Clinton Administration Drug Czar Lee Brown Discusses Drug Problem and Policies (1996)

It has been reported that drugs are the root causes for the increase in petty and major crimes. Dr. Lee P. Brown, the nation's new drug czar, understands the drug problem this country has. He has spent more than 30 years in law enforcement. At the convention, I spoke with Dr. Brown regarding his Cabinet-level position and the nation's drug war. - I spent over 30 years in police work, the last 17 years heading police agencies, including the Houston Police Department. So I've seen firsthand the problems drugs bring to the cities, to the streets, and to the neighborhoods: misery, despair, violence, crime, and even death all too often. When I met with the President then, I was very impressed with his commitment to do something about the problem. He was concerned. He had a personal commitment and considering those two facts, my concern and his concern and his commitment was what were the determining factors for me to accept his offer. And I'm indeed honored to have the chance to serve on the Cabinet of the president in my position as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. It's a real honor, it's a real challenge, and we're going to work hard in order to make a difference.

- In this country, the media leads us to believe that the problems, particularly addressing African-Americans in this country, is directly related to drugs. Is that so the case in your opinion? - There is no simple answer to the drug problem. It's very complex. We see a couple of things happen and we find that there's a decrease, and a significant decrease, in casual drug use. By that I mean people who hold on a job and use drugs and still hold their job. We don't see that same decrease and we have a very, very serious problem with hardcore drug use. And the hardcore drug user are generally the people in our inner cities and our disadvantaged. And it's important to talk about the disadvantaged, our many of the people in our inner cities, because a lot of that does relate to the lack of opportunities for meaningful employment. A lot of that does relate to the crisis in our elementary and secondary educational system. A lot of that does relate to the crisis in the family not being what it was years gone by. A lot of it does relate to the unemployment, under-employment.

A lot of it does relate to the homelessness. And so when we look at the drug problem, which is important that the drug director serve on the president's Cabinet with all the other department heads. When we look at the drug problem, it cuts across all lines. If we're going to do something about it, we have to give to young people hope: hope in terms of being able to have employment, but not just employment, meaningful employment where they can support themselves and their families. That is what's very critical. That means we have to look at what happens in terms of reform of our educational system. That means we have to instill in our young people values that normally come from the family to keep them from going toward drugs as a means of escape. That means we have to have jobs so people can have work. That means that our religious institutions have to instill the morality against drug use into the lives of our young people. It involves the media doing its part in terms of reducing the violence that we see all too often. It involves the Congress giving sensible gun control legislation to the American people, such as the Brady Bill, a small thing to ask for a waiting period, which I think will save the lives of some people and some police officers.

So it's not a simple solution, but I think we know what we have to do. What we have to do now is to join the crusade against drugs and make sure that we all do our part. Every individual, if each parent saw to it that their home was drug free, that would be a major step. If each parent saw to it that their home was gunless, that their children were not bringing guns home, that would be a major step. If we could have, as the President is pushing for his economic plan, more jobs, that would be a major step. If we can do what the President is attempting to do in reducing our national deficit, that would be a major step. So there are things that are being done and there's a commitment on behalf of this administration to make a difference. Whenever we leave office, I want to be able to say, the President wants to be able to say, that we made a difference on many fronts, but the one I want to be able to talk about positively would be the drug problem in America. - Within the policy that you're going to formulate by the fall of this year, public health is a cornerstone of that particular policy.

In your opinion, why is public health such an important factor? - The President recognizes that all too many Americans do not have access to adequate health care. He's committed to address that. That's the reason he pointed the First Lady to head the health care reform movement. Part of that must also be the drug treatment issue. We can't lose sight of the fact that the addict is a big part of the drug problem. If one is addicted, want treatment, can't get treatment, they're going to continue to use drugs. So the goal of this administration is to close the gap between those who want treatment and those who are able to get treatment. Our objective is to have drug treatment as part of the national health care system. We believe that treatment, drug treatment is not only good crime policy, it's also good health policy. It's also good economic policy. It's also good urban policy.

So that is the reason we place such a heavy emphasis on treatment as being an integral part of our national health care system. - [recorded] I want to emphasize, and perhaps this is already clear to all of you here, but often it's overlooked, that our strategy should be a national strategy, not a federal one. The federal role in anti-drug programs is a large, and indeed a very important one to be sure. In fact, the President is seeking a record $13 billion for drug control programs in fiscal year 1994. And this he's doing despite the budget deficit, despite the budget cuts, and five-year hard freeze on overall domestic spending. That's the commitment that we have in this administration. But anyone who thinks that the federal government alone can eliminate drugs and the misery they cause on the landscape of America is sadly mistaken. And nearly every family has been touched in one way or another by the problems of drugs in this country.