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May 6, 2010

Pelosi: It’s Cheaper to Treat Teens for Drug Use Than Interdict Drugs at Border

By Edwin Mora at Cybercast News Service

(CNSNews.com) - While pointing out that it is the responsibility of the federal government to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) said Thursday it is cheaper to treat teens for drug use than it is to interdict drugs being smuggled across the border.

CNSNews.com pointed out to the speaker at her weekly press briefing that a recent Justice Department report indicated that one in five U.S. teenagers used drugs last year, and then asked: “Are you committed to sealing the border against the influx of illegal drugs from Mexico and, if so, do you have a target date in mind for getting that done?”

“Well if your question is about drugs, I’m for reducing demand in the United States,” said Pelosi. “That is what our responsibility is on this subject. The RAND Corporation a few years ago did a report that said it would be much less expensive for us to, through prevention first and foremost, but through treatment on demand to reduce demand in our country, is the cheapest way to solve this problem.

“Incarceration is the next cheapest,” Pelosi continued. “It costs seven times more to incarcerate than to have treatment on demand. It costs 15 times more to interdict at the border. And it costs 25 times more with eradication of the cocoa leaf. This is an issue that it is very important to our country because of what it’s doing to our teenagers. That is the problem, what it is doing to our people.”



The RAND Corporation is a non-partisan, non-profit institution aimed at helping to “improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis.”

According to the Justice Department’s National Drug Threat Assessment for 2010, “Nineteen percent of youth aged 12 to 17 report past year illicit drug use.” The assessment said that Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are now the predominant supplier of illegal drugs in the United States. “Law enforcement reporting and case initiation data show that Mexican DTOs control most of the wholesale cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine distribution in the United States, as well as much of the marijuana distribution,” said the assessment.

Pelosi did say it was the responsibility of the federal government to control the border, although she did not believe that would prevent illicit drug use by teens in the United States.

“Controlling our border is our responsibility,” she said. “So, whether you’re talking about stopping drugs from coming in or having a well-managed migration policy, we have a responsibility to secure our border. But I don’t know what you meant by ‘seal’ and I think sealing the border doesn’t do a whole lot to reduce demand in the United States. As I travel the country, I know that kids are on meth and they can make it in their bath tub.”

To solve the drug problem, she said, requires reducing demand. “Let’s secure our border for every reason that we have responsibility to do so,” she said, “but if it’s talk, if our purpose is to solve that problem, we must reduce demand and the best way to do that is through prevention and through treatment on demand.”

Last week, CNSNews.com similarly asked Rep. Raul Grijalva (D.-Ariz.), who represents a district that covers 300 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, if he was committed to sealing the border against the inflow of illegal drugs. Rather than answer the question, Grijalva turned and walked away, eventually shouting back at the reporter that it was “punkish” to ask the question.

Transcript of Speaker Pelosi’s answer to CNSNews.com's question on stopping illicit drug traffic across U.S.-Mexico border:

CNSNews.com: Madame Speaker, the Justice Department has reported that one in five teenagers used illicit drugs last year and that most of those drugs came across the border from Mexico. Are you committed to sealing the border against the influx of illegal drugs from Mexico and, if so, do you have a target date in mind for getting that done?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.): "Well if your question is about drugs, I’m for reducing demand in the United States. That is what our responsibility is on this subject. The RAND Corporation a few years ago did a report that said it would be much less expensive for us to, through prevention first and foremost, but through treatment on demand to reduce demand in our country, is the cheapest way to solve this problem.

"Incarceration is the next cheapest. It costs seven times more to incarcerate than to have treatment on demand. It costs 15 times more to interdict at the border. And it costs 25 times more with eradication of the cocoa leaf. This is an issue that it is very important to our country because of what it’s doing to our teenagers. That is the problem, what it is doing to our people.

"Controlling our border is our responsibility. So, whether you’re talking about stopping drugs from coming in or having a well-managed migration policy, we have a responsibility to secure our border. But I don’t know what you meant by ‘seal’ and I think sealing the border doesn’t do a whole lot to reduce demand in the United States. As I travel the country, I know that kids are on meth and they can make it in their bath tub. So, again if the issue is predicated on your first premise, which is one in five teenagers in America has used drugs, is that the point?

CNSNews.com: "Yes."

Pelosi: "Okay, so let’s, you know, let’s secure our border for every reason that we have responsibility to do so, but if it’s talk, if our purpose is to solve that problem, we must reduce demand and the best way to do that is through prevention and through treatment on demand."

18 comments:

Kid said...

It's even a hell of a lot cheaper to legalize ALL drugs.

And if the low scorers on the evolution meter OD, it's even cheaper yet since they won't be breeding.

To keep it short; I care a lot more about the widow of one of America's Greatest Generation getting whacked on the head or just mugged coming back from grocery for the 15 bucks in her purse than I do the piece of garbage drug crazed bastard who took the 15 bucks.
I don't care about them at all. Zero.
Liberals have the minds of children. They can't figure *anything* out.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael said...

I don't believe in legalizing drugs, but I do believe in executing capital criminals for murder and any serious crime against children or the very old and defenseless. If they are tweaking - who gives a damn. Judges that release hardened criminals to offend again, within say five years, should be tried as accomplices and sent to prison.

Soloman said...

San-Fran-Nan the fiscal conservative?

Get real.

Funny - my 'captcha' word is "paria"... with a slight variation of the spelling, very fitting of the subject, I'd say!!

Ricardo Miñana said...

La droga es un verdadero quebradero de cabeza para la juventud, es fundamental poder resolver este grave problema que afecta a la sociedad, no se pueden cerrar los ojos ante la envergadura de este problema, puede que sea mas barato tratar a la persona que vigilar la frontera, pero si sigue pasando la droga, siempre existe el peligro de volver a recaer incluso de que otras personas que nunca la tomaron se enganchen, sea como sea hay que encontrar una respuesta.

Interesante blog, un placer leerte.
feliz semana.

Unknown said...

I'm so glad Nancy is here to cut spending!

Darrell B. Nelson said...

Have Americans become so lazy we won't even make our own meth anymore?

LL said...

The FIRST duty of any nation-state is to secure its borders. END OF DISCUSSION.

The narcotics arguments can run thither and yon and are only a smokescreen in this matter.

Whether drugs are legal or illegal, the border needs to be secure. I think that concept is far too complicated for Rep. Pelosi (D-CA) to grasp.

WomanHonorThyself said...

I'm so glad Nancy is here to cut spending!..ha trudat!

Starsplash said...

http://www.schizophrenia.com/newsletter/buckets/drugs.html

Go here read this. Dope screws people up for life. I have a wife that can attest to that. She is now on Social Security Disability and mental problems were one of the reasons.
I also have a blood relative who has also screwed himself up.

You can initially treat a dope head for relatively little. But over a lifetime the cost of treatment is astronomical not to mention an unestimated loss in productivity plus the trauma these people cause others even long after they have ceased to consume illegal drugs.

I could site more reasons but you get the gist.

So LA LA Pelosi is efin wrong.

Quite Rightly said...

Pelosi's statement is the most callous statement I've heard. No regard whatever for the human suffering involved, and no recognition whatever that drug treatment seldom is successful.

Soloman said...

I came here last night and made a sort of silly comment, but after thinking about it, I'd like to add this:

Nobody - and I mean nobody - can stop someone from using drugs or alcohol besides the user himself. No therapy or counseling will ever prevent someone from using, if that person wants to use.

I speak from personal experience. I was a user and abuser of some form of mind-altering substance from my late teens until my late thirties.

People in my life suggested over and over that I should quit, but I didn't want to, so I didn't. I finally quit when I wanted to - actually I quit when I needed to, but the need created the desire, and the desire had to be there or I would have used until I killed myself, or at least ended up homeless and destitute.

The chances of treatment working.. I don't know the percentages... but it all hinges on the desire of the individual.

so for Nancy Pelosi to be so (in my opinion) stupid and say that treatment would serve the nation better than border security and an attempt to stop the flow of drugs at the point of entry is... well, it's just stupid.

One of the factors that will drive someone to quit is the ease or difficulty with which they can obtain whatever they desire. Naturally, as availability decreases, price increases, and both of these factors will drive a user to reconsider their habit.

Liberals should understand this - that's one half of the game they play with cigarette taxation - the other being the funds (which dry up once the usage slows, but that's another story).

Anyway - my two cents. That and... screw San-Fran-Nan. She's a damned idiot.

Brenda said...

Since when was a "cheaper" way of doing anything of any importance to Pelosi and the vast majority of our employees in DC??

Teresa said...

Gee... that's compassionate- NOT!!

The government's obligation to secure our borders isn't even related to the drug war. We must stop the illegal drugs within the United States from reaching the hands of the kids. We must also put pressure on the federal government to do its duty and close the borders.

Doom said...

Well, it does fit with the rest of their notions. It is also easier to abort a child then to try and force the young human to, you know, adapt and overcome that harsh life stuff too! Well, that seems to be their take as well.

When you begin on an evil premise, and can't move from there, all that is left is to defend it to the death (usually of other people). This is evil we are talking about, not wrong, slightly incorrect, or a 'little off'.

WomanHonorThyself said...

hey there Nik..HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the mothers in the fam!:)

Nate said...

Well, of COURSE it's cheaper to treat the kids rather than enforce the borders. I mean, you don't want to go enforcing border control and upsetting our wonderful neighbor to the south while cutting off your supply of inexpensive lawn-care folks, do ya?

Dumb broad needs to go.

Nishant said...

I could site more reasons but you get the gist.
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