Battle Fatigue: Is Public Support Waning for “War”-Centered Drug Control Strategies?

Abstract

Since the early 1980s, federal drug control expenditures have soared in response to six presidential administrations’ commitment to the “war on drugs.” During this period, spending on criminal justice programs grew from 30% of the total drug control budget to 52%, whereas the share devoted to drug treatment programs declined from 31% to 18%. Although there appears to be a broad and enduring consensus among the public for government to address the drug problem, little is known about what kinds of strategies Americans prefer. In this article, the authors analyze data from a recent survey of residents of the five largest U.S. metropolitan areas to explore public opinion about domestic drug control policy. The authors found that although respondents seemed generally favorable toward spending on the drug problem, they did not support the way the war on drugs is being fought. In particular, support for criminal justice approaches to drug control lagged significantly behind support for prevention and treatment strategies. This finding is consistent across all sociodemographic categories.

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