others weren’t quite so fortunate. The Centers for Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention were targeted for a combined cut of nearly $84 million.
One area that is also looking at being cut is the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, by almost $5 million. For many in the treatment and prevention field this would be a good thing, if it meant that there was more money being made available for rehabilitation and education programs, but the cuts to those areas as well are leaving people scratching their heads.
Are there other areas or new programs being planned that are taking some of this funding? If there is a lack of performance from programs that have received funding in the past, then instead of just cutting it outright, maybe advocates and lawmakers could help fund those that do work.
What areas do you think should get more or less funding when it comes to making a dent in the supply and demand of harmful substances in the country?
Since prescription drug abuse continues to out-pace other drugs, perhaps a good start would also be to funnel more money into revising the FDA drug approval line, removing pharmaceutical company influence in medical schools, reduce direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising and beef up the prescription drug monitoring programs in every state.
Article by Eric Mitchell
Labels: political
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