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Drug Abuse (7)
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Drug Abuse (7)
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James M. Cannon Files (Ford Administration)
James Cannon's Issues Files
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U.S. Congress. 1789-
Crime
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Presidential messages
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The original documents are located in Box 11, folder "Drug Abuse (7)" of the James M.
Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Some items in this folder were not digitized because it contains copyrighted
materials. Please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library for access to
these materials.
Digitized from Box 11 of the James M. Cannon Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
MEETING WITH THE MEXICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL
Tuesday, June 8, 1976
4:00 p.m. (10 minutes)
Oval Office
FORD LIBRARY
From: Jim Cannon
I. PURPOSE
To thank the Mexican Attorney General (Pedro Ojeda-Paullada)
for the excellent cooperation he and his government have shown
in the fight against drug trafficking and to urge continued
close cooperation between our two countries.
II. BACKGROUND, PARTICIPANTS & PRESS PLAN
A. Background: Mexico is the source of an estimated
80 to 90 per cent of the heroin and more than half of the
marihuana available in the United States. Attorney General
Ojeda-Paullada has been a strong ally these past several
years as the United States and Mexico have worked to
suppress drug traffic. This year, for the first time, the
Mexican government used herbicides to destroy crops of
opium and marihuana and this has resulted in the eradication
of twice as much opium and marihuana as in any previous
year.
Ojeda-Paullada is extremely proud of his accomplishments
but sensitive to any implied criticism of the Mexican effort.
This is an opportunity for you to publicly commend him and
at the same time urge continued close cooperation and
greater effort so far as the noneradication aspects of the
Mexican antinarcotic campaign are concerned.
B. Participants: Attorney General Ojeda-Paullada
Attorney General Edward H. Levi
DEA Administrator Peter B. Bensinger
Ambassador Sheldon B. Vance (State Department)
Alexandro Gertz-Manero ( Assistant to the
Mexican Attorney General )
Raul Ortiz y Ortiz (Interpreter)
White House Staff: Brent Scowcroft, Jim Cannon and Dick
Parsons.
C. Press Plan: White House Press photo opportunity.
Meeting to be announced.
2
III.
TALKING POINTS
1. I am delighted to have a chance to meet you,
since I have heard a great deal from Peter
(Bensinger), Sheldon (Ambassador Vance) and
Dick (Parsons) about your contribution to the
fight against drug abuse.
2. I was especially impressed at the results of the
recently completed opium eradication campaign.
I am confident that we in this country will be
able to see the results of that campaign within
a few months. I want you to know that we
appreciate the efforts of your government in
this regard.
3. You and President Echeverria have been very
far-sighted in devoting a high priority to this
program. As you know, experience has shown that
no nation is immune from drug abuse and producing
nations inevitably become consuming nations unless
strong action is taken.
4. We are taking strong action on our side of the
border as well. I have recommended legislation
to ensure that major drug traffickers receive
mandatory prison sentences upon conviction.
I have also made a number of other recommendations
to tighten up our laws in this area, and we are
spending about $500 million a year to treat
and rehabilitate addicts.
5. As you know, Secretary Kissinger will be visiting
Mexico later this week, and I will be interested
in receiving his report upon his return.
6. I look forward to meeting your new President
some time following your country's upcoming
election so that we might continue the dialogue
that has been established concerning mutual
cooperation in the fight against drugs.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
MEETING WITH THE MEXICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL
Tuesday, June 8, 1976
4:00 p.m. (10 minutes)
Oval Office
From: Jim Cannon
I. PURPOSE
To thank the Mexican Attorney General (Pedro Ojeda-Paullada)
for the excellent cooperation he and his government have shown
in the fight against drug trafficking and to urge continued
close cooperation between our two countries.
II. BACKGROUND, PARTICIPANTS & PRESS PLAN
A. Background: Mexico is the source of an estimated
80 to 90 per cent of the heroin and more than half of the
marihuana available in the United States. Attorney General
Ojeda-Paullada has been a strong ally these past several
years as the United States and Mexico have worked to
suppress drug traffic. This year, for the first time, the
Mexican government used herbicides to destroy crops of
opium and marihuana and this has resulted in the eradication
of twice as much opium and marihuana as in any previous
year.
Ojeda-Paullada is extremely proud of his accomplishments
but sensitive to any implied criticism of the Mexican effort.
This is an opportunity for you to publicly commend him and
at the same time urge continued close cooperation and
greater effort so far as the noneradication aspects of the
Mexican antinarcotic campaign are concerned.
B. Participants: Attorney General Ojeda-Paullada
Attorney General Edward H. Levi
DEA Administrator Peter B. Bensinger
Ambassador Sheldon B. Vance (State Department)
Alexandro Gertz-Manero ( Assistant to the
Mexican Attorney General )
Raul Ortiz y Ortiz (Interpreter)
White House Staff: Brent Scowcroft, Jim Cannon and Dick
Parsons.
C. Press Plan: White House Press photo opportunity.
Meeting to be announced.
2
III.
TALKING POINTS
1. I am delighted to have a chance to meet you,
since I have heard a great deal from Peter
(Bensinger), Sheldon (Ambassador Vance) and
Dick (Parsons) about your contribution to the
fight against drug abuse.
2. I was especially impressed at the results of the
recently completed opium eradication campaign.
I am confident that we in this country will be
able to see the results of that campaign within
a few months. I want you to know that we
appreciate the efforts of your government in
this regard.
3. You and President Echeverria have been very
far-sighted in devoting a high priority to this
program. As you know, experience has shown that
no nation is immune from drug abuse and producing
nations inevitably become consuming nations unless
strong action is taken.
4. We are taking strong action on our side of the
border as well. I have recommended legislation
to ensure that major drug traffickers receive
mandatory prison sentences upon conviction.
I have also made a number of other recommendations
to tighten up our laws in this area, and we are
spending about $500 million a year to treat
and rehabilitate addicts.
5. As you know, Secretary Kissinger will be visiting
Mexico later this week, and I will be interested
in receiving his report upon his return.
6. I look forward to meeting your new President
some time following your country's upcoming
election so that we might continue the dialogue
that has been established concerning mutual
cooperation in the fight against drugs.
6/8/76 Dech- Did in we alvance? know
about This Foreign Policy: News
N-2
forts to cut the flow of cocaine from Bolivia.
Secretary Kissinger and Bolivian President Hugo Drugs Banzer Suarez
HAK, Bolivian Pres. Issue Communique
agreed Monday on the necessity of both governments to step up ef
The agreement was announced in a communique which also
expressed the satisfaction at the high level of understanding
and cooperation between the government and people of the two
countries.
The communique was issued shortly before Kissinger's depar-
ture for Santiago for a meeting at the OAS.
Before Kissinger arrived, some 60 political prisoners were
freed from Chilean jails. AP, UPI, ABC -- (6/7/76)
U.S. Loans to Support British Pound
The United States and nine other industrial nations Monday
offered to loan Britain more than $5 billion to support the plunging
pound.
Under the terms of this temporary credit, the bank of England
can borrow up to $2 billion from the U.S. government. ABC, CBS - (6/7)
N. Vietnamese Deny POW's Remain
The North Vietnamese government said Monday there are no
remaining American prisoners of war in North Vietnam.
A Michigan VFW delegation, who met with the North Vietnamese
in Paris last week, said Friday they had the impression there still
were POW's in that country. ABC, CBS -- (6/7/76)
Castro Says Cuba Not Involved with JFK Assassination
Premier Fidel Castro said Monday that Cuba had no part in
the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
His remarks, reported by Havana radio, were intended to refute
a revival of recent theories that Cuba was responsible for the
Kennedy death. CBS -- (6/7/76)
RECEIVED
JUL 29 1976
CENTRAL FILES
file
Justice - drugs
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 8, 1976
Dear Congresswoman Fenwick:
Because of my personal involvement in overseeing the Federal
drug program for the President, Tom Loeffler forwarded your
letter of May 6 to me.
First, I want to thank you, on behalf of the President and
personally, for your support of the Federal program to control
drug abuse. As you know, this is a program to which the
President has devoted a great deal of personal time for many
months and one which he considers to be of highest priority.
In 1972, the Congress enacted P.L. 92-508, which authorized
and requested the President to declare the week of October 15
as "National Drug Abuse Prevention Week." Since that time, the
third week of October has been proclaimed "National Drug Abuse
Prevention Week." In the expectation that the third week of
October 1976 would be SO designated, many organizations across
the country are already planning against that schedule. Thus,
to set July 13-August 13 as "National War on Drugs Month" at
this late date would cause considerable confusion and difficulty.
You may be sure, however, that the high priority the President
places on combating drug abuse will continue for as long as
the problem exists.
Thank you for writing and for your support of the President's
program in the drug abuse prevention area.
Kind personal regards.
Sincerely
law
James M. Cannon
Assistant to the President
for Domestic Affairs
GERALE FORD ETBRARY
The Honorable Millicent Fenwick
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D. C. 20515
RECEIVED
1976
ENTRAL FILES
June 8, 1976
Dear Congresswoman Fenwick:
Because of my personal involvement in overseeing the Federal
drug program for the President, Tom Loeffler forwarded your
letter of May 6 to me.
First, I want to thank you, on behalf of the President and
personally, for your support of the Federal program to control
drug abuse. As you know, this is a program to which the
President has devoted a great deal of personal time for many
months and one which he considers to be of highest priority.
In 1972, the Congress enacted P.L. 92-508, which authorized
and requested the President to declare the week of October 15
as "National Drug Abuse Prevention Week." Since that time, the
third week of October has been proclaimed "National Drug Abuse
Prevention Week." In the expectation that the third week of
October 1976 would be so designated, many organizations across
the country are already planning against that schedule. Thus,
to set July 13-August 13 as "National War on Drugs Month" at
this late date would cause considerable confusion and difficulty.
You may be sure, however, that the high priority the President
places on combating drug abuse will continue for as long as
the problem exists.
Thank you for writing and for your support of the President's
program in the drug abuse prevention area.
Kind personal regards.
Sincerely,
James M. Cannon
Assistant to the President
for Domestic Affairs
The Honorable Millicent Fenwick
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D. C. 20515
JMC:RDP:EEJ:MED:med
FORD is LIBRARY
bec: Tom Loeffler
Ed Johnson, OMB
June 8, 1976
Dear Congresswoman Fenwick:
Because of my personal involvement in overseeing the Federal
drug program for the President, Tom Loeffler forwarded your
letter of May 6 to me.
First, I want to thank you, on behalf of the President and
personally, for your support of the Federal program to control
drug abuse. As you know, this is a program to which the
President has devoted a great deal of personal time for many
months and one which he considers to be of highest priority.
In 1972, the Congress enacted P.L. 92-508, which authorized
and requested the President to declare the week of October 15
as "National Drug Abuse Prevention Week." Since that time, the
third week of October has been proclaimed "National Drug Abuse
Prevention Week." In the expectation that the third week of
October 1976 would be so designated, many organizations across
the country are already planning against that schedule. Thus,
to set July 13-August 13 as "National War on Drugs Month" at
this late date would cause considerable confusion and difficulty.
You may be sure, however, that the high priority the President
places on combating drug abuse will continue for as long as
the problem exists.
Thank you for writing and for your support of the President's
program in the drug abuse prevention area.
Kind personal regards.
Sincerely,
James M. Cannon
Assistant to the President
for Domestic Affairs
The Honorable Millicent Fenwick
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D. C. 20515
JMC:RDP:EEJ:MED:med
FORD is LIBRARY
bec: Tom Loeffler
Ed Johnson, OMB
June 8, 1976
Dear Congresswoman Fenwick:
Because of my personal involvement in overseeing the Federal
drug program for the President, Tom Loeffler forwarded your
letter of May 6 to me.
First, I want to thank you, on behalf of the President and
personally, for your support of the Federal program to control
drug abuse. As you know, this is a program to which the
President has devoted a great deal of personal time for many
months and one which he considers to be of highest priority.
In 1972, the Congress enacted P.L. 92-508, which authorized
and requested the President to declare the week of October 15
as "National Drug Abuse Prevention Week." Since that time, the
third week of October has been proclaimed "National Drug Abuse
Prevention Week." In the expectation that the third week of
October 1976 would be so designated, many organizations across
the country are already planning against that schedule. Thus,
to set July 13-August 13 as "National War on Drugs Month" at
this late date would cause considerable confusion and difficulty.
You may be sure, however, that the high priority the President
places on combating drug abuse will continue for as long as
the problem exists.
Thank you for writing and for your support of the President's
program in the drug abuse prevention area.
Kind personal regards.
Sincerely,
James M. Cannon
Assistant to the President
for Domestic Affairs
The Honorable Millicent Fenwick
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D. C. 20515
FORD
is
JMC:RDP:EEJ:MED:med
bcc: Tom Loeffler
GERALD
LIBRARY
Ed Johnson, OMB
ILLICENT FENWICK
WASHINGTON OFFICE:
5TH DISTRICT, NEW JERSEY
1610 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20515
TELEPHONE: (202) 225-7300
COMMITTEES:
Congress of the United States
DISTRICT OFFICES:
41 NORTH BRIDGE STREET
SOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY 08876
BANKING. CURRENCY AND
House of Representatives
TELEPHONE: (201) 722-8200
HOUSING
Mashington, D.C. 20515
POST OFFICE BUILDING
SMALL BUSINESS
1 MORRIS STREET
MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY 07960
May 4, 1976
TELEPHONE: (201) 538-7267
MAY 6 1976
Mr. Thomas G. Loeffler
Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs (House)
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D. C. 20500
Dear Tom:
I am writing on behalf of the National Committee to Declare War
on Drugs. They are extremely interested in having the President declare
the month from July 13 to August 13 National War on Drugs Month.
Mr. George Richardson, who is the founder of the organization,
was a colleague of mine in the New Jersey State Assembly, and he has
worked extremely hard to reduce drug addiction in this country. I have
joined him, as have many other people in New Jersey, by agreeing to be a
member of the State Advisory Board.
The War on Drugs Committee has been encouraged by the President's
recent statements about the drug problem and are very interested in
increasing the public awareness of the severity of the problem. Certainly,
a Presidential resolution such as they are suggesting would be a great help
in that goal.
Although I know that Mr. Richardson has written directly to the
President, I am enclosing another copy of the letter for your information.
Thank you for your help.
With all good wishes,
Yours sincerely,
MILLICENT Millient FENWICK
FORD & GERALD LIBRARY
Member of Congress
MF:hk Enclosure. P.S. Congressman Peter Roduno and ) are Honorary
Co. We Chairmen In N.J. to this was in Arups."
are working Together m This in the Howe.
M.F.
THIS STATIONERY PRINTED ON PAPER MADE WITH RECYCLED FIBERS
NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO DECLARE
WAR ON
DRUGS
23 Fulton Street, Newark, N.J. 07102
Phone: (201) 643-3740
AWARDS NIGHT
NEW JERSEY COMMITTEE
April 30, 1976
NATIONAL PRESIDENT
GEORGE RICHARDSON
HONORARY CO-CHAIRMEN
President Gerald L. Ford
GOVERNOR BRENDAN T. BYRNE
GOVERNOR WILLIAM T. CAHILL
The White House
CHAISMAN
DR. PETER SAMMARTINO, Chancellor
Washington D.C.
Fairleigh Dickinson University
CO-CHAIRMEN
HON. RAYMOND BATEMAN,
Former President
New Jersey State Senate
Dear President Ford:
DR. HORACE DEPODWIN, Dean
Rulgers University Graduate School
of Business Administration
Congratulations, and our very sincere gratitude,
MRS. ROBERT MULHOLLAND, Founder
Morris County, N.J.
for the very timely message you conveyed to Congress
Dope Open Golf Tournament
and the nation about the "clear and present danger"
VINCENT COLUCCI,
Vice President
representing by skyrocketing drug addiction levels
New Jersey A.F.L.-C.I.O.
ALTHEA GIBSON, Commissioner
across the nation.
New Jersey Sports Commission
MARY G. ROEBLING,
Chairman of the Board
As you can see from the enclosed material, this is
The National State Bank
COMMITTEE
exactly what our committee has been trying to warn the
ANDREW AXTELL, Commissioner
NawYork/New Jersey
nation about for the past three years.
Port Authority
JUDITH BOYD, Exec. Director
N.J. Hospital Assn.,
We were particularly impressed by your warning that
Women's Auxiliary
RALPH DUNGAN, Chancellor
no federal effort against addiction could curb this
N.J. Dept. of Higher Education
scourge without the active support and cooperation of
HON. ELDRIDGE HAWKINS
N.J. State Assemblyman
citizens working within their own communities. One of
JOEL JACOBSON, President
N.J. Public Utilities Commission
our major goals is to rally the American people to
HON. RONALD OWENS
face the very real threat of addiction to each of them, /
N.J. State Assemblyman
CLARA ALLEN. Director
and to come together in local groups to support federal
N.J. Communications
Workers of America
war on drugs efforts and initiate local supporting action.
DONALD BURLINGAME
You could be of tremendous assistance in our efforts
Marketing Consultant
MARTIN GERBER, Director
to rally the nation behind your call for citizen
Region 9, United
Auto Workers Union
participation.
HON. WILLIAM HART
Mayor, East Orange, N.J.
DR. WYNONA LIPMAN
Will you please allow a few members of our committee
N.J. State Senator
ROBERT NAROZANICK, President
and some members of Congress who support our movement,
N.J. Asphalt Pavement
to meet with you and have you designate the month of
Contractors Association
RICHARD PECKMAN, President
July 13 to August 13, or so, National War On Drugs Month.
N.J. Pharmaceutical Association
BERNARD RUDD, ESQ.
This spans the time of both political conventions, at
Attorney-At-Law
each of which we hope to win a war on drugs plank in
DR. HARRY SMITH, President
Essex County College
their platforms.
JEFF STEWART, President
Denhard and Stewart
Advertising, Inc.
We would follow your war on drugs declaration with a
EUGENE WATSON, President
Equal Opportunities Personnel
series of Walks Against Death, such as the one we had
Services
in Newark, in several cities across the nation. In
further support we would also launch a series of
TV and radio messages designed to involve the American
people and win their active support in a national effort
to combat the scourge of addiction.
MORE
F.esident Gerald L. Ford, cont.
Page 2
If you are interested in more background on our movement, we have
had some earlier correspondence with your office which was answered
by Richard Parsons of the Domestic Council on June 25, 1975. During
the past three years we have also had several meetings with Hugh Morrow,
of the Vice Presidents office, and he can also help to fill you in
on our work.
We know that through united action we can inspire the public to
an effective response to our drug addiction crisis. We look forward
to working with you in the very near future.
Sincerely yours,
GenyC Rihanden
George C. Richardson
President
GCR:if
ENC.
CC: Dr. James Cowan
Congresswoman Millicent Fenwick
Dr. Peter Sammartino
GERALD R. FORD LIBRARY
Governor Raymond Shafer
Congressman Peter Rodino
NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO DECLARE
WAR ON
DRUGS
23 Fulton Street, Newark, N.J. 07102
Phone: (201) 643-3740
WARDS NIGHT
EW JERSEY COMMITTEE
THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, ÁPRIL 28, 1976
ATIONAL PRESIDENT
EORGE RICHARDSON
(ONC) ARY CO-CHAIRMEN
GOVERNOR BRENDAN T. BYRNE
President Asks Congress
WILLIAM T. CAHILL
CHAIRMAN
DR. PETER SAMMARTINO, Chancellor
To Stiffen Antidrug Laws
Tairle gh Dickinson University
O-CHAIRMEN
HON. RAYMOND BATEMAN,
Former President
By PHILIP SHABECOFF
New Jersey State Senate
DR. HORACE DEPODWIN, Dean
Special to The New York Times
Rutgers University Graduate School
of Business Administration
WASHINGTON, April Service immediately upon ar-
MRS ROBERT MULHOLLAND, Founder
President Ford. calling growing riving in the United States rath-
Morris County, N.J.
drug abuse "a clear and present
er than within 24 hours as now
Dope Open Golf Tournament
threat to the health and future
VINCENT COLUCCI,
of our nation,' asked Congress
required. The 24 hours "give
Vice President
today to enact an "aggressive"
ample time to unicad- contra-
New Jersey A.F.L.-C.I.O.
ALTHEA GIBSON, Commissioner
new program to combat narco-
band," Mr. Ford said.
New Jersey Sports Commission
tics, including minimum man-
CApproving the treaty for the
MARY G. ROEBLING,
datory sentencds for traffick-
international control of synthe-
Chairman of the Board
ers.
tic drugs.
The National State Bank
In a message to Congress, the
The President also said he
COMMITTEE
President said that the nation
would take a series of execu-
ANDREW AXTELL, Commissioner
"had not won the war on
New York/ New Jersey
tive actions to fight the illegal
Port Authority
drugs" and that, in fact, previ-
sale of drugs. He announced
JUDITH BOYD, Exec. Director
ous gains in reducing the abuse
that he was establishing today
N.J. Hospital Assn.,
of narcotics wer now being
two new Cabinet committees.
Women's Auxiliary
lost. "In human terms." Mr.
One
committee
would
deal
with
RALPH DUNGAN, Chancellor
Ford declared. drug abuse has law enforcement and the other
N.J. Dept. of Higher Education
become "a national tragedy.
HON. ELDRIDGE HAWKINS
would be concerned with drug
The President asked Congress
N.J. State Assemblyman
abuse prevention, treatment
JOEL JACOBSON, President
to give its first attention to
and rehabilitation.
N.J. Public Utilities Commission
stronger action against the cri-
Mr. Ford also said he would
HON. RONALD OWENS
minal drug trafficker.
direct the Secretary of the
N.J. State Assemblyman
"These merchants of death
Treasury and the Commissioner
CLARA ALLEN, Director
who profit from the misery and
of Internal Revenue to develop
N.J. Communications
Workers of America
suffering of others deserve the
a tax enforcement program
full measure of national revul-
DONALD BURLINGAME
aimed at high-level drug traf-
Marketing Consultant
sion," he said.
fickers, saying. "We know that
MARTIN GERBER, Director
Mandatory Sentences
many of the biggest drug deal-
Region 9, United
Auto Workers Union
Asserting that most convicted
ers do not pay taxes on the
HON. WILLIAM HART
traffickers in heroin and similar
enormous profits they make on
Mayor, East Orange, N.J.
drugs were receiving short
this criminal activity."
DR. WYNONA LIPMAN
sentnces or no sentences at all,
Commenting that "many
N.J. State Senator
ROBERT NAROZANICK, President
he asked Congress to legislate
countries see drug abuse as Dri-
N.J. Asphalt Pavement
sentences of at least three
marily an American problem
years for a first offense, six
and are unaware of the extent
Contractors Association
RICHARD PECKMAN, President
years for a second offense and
to which the problem is truly
N.J. Pharmaceutical Association
six years for selling to a minor.
global in scope," the President
BERNARD RUDD, ESQ.
Mr. Ford said that the pur-
promised to intensify diploma-
Attorney-At-Law
DR. MARRY SMITH, President
pose of this proposal "is not
tic efforts to enlist the widest
FORD
Essex County College
to impose vindictive punish-
possible commitments from
ment but to protect society
other countries to cooperate in
JEFF STEWART, President
from those who prey upon it
attacking the problem.
Denhard and Stewart
Advertising, Inc.
and to deter others who might
GERALD
LIBRARY
'Fight the Scourge'
EUGENE WATSON, President
be tempted to sell drugs."
"All of this will be of little
Equal Opportunities Personnel
The following are other mea-
Services
use, however, unless the Ameri-
sures Mr. Ford asked Congress
can people rally and fight the
to adopt to curb drug abuse:
scourge of drug abuse within
Enabling judges to deny bail
their own communihies and
for defendants arrested for
their own families," the Pres-
drug trafficking if the defen-
ident said. "We cannot provide
dants have reviously been con
all the answers to young people
victed of a drug felony, or if
in search of themselves, but we
they are on parole, are nonres-
can provide a loving and caring
ident aliens, are fugitives or
home: we can provide good
were arrested while in posses-
counsel; and we can provide
sion of a false passport.
gcod communities in which to
Changing provisions of the
live."
law to allow the seizure of
In 1973. President Nixon and
boats, aircraft, other vehicles
others in his Administration as-
and property used to smug-
serted that the nation had
gle drugs up to a value turned the corner" on the drug
of $10,000. The current ceiling
problem. But Mr. Ford's mes-
for the value of such ssizures
sage today indicates that the
is $2,500.
problem is worse than ever. He
GEnacting a law requiring the
pointed out that more than 5,-
forfeiture of cash or other per- 000 Americans a year die from
sonal property found in the the improper use of drugs and
possession of a narcotics viola- that perhaps hulf of all "street
tor when there is evidence the crimes" are drug-related.
cash was intended for use in "In simple dollar terms, drug
connection with an illegal drug abuse costs us up to $17 billion
transacgio transaction.
a year." the President said.
(Giving the Government au-
When signing his message to
thority to prevent profits made Congress, Mr. Ford said. "Now
from the illegal sale of drugs that the problem is worsening.
from being smuggled out of we must not shrink from this,
country.
challenge but rather redouble
CRequiring masters of small cur efforts at all levels to pro-
privately owned boats to report vide the leadership and re-
to the United States Customs sources to reverse the trend."
NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO DECLARE WAR ON DRUGS
P.O. BOX 915
THE STAR-LEDGER, Thursday, April 17, 1974
NEWARK, N. J. 07101
PHONE: 201-759-4309
Thousands march against drugs
By STANLEY E. TERRELL
ADDRESS COMMITTEE HEADED BY RICHARDSON
NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO DECLARE
AWARDS NIGHT
NEW JERSEY COMMITTEE
WAR ON
NATIONAL PRESIDENT
GEORGE RICHARDSON
HONORARY CO-CHAIRMEN
GOVERNOR BRENDANT. BYRNE
DRUGS
GOVERNOR WILLIAM T. CAHILL
CHAIRMAN
DR. PETER SAMMARTINO, Chancellor
23 Fulton Street, Newark, N.J. 07102
Fairleigh Dickinson University
CO-CHAIRMEN
Phone: (201) 643-3740
HON. RAYMOND BATEMAN,
Former President
New Jersey State Senate
DR. HORACE DEPODWIN, Dean
Rutgers University Graduate School
of Business Administration
MRS. ROBERT MULHOLLAND, Founder
Morris County, N.J.
Dope Open Golf Tournament
LYBRARY
VINCENT COLUCCI,
Vice President
New Jersey A.F.L.-C.I.O.
FORD
ALTHEA GIBSON, Commissioner
New Jersey Sports Commission
MARY G. ROEBLING,
GENALD
Chairman of the Board
The National State Bank
COMMITTEE
ANDREW AXTELL. Commissioner
NewYork/New Jersey
Port Authority
JUDITH BOYD, Exec. Director
N.J. Hospital Assn.,
Women's Auxiliary
RALPH DUNGAN, Chancellor
N.J. Dept. of Higher Education
HON. ELDRIDGE HAWKINS
N.J. State Assemblyman
WAR
JOEL JACOBSON, President
N.J. Public Utilities Commission
HON. RONALD OWENS
N.J. State Assemblyman
ON
CLARA ALLEN, Director
N.J. Communications
Workers of America
DRUGS
DONALD BURLINGAME
S
Marketing Consultant
TELEVISIONSPECIAL
MARTIN GERBER, Director
Region 9. United
Auto Workers Union
HON. WILLIAM HART
Mayor, East Orange, N.J.
THE STAR-LEDGER
TO BE FILMED AT:
DR. WYNONA LIPMAN
N.J. State Senator
Saturday, April 17, 1976
ROBERT NAROZANICK, President
N.J. Asphalt Pavement
WAR ON DRUGS
Contractors Association
RICHARD PECKMAN, President
N.J. Pharmaceutical Association
AWARDS NIGHT
BERNARD RUDD, ESO.
Attorney-At-Law
DR. HARRY SMITH, President
Essex County College
THE FELT FORUM
JEFF STEWART, President
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
Denhald and Stewart
Advertising, Inc.
FRIDAY, MAY 21
EUGENE WATSON. President
Equal Opportunities Personnel
Services
file
MEMORANDUM
drugs
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 8, 1976
18
MEMORANDUM FOR:
Jim Cannon
FROM:
Dick Parsons
SUBJECT:
Paul H. O'Neill's Memo of 6-7-76
Re: Office of Drug Abuse Policy
You requested my comments and recommendations concerning the
subject memorandum.
Summary of Memorandum
Congress has included in the second supplemental bill, which
the President signed, a $250,000 appropriation for the Office
of Drug Abuse Policy for the remainder of this fiscal year and
the transition quarter (i.e., October 1, 1976). The question
presented by the memorandum is: Should the President propose
a rescission of the $250,000 appropriation or, in the alterna-
tive, establish the office? OMB recommends that he propose a
rescission of the $250,000.
Discussion
As you will recall, when the legislation establishing ODAP
came to the President, he decided to approve the bill because,
among other things, this was the unanimous recommendation of
all of the Republican Congressional leaders, based on the fact
that a veto of the bill could not be sustained. It is my
personal view that the proposed rescission would similarly not
be sustained. I assume, therefore, that the real reason to
propose a rescission of the $250,000 is to permit the President
to make a political statement concerning the proliferation of
government agencies and outline his attempts to decrease the
size of the Federal bureaucracy.
In my view, this is not the place where the President should
make his stand because of:
the intense public interest in doing something about
the drug abuse problem;
the apparent Congressional interest in addressing this
matter; and
the relatively small amount of money involved.
2
Recommendation
I recomment Option 1. Establish ODAP and submit a 1977
budget for its continuation.
ODAP MEMORANDUM
MESSAGE FOR DICK PARSONS
How do we square support of Option #1 and the President's
statement of March 20 that he would not seek appropriations
for the office?
To support Option 1, I need some statement getting over
this seeming contradiction.
ANSWER FROM DICK PARSONS:
a) The President did not "seek" appropriations for the
office; rather the appropriation was added at the
initiative of the Congress.
b) The question is whether having indicated his disagreement
with the concept, further resistance serves any useful
purpose. In my view, it does not. In fact, further
resistance would be counterproductive.
THE WHITE HOUSE
ACTION MEMORANDUM
WASHINGION
LOG NO.:
Date:
June 7, 1976
Time:
FOR ACTION:
CC (for information):
Phil Buchen
Jim Cannon
Bob Hartmann
Max Friedersdorf
Jack Marsh
FROM THE STAFF SECRETARY
DUE: Date:
Wednesday, June 9
Time:
2 P.M.
SUBJECT:
Paul H. O'Neill's memo 6/7/76 re Office of
Drug Abuse Policy
ACTION REQUESTED:
For Necessary Action
X For Your Recommendations
Prepare Agenda and Brief
Draft Reply
X
For Your Comments
Draft Remarks
REMARKS:
support
Jan 1
PLEASE ATTACH THIS COPY TO MATERIAL SUBMITTED.
If you have any questions or if you anticipate
delay in submitting the required material, ple
Jim Connor
telephone the Staff Secretary immediately.
For the President
file
drug
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 10, 1976
Dear Mr. Secretary:
The President appreciated your prompt
action in designating representatives to
work with you in connection with activities
of the Cabinet Committee for Drug Law
Enforcement. He asked me to thank you for
your thoughtfulness in writing.
Warm personal regards.
Sincerely,
James M. Cannon
Assistant to the President
for Domestic Affairs
The Honorable William T. Coleman, Jr.
Secretary of Transportation
Washington, D. C. 20590
MEMORANDUM
Drugs
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 12, 1976
MEMORANDUM FOR:
Jim Cannon
FROM:
Dick Parsons
D.
SUBJECT:
Drug Abuse Legislation
Art Quern asked me to give you an update on where we are
with the President's drug legislation.
As you know, all of the legislation proposed by the
President in his message on drug abuse has been introduced:
in the House by Congressmen Staggers, Hutchinson, McClory,
Frey and Carter; and in the Senate by Senators Scott (Pa.),
Eastland, Hruska, Thurmond and Buckley.
Hearings on the legislation before the Subcommittee to
Investigate Juvenile Delinquency (Birch Bayh, Chairman),
of the Senate Judiciary Committee, have been scheduled for
July 20 and August 5.
Hearings before the Subcommittee on Health and the Environ-
ment (Paul Rogers, Chairman), of the House Interstate and
Foreign Commerce Committee, have tentatively been scheduled
for late August.
We are in touch with John Rector, the key staff person on the
Bayh Subcommittee, in terms of lining up appropriate Adminis-
tration witnesses.
CC: Art Quern
THE PRESIDENT HAS seen
God's Got A Better Idea
Week of July 19, 1976
To Jerry,
From "Z"
VERSE
that
Proverbs 20:24
Living Bible
#123
"Since the Lord is directing our steps why
try to understand everything that happens
along the way?"
PRAYER
Lord,
As human beings, we always want to know the "why" of everything.
We want to put all the pieces together ourselves and know all the details
before they happen or after they have happened in our lives.
But if we really believe that You are guiding our lives and leading us along
life's way, we will not always try to figure You out.
Forgive me for my human nature that questions. I will do my best to question
as little as I can.
Help me, Father, to accept Your guiding steps and walk in them.
In Jesus Name,
AMEN
Copyright © 1974
William J. Zeoli
All Rights Reserved
ORIGINAL RETIRED FOR PRESERVATION
CENTRAL FILES
MUSHED JUL 22'76
Saw
13 3
MICH
GOSPEL FILMS, INC.
POST OFFICE BOX 455
Mrs. Nell Yates
MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN 49443
The White House
616 / 773-3361
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D. C. 20500
[Aug 19767
CRIME
Q. Mr. President, the latest FBI crime reports indicate
there have been reductions in violent crimes and crime
against property.
A.
(Talking Points)
1. It is better, and these reductions reflect the
vigorous effort at all levels of government -
local, state and Federal -- to reduce crime.
2. But more must be done, and that's why I sent
anti-crime legislation to Congress in June 1975,
and additional legislation to curb drug abuse
last April.
3. If Congress would act on this legislation, we
could do more to make people safe on the streets
and safe in their homes.
4.
Congress should pass the mandatory minimum sentence
law which would make imprisonment certain for
persons convicted of Federal offense with a dan-
gerous weapon and those convicted of kidnapping,
highjacking, and trafficking in heroin and other
hard drugs.
5.
More Almost Ehan half of all crime today is related to
drugs.
FORD & 03RALO LIBRARY
6.
The habitual drug felon should be denied bail
if he is arrested for selling heroin or other
hard drugs. If he is convicted, he should
receive a mandatory prison sentence that will
keep him out of the hard drug business.
FORD i LIBRARY GERALD
file
Drigs
THE WHITE HOUSE
INFORMATION
WASHINGTON
August 12, 1976
MEMORANDUM FOR:
JIM CONNOR
FROM:
JIM CANNON
SUBJECT:
Lynn Scowcroft Memorandum on
Commitment for Narcotics Control
Assistance to Bolivia
I believe the President should approve the program
recommended by the Department of State and NSC
calling for up to $53 million in narcotics control
assistance to Bolivia over seven years (FY 1977 to
FY 1948), for the following reasons:
1. Peru and Bolivia produce virtually all of the world's
coca (90 per cent plus), from which cocaine is
manufactured. The United States would be a
principal beneficiary of reduced coca cultivation
by either or both of these countries. Bolivia is
ready to cooperate with us now, and Peru isn't far
behind. In order to secure their cooperation,
however, they must be assured of our financial
assistance not just next year but in the years to
follow. They want to know we are committed to
completion of the job, not just in getting it under
way. That's why we must make a multi-year commitment.
2. The package is for up to $53 million over seven years.
If the Bolivians fail to keep their end of the
bargain or if the total cost of the program is less
than $53 million, we are not committed to further
expenditures.
3. We are not necessarily talking about "new" money.
I am advised that AID annually expends between
$15 million and $30 million in Bolivia on programs
designed to assist that country. I would argue, and
the State Department argues, that some (if not most)
of the $45 million in AID money to be used for crop
substitution would be chargeable against the normal
AID to Bolívia. In effect, we would be killing two
birds with one stone: providing economic assistance
to Bolivia and reducing the flow of narcotics into
this country.
FORD is LIBRARY GERALD
2
4. While it is true that cocaine is not as high a
priority drug as heroin, this country still has a
very significant interest in reducing the use of
this illicit narcotic. As you know, many in law
enforcement believe that excessive cocaine use leads
to extremely violent behavior. Moreover, there is
no question but that the profits made in cocaine
trafficking are being used by organized crime to
finance other criminal endeavors. The $53 million
contemplated by this program is not being diverted
from other narcotics control assistance programs.
Nor would this money be available for other
anti-narcotics programs. Therefore, the question
of priority is really a red herring.
RECOMMENDATION
Approve multi-year commitment, as recommended by the
Department of State.
1111 WILLIL HOUSE
ACTION MEMORANDUM
WASHINGTON
LOG NO.:
August 9, 1976
Parans
Date:
Time:
FOR ACTION:
CC (for information):
Phil Buchen
Jack Marsh
Jim Cannon
Dave Gergen
Max Friedersdorf
FROM THE STAFF SECRETARY
DUE: Date:
Wednesday, August 11
Time:
10 A.M.
SUBJECT:
Lynn and Scowcroft memo re: Multiyear Budget
Commitment for Narcotics Control Assistance to
Bolivia
ACTION REQUESTED:
X
For Necessary Action
For Your Recommendations
Prepare Agenda and Brief
Draft Reply
X For Your Comments
Draft Remarks
REMARKS:
Levan GERALD STRAIN R. FORD
PLEASE ATTACH THIS COPY TO MATERIAL SUBMITTED.
If you have any questions or if you anticipate a
Jim Connor
delay in submitting the required material, please
For the President
telephone the Staff Secretary immediately.
Drugs
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
July 30, 1976
MEMORANDUM FOR:
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM E. SIMON
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
FROM:
JAMES M. CANNON
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
SUBJECT:
Status of the Narcotics Tax Enforcement
Program, Department of the Treasury
As you know, the President has placed a high priority on the
Federal drug abuse prevention effort. In his April 27 message
to the Congress on this subject, he directed
"
the Secretary of the Treasury to work with
the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service,
in consultation with the Attorney General and the
Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration,
to develop a tax enforcement program aimed at high-
level drug traffickers."
Earlier this week, the President asked me for a comprehensive
status report on the drug abuse program and specifically
about IRS progress in their efforts. In order to tell the
President where we are, I would appreciate having from you a
brief summary of the
-- steps which have been taken to date;
- remaining steps, with anticipated timing; and
-- program objectives and planned resource levels.
This summary should also indicate what internal procedures
IRS has established to handle referred cases, to initiate
investigations and to follow up on cases.
I would appreciate having this information by Thursday,
August 5.
Thank you.
file
Assignment for
Passons
THE WHITE HOUSE
washington
Drugs
August 14, 1976
TO:
DICK PARSONS
FROM:
JIM CANNOM Jun
Would you draft a letter from me to
Secretary Simon setting forth the
additional things that need to be
done at
-
IRS in the Narcotics
Task Enforcement Program?
many Thanks
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
August 9, 1976
MEMORANDUM FOR:
JIM CANNON
FROM:
DICK PARSONS D.
SUBJECT:
Status of Narcotic Tax Enforcement Program
You requested a brief summary of the contents of Deputy
Secretary Dixon's Report on the status of the IRS Narcotic
Tax Enforcement Program.
Basically, the Deputy reports the following:
Steps Taken to Date
1.
On July 27, 1976 IRS and DEA signed a joint Memorandum
of Understanding concerning the exchange of information
between those two agencies. DEA has already supplied
IRS with the names of 200 suspected narcotic violators
and these names have been distributed to IRS field
offices for "appropriate follow-up."
2.
IRS and Customs are developing a similar agreement,
providing for the exchange of information between
those two agencies.
Remaining Steps
1.
IRS anticipates issuing permanent Narcotic Tax Enforcement
Program guidelines to the field and establishing a
permanent reporting system by September 30, 1976.
2.
IRS intends to maintain continuing liaison with DEA
and Customs.
Program Objectives
1.
Without committing himself to a specific number, the
Deputy indicates a possible doubling of IRS narcotic-
related investigations in FY 77.
-2-
General Comment
I am not terribly encouraged by the Deputy Secretary's
report. The DEA/IRS agreement is good as far as it goes,
but if one looks at it closely, one discovers that IRS has
really not committed itself to do very much with the names
DEA supplies. IRS's posture, as reflected in Dixon's memo,
is that, absent additional resources, it simply cannot do
much more than it is already doing. This is based on the
assumption that everything IRS is doing now is as important,
if not more important, than a vigorous narcotic tax enforce-
ment program. If we are willing to buy this assumption,
then we should go after OMB. * On the other hand, if it is
our view that the Narcotic Tax Enforcement Program should
receive priority over other IRS activities, we will have to
figure out a way to bring Commissioner Alexander on board
(which won't be as easy as it sounds).
We should talk about this.
*
OMB takes the position that there is already $15 million
in IRS's Budget for a narcotic tax enforcement program.
You should know, however, that this money has been diverted
to general IRS programs over the past two fiscal years.
CC: Dick Parsons
OF
THE THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
WASHINGTON 20220
1789
August 5, 1976
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HONORABLE JAMES M. CANNON
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
Subject: Status of the Narcotics Tax Enforcement
Program, Department of the Treasury
The attached report is being forwarded to you in
Secretary Simon's absence, even though he has not seen
it.
The report contains a brief summary of steps taken
to date to implement the program, remaining steps and
program objectives, including planned resource levels.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is available to
brief you further at your convenience.
If additional information is needed, please advise
me.
George
Acting Secretary
Attachment
Rle
THE WHITE HOUSE
Drago
WASHINGTON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 1976
JOINT STATEMENT OF
JAMES M. CANNON
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DOMESTIC COUNCIL
and
JAMES T. LYNN
DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
before the
SENATE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
We appreciate the opportunity to address a problem of great national
concern -- drug abuse. We have chosen to submit a joint statement
since both the White Paper on Drug Abuse and the Administration's
budget in this area were the result of close cooperation between the
Domestic Council and the Office of Management and Budget.
The cost of drug abuse to the nation is staggering. Counting
narcotic-related crime -- estimated to account for as much as one
half of all street crime -- health care, drug program costs and
addicts' lost productivity as major items, the dollar cost is
estimated at upwards of $17 billion per year. To that must be
added more than 5,000 deaths each year, and the incalculable burden
of ruined lives, broken homes, and divided communities. Drug
abuse is a problem which affects millions of Americans either
FORD (TORAS
2
directly or indirectly and which strikes at the very heart of our
national well-being.
President Ford has made reducing the tragic toll of drug abuse
one of his Administration's highest priorities, and has invested
a great deal of his time and attention to this effort. He
initiated and then endorsed a major study of the issue which has
resulted in wide understanding and acceptance of the Federal
policy in this area, and in major improvements in agency operations.
He has met frequently with foreign heads of State, Members of
Congress, and members of the Cabinet to seek ways to improve
the program. He has requested additional funds for both law
enforcement and drug abuse treatment in accordance with White
Paper recommendations, and proposed legislation to the Congress
aimed at getting drug traffickers off the street. He has created new
Cabinet committees to ensure that all government resources are
brought to bear on, the problem in a coordinated manner. He has
directed the Internal Revenue Service to develop a tax enforcement
program aimed at high level traffickers. And he has brought the
issue to the American public in several major addresses calling
for a national commitment to combatting this menace to the health
of our nation.
In short, the President is deeply concerned about the ravages of
drug abuse on American society and his commitment to improving
the Federal narcotics program is absolute. We therefore view
3
these hearings as extremely important, and offer our fullest
cooperation and that of our staffs in helping you develop a
complete and impartial understanding of this crucial and
complex issue.
Background
In 1965, an epidemic of heroin use began in the United States.
New use (or incidence) increased by a factor of 10 in less than
seven years. This epidemic began among minority populations
living in metropolitan areas on both coasts where use was
traditional (e.g., New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles,
San Francisco), then spread to other population groups living
in those same metropolitan areas and to other large metropolitan
areas throughout the nation (e.g., Detroit, Boston, Miami,
FORD
Phoenix). By about 1970, heroin use had- begun to appear in
cities of all sizes across the United States.
When the full magnitude of this problem became apparent in the
late 1960's and early 1970's, the Administration, with strong
Congressional support, responded quickly. A vigorous prevention
and treatment component was added to the then-existing law
enforcement efforts. Federal spending for a broad range of
programs aimed both at demand reduction (prevention, treatment,
rehabilitation and research) and supply reduction (law enforcement
and international control) tripled, and then tripled again -- all
within five years. A variety of permanent and temporary offices
4
were created to provide policy guidance, program oversight, and
interagency coordination of the rapidly expanding program.
These included:
The Cabinet Committee on International Narcotics
Control (CCINC), created in 1971 to coordinate
the international control program.
The Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention
(SAODAP), created in 1971 to oversee and coordinate
the development of a comprehensive treatment and
prevention program to balance the existing law
enforcement program.
The designation of the head of the Justice Department's
Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE) as Special
Consultant to the President for Narcotics Affairs
in 1972.
The creation of a special drug abuse staff within the
Domestic Council.
As the drug program matured, many of these temporary offices were
replaced with permanent structures. By mid-1973, for example, the
specialized Domestic Council staff had evolved into a small
office in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the
executive directorship of CCINC had been transferred to the
Senior Adviser for Narcotic Matters (S/NM) in the Department of
State. In July 1973, ODALE was merged with the Bureau of
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the Office of National Narcotics
Intelligence, and those U.S. Customs Service officers involved
in drug intelligence and investigations to create a new Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the Department of Justice,
and the Attorney General was given overall responsibility for
drug law enforcement. Finally, by early 1974, the permanent
5
successor to SAODAP, the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA), was established in the Department of HEW's Alcohol,
Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration. Over the next
18 months, NIDA gradually assumed most of SAODAP's functions,
allowing SAODAP to expire as scheduled on June 30, 1975.
Sufficient progress had been made by late 1973 and early 1974
that Administration spokesmen, including the former President,
began to make cautious statements about "turning the corner
on drug abuse." We now know that the very real progress which
led to this confidence was, in the main, temporary and regional
In fact, at that very time, the underlying trends had already
begun to turn upward after having declined steadily for almost
two years.
By the summer of 1974, Federal drug abuse program administrators
began to realize that conditions were worsening and that the
gains of prior years were being eroded. The deteriorating
situation was confirmed over the next several months and, by
early 1975, it was clear that a major drug abuse problem still
faced the nation.
The White Paper on Drug Abuse
In May of 1975, faced with evidence that the gains made in 1972
and 1973 were being eroded and that the use and availability
of drugs was again increasing, the President directed the
Domestic Council to undertake a thorough review and assessment
6
of the effectiveness of the Federal program to control drug
abuse. Almost 100 individuals from more than 20 different
government organizations participated in this review, and more than 30
other individuals representing almost as many community organi-
zations involved in the drug abuse area contributed valuable
perspective and ideas to it.
The resulting report to the President entitled the White Paper
on Drug Abuse, won wide praise in the Congress and throughout
the country for its candor, practical tone, and sensible
recommendations. On December 27, 1975, after the White Paper's
unanimous endorsement by the members of the Cabinet having
drug abuse responsibility, the President endorsed it and made
it the centerpiece of a revitalized Federal program. We are
pleased, therefore, to note that you have already made the
White Paper a part of the record of these hearings, and we
commend Chapters 1 and 3 to your attention as especially
relevant to your deliberations.
Several basic themes of the White Paper have a direct bearing
on the questions concerning drug law enforcement which this
subcommittee is investigating. In the following paragraphs
we will discuss them, as well as the progress made to date in
implementing them.
The first major theme is that there should be more selectivity
and targeting of Federal law enforcement efforts. These efforts
7
should focus on the arrest of leaders of high-level trafficking
networks, and should move away from "street-level" activities.
Highest priority should be given to reducing the supply of
those drugs, such as heroin, which impose the greatest cost
on society.
Great strides have been made in shifting priorities since publica-
tion of the White Paper. * For example:
Total Federal seizures of heroin increased 54 percent
in the first three quarters of FY 76 over FY 75. During
the same period, the seizures of heroin by foreign
law enforcement officials in cooperation with DEA
increased 137 percent.
Total DEA arrests of high-level violators increased
41 percent in the first 9 months of FY 76 over FY 75,
while arrests of lower level violators decreased
22 percent. Arrests for heroin trafficking increased
by 44 percent, while arrests for marihuana decreased
11 percent.
We expect that DEA Administrator Bensinger and Customs Commissioner
Acree will discuss these results in more detail when they appear
before the subcommittee.
A note of caution should be sounded concerning this concept
of priorities. It does not suggest devoting all resources to
the higher priority drugs and none to lower priority drugs.
*
While not directly relevant to the current investigation,
we are proud to note that similar progress has been made
in shifting priorities on the treatment side as well.
For example, the number of treatment slots filled by
users of low priority drugs has been cut by 57 percent
between October and March, and the number of inefficient
outpatient drug free slots has been reduced by 11 percent.
8
All drugs are dangerous in varying degrees and should receive
attention. Also, many investigative techniques are not easily
targeted by drug or even by level of violator. Often the arrest
of a lower level violator may lead to the subsequent arrest
of higher level violators; and many smuggling networks trade
in a variety of drugs, so immobilizing the network for marihuana
smuggling removes a potential heroin network. Where resource
constraints force a choice, however, we believe the choice should
be made for the higher priority drug and the higher level
violator.
The second major White Paper theme of direct relevance to this
subcommittee is that we must mobilize, coordinate and utilize
more effectively all the resources of the Federal, State and
local governments, and of the private community to combat drug
abuse. While the task force which prepared the White Paper
endorsed the "lead agency" concept, it concluded that opportunities
existed to more fully utilize the resources of the U.S. Customs
Service and the FBI within an integrated Federal law enforcement
program. Further, the task force recommended that the Federal
Government should take the lead in mobilizing the enormous
potential resources available in State and local law enforcement
agencies.
The most important need for increased cooperation and coordination
which existed at the time the White Paper was being developed
9
involved the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S.
Customs Service. Under Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973, a
distinction is drawn between investigative and interdiction
functions with respect to narcotics enforcement. The investi-
gative function was given to DEA and the interdiction function
left with the Customs Service. Unfortunately, the distinction
between interdiction and investigation was not made clear in the
reorganization plan. This ambiguity led to jurisdictional
disputes between the agencies, and an interagency rivalry which
hampered supply reduction efforts.
The most valuable contribution the White Paper made toward the
resolution of these disputes was to focus the debate on a
relatively narrow set of issues, and to point out the considerable
areas of agreement which existed but which were often overlooked.
Since the White Paper's release, the working relationship
between DEA and the Customs Service has improved markedly.
For example:
Last December, officers of the U.S. Customs Service
and the DEA signed and implemented a Memorandum of
Understanding which outlines operating guidelines for
improving coordination between those agencies, thus
signalling an end to the rivalry which had hindered
Federal drug law enforcement efforts for more than
ten years.
To respond to Customs' complaint that DEA was not
providing usable tactical intelligence in sufficient
quantity, DEA established a small unit within its
intelligence shop to work specifically on Customs
requirements. In addition, Customs has made provisions
for assigning three intelligence analysts to DEA's
Headquarters to ensure that DEA personnel are sensitive
10
to Customs' intelligence requirements, and that all
relevant information is passed, and Customs has
assigned personnel to the interagency El Paso Intelligence
Center. The resulting flow of information from DEA to
Customs has increased sharply from a few hundred
specific items per month at the time the Memorandum
of Understanding was signed to nearly one thousand
per month now.
In June, 1976, DEA and Customs agreed on a procedure
which permits Customs to debrief persons arrested for
drug smuggling at the border if DEA declines to do SO.
This had been a major Customs' complaint.
Another example of improved interagency cooperation and fuller
utilization of all Federal resources is the Memorandum of
Understanding signed by DEA and the Internal Revenue Service
in July of this year which provides for the sharing of information
concerning suspected tax violations by major narcotics violators.
It is extremely important in our view to focus on the fiscal
resources of narcotics traffickers, since we know that drug
dealers do not pay income taxes on the enormous profits they
make on this criminal activity. We are hopeful that the new
DEA-IRS agreement will promote the effective enforcement of the
tax laws against high-level drug traffickers who are currently
violating the law with impunity.
Finally, in May of this year the President established two new
Cabinet Committees -- one for drug law enforcement and the other
for drug abuse prevention, treatment and rehabilitation - to
provide direction for, and coordination of, Federal drug programs
and activities. Both of these new Cabinet committees and their
11
supporting working-level
subcommittees are now fully operational
and extremely active. We are particularly impressed by the
skill and enthusiasm shown by Attorney General Levi and DEA
Administrator Bensinger in launching the Cabinet Committee on
Drug Law Enforcement, and by the tangible results of that committee's
work which are already apparent.
Since many of the most serious drugs of abuse originate
in foreign countries, our capability to deal with supplies
of drugs available in the United States to a large degree relies
upon the interest and capability of foreign governments to
control the production and shipment of illicit drugs. Recognizing
this, the President has spoken personally to Presidents Echeverria
of Mexico and Lopez-Michelsen of Colombia and with Prime Minister
Demirel of Turkey in an effort to strengthen cooperation among
all nations involved in the fight against illicit drug traffic.
Further, at the President's direction, the Attorney General
has held several meetings with his counterparts from Mexico and
Peru, and the Secretary of State has discussed mutual narcotics
control problems with the leaders of several nations. The
President has endorsed the proposal of Mexican President Echeverria
to establish a mechanism for formally exchanging information and
ideas between high-level coordinating bodies and he has reaffirmed
the Administration's commitment to continuing to provide
cooperative enforcement through U.S. agents stationed overseas,
technical and equipment assistance and formal training of foreign
12
enforcement officials.
Drug Abuse Budget
After endorsing the White Paper, the President ensured that his
FY 77 budget request to the Congress was consistent with its
major themes and recommendations.
Specifically, the President's FY 77 budget requests additional
funds to implement all major White Paper recommendations.
Additional resources are provided for:
The growing problem of amphetamine and barbiturate
abuse. The White Paper concludes that chronic,
intensive, and medically unsupervised use of amphetamines
and barbiturates ranks just behind heroin abuse as
a major social problem affecting several hundred
thousand Americans. To respond, the budget requests
funds for treatment demonstrations for abusers of
these substances, and provides 20 new positions
within the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
for strengthened regulatory and compliance activities
aimed at preventing diversion of amphetamines and
barbiturates from licit production;
Additional community treatment capacity. Funds were
included for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
to fund at least 7,000 new community treatment slots
and to recover 1,000 lost to inflation, thus providing
Federally-supported community-based capacity to treat
102,000 individuals at one time. In addition, other
managerial actions to ensure greater utilization of
existing community mental health institutions for drug
users, and the treatment capacity of the Bureau of Prisons,
the Veterans Administration, and the Department of
Defense for their specialized clientele will be maintained;
Better targeting of law enforcement efforts at high
level traffickers. The Drug Enforcement Administration
will add 82 positions for improved intelligence and
laboratory analysis aimed at supporting the existing
investigation and enforcement effort, In addition,
research will be focused on improving our capability to
13
monitor drug abuse trends, and on developing tools
and techniques to improve the productivity of
investigators and agents;
Improve job opportunities for ex-addicts. Additional
funds are provided for a joint HEW/Labor program to
investigate ways to provide employment opportunities
for persons in and completing treatment, so that the
distressing situation of returning to the same
conditions which led to drug use can be avoided. In
addition, other managerial actions should ensure improved
application of our vocational rehabilitation and manpower
training services to drug users;
Maximizing effectiveness of border interdiction forces.
A supplemental budget for the U.S. Customs Service
has been approved which provides for the development
and procurement of a variety of technical devices
to detect drugs, for better information on smuggling,
for additional detector dogs, and for improving radar
coverage of aircraft illegally penetrating the south-
western United States.
All of these increases (with the exception of the new community
treatment capacity) are aimed at: (1) improving the selectivity
and targeting in the use of the current budget; or (2) the
more effective mobilization, utilizaton, and coordination of
resources already available in the Federal Government which
can be applied to the fight against drug abuse. Also, in
line with this concept of utilizing existing resources better
and capitalizing on opportunities to "leverage" Federal efforts
with those of State, local and foreign governments, the budget
provides for:
Continued material and technical support for other
nations involved in the fight against drug trafficking
and for the training for foreign narcotics agents;
Continuation of the DEA task force program which
capitalizes on joint Federal and local efforts, and
continued training and laboratory support for State
and local officers; and
1-4
A major multi-year program within the National Institute
on Drug Abuse to evaluate the outcome of various types
of treatment.
The President's budget for FY 1977 requests more than $770 million
for an integrated program of prevention and treatment, as detailed
in the following chart.
DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION BUDGET
OBLIGATIONS IN $ MILLION*
DEMAND REDUCTION
FY 75
FY 76
FY 77
SAODAP
13.0
0.0
0.0
HEW
-ADAMHA (NIDA)
219.7
232.0
248.2
-Office of Education
4.0
2.0
0.0
-Social and Rehabilitation Service
79.0
88.0
94.0
-Office of Human Development
8.8
8.8
9.4
Defense (Note 2)
64.5
58.7
56.0
Veterans Administration
34.8
36.7
38.0
Justice (Note 3)
25.6
24.0
21.9
All Other
8.2
9.9
10.5
457.6
460.1
478.0
SUPPLY REDUCTION
Justice
-Drug Enforcement Administration
135.7
155.0
161.1
-LEAA and other Justice
38.5
43.8
40.7
Treasury
-Customs
38.4
46.3
44.3
-IRS
13.2
13.2
13.2
State (Note 4)
32.0
30.9
34.0
Other
1.9
2.1
2.1
259.7
291.3
295.4
717.3
751.4
773.4
*NOTES
1. All figures adjusted from the FY 1977 budget documents to reflect supple-
mental requests and Congressional action, and to eliminate the "double
counting" of drug abuse education, prevention and research activities by
the Department of Justice.
2. Includes obligations for treatment of alcohol abuse.
3. Includes only Bureau of Prisons and LEAA: does not include DEA spending on
prevention and education which is included in the total DEA number below.
4. Obligations during the July through September 1976 "transition quarter" will
be approximately one fourth of the annual rate for all of these accounts except
the State Department's obligations for international narcotics assistance.
TQ obligations for this item could reach $15.6 million because of a large
carry-over from FY 1976.
15
The Remaining Agenda
It should be clear from this discussion that we believe that a
great deal of progress has been made over the past 15 months in
revitalizing and refocusing the Federal drug abuse program and
putting it on a sound basis.
But there is more we are trying to do: Federal drug enforcement
efforts can still be more narrowly focused on high level, inter-
state and international traffickers; our narcotics intelligence
system --- despite progress in the past year -- is still weak;
the new IRS program aimed at drug traffickers who violate tax
laws has yet to prove itself effective; the potential contribution
of the FBI and the U.S. Customs Service has yet to be fully
realized; and we can still do much more to develop a stronger
interface between Federal regulatory and compliance officials
and their local counterparts.
However, these are all problems of intra- or inter- agency management,
not of structure or statute. We are convinced that the necessary
organizational entities and interagency mechanisms are already
in place to deal with these problems, and we assure you that we
will closely monitor progress toward more coordinated, effective
performance. We strongly believe that any further organizational
changes mandated by law are not only unnecessary, but most likely
16
would be disruptive. This is not the time for further delay
and introspection concerning organizational structures; it is
time to work day-by-day to do the job better.
What we need is for Congress to pass
the legislation which the President proposed in his April 27
Special Message on Drug Abuse. This legislation is aimed at
improving our ability to put major traffickers in prison and at
closing loopholes in the law which allow too many traffickers to
retain the profits from their evil trade.
It has become all too clear that gathering sufficient evidence
to prosecute a trafficker does not guarantee his or her
immobilization. An indicted trafficker may be operating in a
foreign country, out of reach of effective prosecution and
sentencing. Even in the United States, indictment and arrest
do not guarantee immobilization; these events merely begin a
long criminal justice process during most of which the trafficker
is now free to continue operating. At the end of this process,
incarceration may be relatively short. This failure to immobilize
traffickers against whom a substantial case has been developed is
very costly -- costly in terms of wasted investigative resources
and lowered morale, costly in terms of weakening the deterrent
value of the law, and costly in terms of reduced public trust in
the criminal justice system.
17
Now that Federal law enforcement agencies are demonstrating the
ability to shift their focus to high level violators, we must
make the significant changes in the way the criminal justice
system handles major traffickers after arrest to capitalize
on this progress. Accordingly, the President has proposed
legislation which will, among other things:
Require minimum mandatory prison sentences for persons
convicted of high-level trafficking in heroin and
similar narcotic drugs;
Enable judges to deny bail in the absence of compelling
circumstances for certain categories of notorious
defendants;
Raise the value of property used to smuggle drugs
which can be seized by administrative, as opposed to
judicial, action (from $2,500 to $10,000), and,
extend this forfeiture provision to include cash or
other personal property found in the possession of a
narcotics violator.
These proposals are now before the Senate in the form of S.3411
and S.3645.* These bills should receive bi-partisan support and
swift Congressional passage. Anything this subcommittee can
do to ensure such prompt passage will represent a major contribution
to the national anti-narcotic effort.
Thank you for this opportunity to present our views on this vital
issue. We hope that these remarks are helpful.
*
In addition, we urge prompt passage of S.1266, the implementing
legislation for the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances,
which the President also called for in his Special Message.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
August 25, 1976
TO:
Jim Cannon
FROM:
Dick Parsons D.
RE:
FYI
The attached statement was
submitted to the Subcommittee
yesterday for inclusion in the
record of its hearings.
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 24, 1976
JOINT STATEMENT OF
JAMES M. CANNON
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DOMESTIC COUNCIL
and
JAMES T. LYNN
DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
before the
F,U
SENATE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
We appreciate the opportunity to address a problem of great national
concern -- drug abuse. We have chosen to submit a joint statement
since both the White Paper on Drug Abuse and the Administration's
budget in this area were the result of close cooperation between the
Domestic Council and the Office of Management and Budget.
The cost of drug abuse to the nation is staggering. Counting
narcotic-related crime -- estimated to account for as much as one
half of all street crime -- health care, drug program costs and
addicts' lost productivity as major items, the dollar cost is
estimated at upwards of $17 billion per year. To that must be
added more than 5,000 deaths each year, and the incalculable burden
of ruined lives, broken homes, and divided communities. Drug
abuse is a problem which affects millions of Americans either
2
directly or indirectly and which strikes at the very heart of our
national well-being.
President Ford has made reducing the tragic toll of drug abuse
one of his Administration's highest priorities, and has invested
a great deal of his time and attention to this effort. He
initiated and then endorsed a major study of the issue which has
resulted in wide understanding and acceptance of the Federal
policy in this area, and in major improvements in agency operations.
He has met frequently with foreign heads of State, Members of
Congress, and members of the Cabinet to seek ways to improve
the program. He has requested additional funds for both law
enforcement and drug abuse treatment in accordance with White
Paper recommendations, and proposed legislation to the Congress
aimed at getting drug traffickers off the street. He has created new
Cabinet committees to ensure that all government resources are
brought to bear on the problem in a coordinated manner. He has
directed the Internal Revenue Service to develop a tax enforcement
program aimed at high level traffickers. And he has brought the
issue to the American public in several major addresses calling
for a national commitment to combatting this menace to the health
of our nation.
In short, the President is deeply concerned about the ravages of
drug abuse on American society and his commitment to improving
the Federal narcotics program is absolute. We therefore view
3
these hearings as extremely important, and offer our fullest
cooperation and that of our staffs in helping you develop a
complete and impartial understanding of this crucial and
complex issue.
Background
In 1965, an epidemic of heroin use began in the United States.
New use (or incidence) increased by a factor of 10 in less than
seven years. This epidemic began among minority populations
living in metropolitan areas on both coasts where use was
traditional (e.g., New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles,
San Francisco), then spread to other population groups living
in those same metropolitan areas and to other large metropolitan
areas throughout the nation (e.g., Detroit, Boston, Miami,
Phoenix). By about 1970, heroin use had begun to appear in
cities of all sizes across the United States.
When the full magnitude of this problem became apparent in the
late 1960's and early 1970's, the Administration, with strong
Congressional support, responded quickly. A vigorous prevention
and treatment component was added to the then-existing law
enforcement efforts. Federal spending for a broad range of
programs aimed both at demand reduction (prevention, treatment,
rehabilitation and research) and supply reduction (law enforcement
and international control) tripled, and then tripled again -- all
within five years. A variety of permanent and temporary offices
4
were created to provide policy guidance, program oversight, and
interagency coordination of the rapidly expanding program.
These included:
The Cabinet Committee on International Narcotics
Control (CCINC), created in 1971 to coordinate
the international control program.
The Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention
(SAODAP), created in 1971 to oversee and coordinate
the development of a comprehensive treatment and
prevention program to balance the existing law
enforcement program.
The designation of the head of the Justice Department's
Office of Drug Abuse Law Enforcement (ODALE) as Special
Consultant to the President for Narcotics Affairs
in 1972.
The creation of a special drug abuse staff within the
Domestic Council.
As the drug program matured, many of these temporary offices were
replaced with permanent structures. By mid-1973, for example, the
specialized Domestic Council staff had evolved into a small
office in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the
executive directorship of CCINC had been transferred to the
Senior Adviser for Narcotic Matters (S/NM) in the Department of
State. In July 1973, ODALE was merged with the Bureau of
Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the Office of National Narcotics
Intelligence, and those U.S. Customs Service officers involved
in drug intelligence and investigations to create a new Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the Department of Justice,
and the Attorney General was given overall responsibility for
drug law enforcement. Finally, by early 1974, the permanent
5
successor to SAODAP, the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA), was established in the Department of HEW's Alcohol,
Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration. Over the next
18 months, NIDA gradually assumed most of SAODAP's functions,
allowing SAODAP to expire as scheduled on June 30, 1975.
Sufficient progress had been made by late 1973 and early 1974
that Administration spokesmen, including the former President,
began to make cautious statements about "turning the corner
on drug abuse." We now know that the very real progress which
led to this confidence was, in the main, temporary and regional.
In fact, at that very time, the underlying trends had already
begun to turn upward after having declined steadily for almost
two years.
By the summer of 1974, Federal drug abuse program administrators
began to realize that conditions were worsening and that the
gains of prior years were being eroded. The deteriorating
situation was confirmed over the next several months and, by
early 1975, it was clear that a major drug abuse problem still
faced the nation.
The White Paper on Drug Abuse
In May of 1975, faced with evidence that the gains made in 1972
and 1973 were being eroded and that the use and availability
of drugs was again increasing, the President directed the
Domestic Council to undertake a thorough review and assessment
6
of the effectiveness of the Federal program to control drug
abuse. Almost 100 individuals from more than 20 different
government organizations participated in this review, and more than 30
other individuals representing almost as many community organi-
zations involved in the drug abuse area contributed valuable
perspective and ideas to it.
The resulting report to the President entitled the White Paper
on Drug Abuse, won wide praise in the Congress and throughout
the country for its candor, practical tone, and sensible
recommendations. On December 27, 1975, after the White Paper's
unanimous endorsement by the members of the Cabinet having
drug abuse responsibility, the President endorsed it and made
it the centerpiece of a revitalized Federal program. We are
pleased, therefore, to note that you have already made the
White Paper a part of the record of these hearings, and we
commend Chapters 1 and 3 to your attention as especially
relevant to your deliberations.
Several basic themes of the White Paper have a direct bearing
on the questions concerning drug law enforcement which this
subcommittee is investigating. In the following paragraphs
we will discuss them, as well as the progress made to date in
implementing them.
The first major theme is that there should be more selectivity
and targeting of Federal law enforcement efforts. These efforts
7
should focus on the arrest of leaders of high-level trafficking
networks, and should move away from "street-level" activities.
Highest priority should be given to reducing the supply of
those drugs, such as heroin, which impose the greatest cost
on society.
Great strides have been made in shifting priorities since publica-
tion of the White Paper. * For example:
Total Federal seizures of heroin increased 54 percent
in the first three quarters of FY 76 over FY 75. During
the same period, the seizures of heroin by foreign
law enforcement officials in cooperation with DEA
increased 137 percent.
Total DEA arrests of high-level violators increased
41 percent in the first 9 months of FY 76 over FY 75,
while arrests of lower level violators decreased
22 percent. Arrests for heroin trafficking increased
by 44 percent, while arrests for marihuana decreased
11 percent.
We expect that DEA Administrator Bensinger and Customs Commissioner
Acree will discuss these results in more detail when they appear
before the subcommittee.
A note of caution should be sounded concerning this concept
of priorities. It does not suggest devoting all resources to
the higher priority drugs and none to lower priority drugs.
*
While not directly relevant to the current investigation,
we are proud to note that similar progress has been made
in shifting priorities on the treatment side as well.
For example, the number of treatment slots filled by
users of low priority drugs has been cut by 57 percent
between October and March, and the number of inefficient
outpatient drug free slots has been reduced by 11 percent.
8
All drugs are dangerous in varying degrees and should receive
attention. Also, many investigative techniques are not easily
targeted by drug or even by level of violator. Often the arrest
of a lower level violator may lead to the subsequent arrest
of higher level violators; and many smuggling networks trade
in a variety of drugs, SO immobilizing the network for marihuana
smuggling removes a potential heroin network. Where resource
constraints force a choice, however, we believe the choice should
be made for the higher priority drug and the higher level
violator.
The second major White Paper theme of direct relevance to this
subcommittee is that we must mobilize, coordinate and utilize
more effectively all the resources of the Federal, State and
local governments, and of the private community to combat drug
abuse. While the task force which prepared the White Paper
endorsed the "lead agency" concept, it concluded that opportunities
existed to more fully utilize the resources of the U.S. Customs
Service and the FBI within an integrated Federal law enforcement
program. Further, the task force recommended that the Federal
Government should take the lead in mobilizing the enormous
potential resources available in State and local law enforcement
agencies.
The most important need for increased cooperation and coordination
which existed at the time the White Paper was being developed
9
involved the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S.
Customs Service. Under Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1973, a
distinction is drawn between investigative and interdiction
functions with respect to narcotics enforcement. The investi-
gative function was given to DEA and the interdiction function
left with the Customs Service. Unfortunately, the distinction
between interdiction and investigation was not made clear in the
reorganization plan. This ambiguity led to jurisdictional
disputes between the agencies, and an interagency rivalry which
hampered supply reduction efforts.
The most valuable contribution the White Paper made toward the
resolution of these disputes was to focus the debate on a
relatively narrow set of issues, and to point out the considerable
areas of agreement which existed but which were often overlooked.
Since the White Paper's release, the working relationship
between DEA and the Customs Service has improved markedly.
For example:
Last December, officers of the U.S. Customs Service
and the DEA signed and implemented a Memorandum of
Understanding which outlines operating guidelines for
improving coordination between those agencies, thus
signalling an end to the rivalry which had hindered
Federal drug law enforcement efforts for more than
ten years.
To respond to Customs' complaint that DEA was not
providing usable tactical intelligence in sufficient
quantity, DEA established a small unit within its
intelligence shop to work specifically on Customs
requirements. In addition, Customs has made provisions
for assigning three intelligence analysts to DEA's
Headquarters to ensure that DEA personnel are sensitive
10
to Customs' intelligence requirements, and that all
relevant information is passed, and Customs has
assigned personnel to the interagency El Paso Intelligence
Center. The resulting flow of information from DEA to
Customs has increased sharply from a few hundred
specific items per month at the time the Memorandum
of Understanding was signed to nearly one thousand
per month now.
In June, 1976, DEA and Customs agreed on a procedure
which permits Customs to debrief persons arrested for
drug smuggling at the border if DEA declines to do so.
This had been a major Customs' complaint.
Another example of improved interagency cooperation and fuller
utilization of all Federal resources is the Memorandum of
Understanding signed by DEA and the Internal Revenue Service
in July of this year which provides for the sharing of information
concerning suspected tax violations by major narcotics violators.
It is extremely important in our view to focus on the fiscal
resources of narcotics traffickers, since we know that drug
dealers do not pay income taxes on the enormous profits they
make on this criminal activity. We are hopeful that the new
DEA-IRS agreement will promote the effective enforcement of the
tax laws against high-level drug traffickers who are currently
violating the law with impunity.
Finally, in May of this year the President established two new
Cabinet Committees -- one for drug law enforcement and the other
for drug abuse prevention, treatment and rehabilitation -- to
provide direction for, and coordination of, Federal drug programs
and activities. Both of these new Cabinet committees and their
11
supporting working-level
subcommittees are now fully operational
and extremely active. We are particularly impressed by the
skill and enthusiasm shown by Attorney General Levi and DEA
Administrator Bensinger in launching the Cabinet Committee on
Drug Law Enforcement, and by the tangible results of that committee's
work which are already apparent.
Since many of the most serious drugs of abuse originate
in foreign countries, our capability to deal with supplies
of drugs available in the United States to a large degree relies
upon the interest and capability of foreign governments to
control the production and shipment of illicit drugs. Recognizing
this, the President has spoken personally to Presidents Echeverria
of Mexico and Lopez-Michelsen of Colombia and with Prime Minister
Demirel of Turkey in an effort to strengthen cooperation among
all nations involved in the fight against illicit drug traffic.
Further, at the President's direction, the Attorney General
has held several meetings with his counterparts from Mexico and
Peru, and the Secretary of State has discussed mutual narcotics
control problems with the leaders of several nations. The
President has endorsed the proposal of Mexican President Echeverria
to establish a mechanism for formally exchanging information and
ideas between high-level coordinating bodies and he has reaffirmed
the Administration's commitment to continuing to provide
cooperative enforcement through U.S. agents stationed overseas,
technical and equipment assistance and formal training of foreign
12
enforcement officials.
Drug Abuse Budget
After endorsing the White Paper, the President ensured that his
FY 77 budget request to the Congress was consistent with its
major themes and recommendations.
Specifically, the President's FY 77 budget requests additional
funds to implement all major White Paper recommendations.
Additional resources are provided for:
The growing problem of amphetamine and barbiturate
abuse. The White Paper concludes that chronic,
intensive, and medically unsupervised use of amphetamines
and barbiturates ranks just behind heroin abuse as
a major social problem affecting several hundred
thousand Americans. To respond, the budget requests
funds for treatment demonstrations for abusers of
these substances, and provides 20 new positions
within the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
for strengthened regulatory and compliance activities
aimed at preventing diversion of amphetamines and
barbiturates from licit production;
Additional community treatment capacity. Funds were
included for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
to fund at least 7,000 new community treatment slots
and to recover 1,000 lost to inflation, thus providing
Federally-supported community-based capacity to treat
102,000 individuals at one time. In addition, other
managerial actions to ensure greater utilization of
existing community mental health institutions for drug
users, and the treatment capacity of the Bureau of Prisons,
the Veterans Administration, and the Department of
Defense for their specialized clientele will be maintained;
Better targeting of law enforcement efforts at high
level traffickers. The Drug Enforcement Administration
will add 82 positions for improved intelligence and
laboratory analysis aimed at supporting the existing
investigation and enforcement effort, In addition,
research will be focused on improving our capability to
13
monitor drug abuse trends, and on developing tools
and techniques to improve the productivity of
investigators and agents;
Improve job opportunities for ex-addicts. Additional
funds are provided for a joint HEW/Labor program to
investigate ways to provide employment opportunities
for persons in and completing treatment, so that the
distressing situation of returning to the same
conditions which led to drug use can be avoided. In
addition, other managerial actions should ensure improved
application of our vocational rehabilitation and manpower
training services to drug users;
Maximizing effectiveness of border interdiction forces.
A supplemental budget for the U.S. Customs Service
has been approved which provides for the development
and procurement of a variety of technical devices
to detect drugs, for better information on smuggling,
for additional detector dogs, and for improving radar
coverage of aircraft illegally penetrating the south-
western United States.
All of these increases (with the exception of the new community
treatment capacity) are aimed at: (1) improving the selectivity
and targeting in the use of the current budget; or (2) the
more effective mobilization, utilizaton, and coordination of
resources already available in the Federal Government which
can be applied to the fight against drug abuse. Also, in
line with this concept of utilizing existing resources better
and capitalizing on opportunities to "leverage" Federal efforts
with those of State, local and foreign governments, the budget
provides for:
Continued material and technical support for other
nations involved in the fight against drug trafficking
and for the training for foreign narcotics agents;
Continuation of the DEA task force program which
capitalizes on joint Federal and local efforts, and
continued training and laboratory support for State
and local officers; and
14
A major multi-year program within the National Institute
on Drug Abuse to evaluate the outcome of various types
of treatment.
The President's budget for FY 1977 requests more than $770 million
for an integrated program of prevention and treatment, as detailed
in the following chart.
DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION BUDGET
OBLIGATIONS IN $ MILLION*
DEMAND REDUCTION
FY 75
FY 76
FY 77
SAODAP
13.0
0.0
0.0
HEW
-ADAMHA (NIDA)
219.7
232.0
248.2
-Office of Education
4.0
2.0
0.0
-Social and Rehabilitation Service
79.0
88.0
94.0
-Office of Human Development
8.8
8.8
9.4
Defense (Note 2)
64.5
58.7
56.0
Veterans Administration
34.8
36.7
38.0
Justice (Note 3)
25.6
24.0
21.9
All Other
8.2
9.9
10.5
457.6
460.1
478.0
SUPPLY REDUCTION
Justice
-Drug Enforcement Administration
135.7
155.0
161.1
-LEAA and other Justice
38.5
43.8
40.7
Treasury
-Customs
38.4
46.3
44.3
-IRS
13.2
13.2
13.2
State (Note 4)
32.0
30.9
34.0
Other
1.9
2.1
2.1
259.7
291.3
295.4
717.3
751.4
773.4
*NOTES
1. All figures adjusted from the FY 1977 budget documents to reflect supple-
mental requests and Congressional action, and to eliminate the "double
counting" of drug abuse education, prevention and research activities by
the Department of Justice.
2. Includes obligations for treatment of alcohol abuse,
3. Includes only Bureau of Prisons and LEAA; does not include DEA spending on
prevention and education which is included in the total DEA number below.
4. Obligations during the July through September 1976 "transition quarter" will
be approximately one fourth of the annual rate for all of these accounts except
the State Department's obligations for international narcotics assistance.
TQ obligations for this item could reach $15.6 million because of a large
carry-over from FY 1976.
15
The Remaining Agenda
It should be clear from this discussion that we believe that a
great deal of progress has been made over the past 15 months in
revitalizing and refocusing the Federal drug abuse program and
putting it on a sound basis.
But there is more we are trying to do: Federal drug enforcement
efforts can still be more narrowly focused on high level, inter-
state and international traffickers; our narcotics intelligence
system -- despite progress in the past year -- is still weak;
the new IRS program aimed at drug traffickers who violate tax
laws has yet to prove itself effective; the potential contribution
of the FBI and the U.S. Customs Service has yet to be fully
realized; and we can still do much more to develop a stronger
interface between Federal regulatory and compliance officials
and their local counterparts.
However, these are all problems of intra- or inter- agency management,
not of structure or statute. We are convinced that the necessary
organizational entities and interagency mechanisms are already
in place to deal with these problems, and we assure you that we
will closely monitor progress toward more coordinated, effective
performance. We strongly believe that any further organizational
changes mandated by law are not only unnecessary, but most likely
16
would be disruptive. This is not the time for further delay
and introspection concerning organizational structures; it is
time to work day-by-day to do the job better.
What we need is for Congress to pass
the legislation which the President proposed in his April 27
Special Message on Drug Abuse. This legislation is aimed at
improving our ability to put major traffickers in prison and at
closing loopholes in the law which allow too many traffickers to
retain the profits from their evil trade.
It has become all too clear that gathering sufficient evidence
to prosecute a trafficker does not guarantee his or her
immobilization. An indicted trafficker may be operating in a
foreign country, out of reach of effective prosecution and
sentencing. Even in the United States, indictment and arrest
do not guarantee immobilization; these events merely begin a
long criminal justice process during most of which the trafficker
is now free to continue operating. At the end of this process,
incarceration may be relatively short. This failure to immobilize
traffickers against whom a substantial case has been developed is
very costly - costly in terms of wasted investigative resources
and lowered morale, costly in terms of weakening the deterrent
value of the law, and costly in terms of reduced public trust in
the criminal justice system.
17
Now that Federal law enforcement agencies are demonstrating the
ability to shift their focus to high level violators, we must
make the significant changes in the way the criminal justice
system handles major traffickers after arrest to capitalize
on this progress. Accordingly, the President has proposed
legislation which will, among other things:
Require minimum mandatory prison sentences for persons
convicted of high-level trafficking in heroin and
similar narcotic drugs;
Enable judges to deny bail in the absence of compelling
circumstances for certain categories of notorious
defendants;
Raise the value of property used to smuggle drugs
which can be seized by administrative, as opposed to
judicial, action (from $2,500 to $10,000), and,
extend this forfeiture provision to include cash or
other personal property found in the possession of a
narcotics violator.
These proposals are now before the Senate in the form of S.3411
and S.3645.* These bills should receive bi-partisan support and
swift Congressional passage. Anything this subcommittee can
do to ensure such prompt passage will represent a major contribution
to the national anti-narcotic effort.
Thank you for this opportunity to present our views on this vital
issue. We hope that these remarks are helpful.
*
In addition, we urge prompt passage of S.1266, the implementing
legislation for the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances,
which the President also called for in his Special Message.