White House drug policy does not decriminalize marijuana use

July 13--The White House is staying away from the bandwagon to decriminalize the possession of marijuana, while holding back the Justice Department from going after the states that approved the casual use of pot, according to the 2014 National Drug Control Strategy Report released this week.

The Marijuana Policy Project criticized that stand and said the administration's Office of National Drug Control Policy was continuing a "failed policy of marijuana prohibition."

David Mineta, the Office of National Drug Control Policy deputy director for demand reduction, summarized the White House policy in a speech in May for the World Federation Against Drugs conference in Sweden. His remarks also appear in the 2014 White House report.

Unfortunately, he said, the United States is facing declining perception of harm associated with marijuana. This acceptance has been associated with increased use of marijuana among young people.

"The passage of state ballot measures in 2012 legalizing marijuana in the states of Colorado and Washington exacerbated the trend toward wider acceptance of marijuana use," Mineta said. "We are closely watching the situation in Colorado and Washington state."

Texas and New Mexico have not decriminalized marijuana. In 2007, New Mexico approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

Last year, the U.S. Justice Department issued guidelines for attorneys to follow in states where the use of marijuana has been decriminalized.

Among other things, the guidelines consider it a crime for someone to export marijuana from states where it's legal to states where it's illegal.

"The plan demonstrates the Obama administration's position that adults should continue to be punished for using marijuana, despite the president's acknowledgement earlier this year that it is a safer substance than alcohol," said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which describes itself as the largest marijuana policy organization.

Tvert said that about 750,000 people were arrested for marijuana-related offenses in 2012, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's annual Uniform Crime Report released in September. "More than 87 percent were for simple possession," he said.

Other highlights in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy report include:

--The Affordable Care Act provides for substance abuse and mental health benefits to be included as part of health insurance plans, which means that more people will have access to treatment for their substance use disorders.

--Prevention and treatment programs are priorities intended to reduce demand for drugs.

--The New Mexico office of the El Paso Strike Force secured FBI participation in fiscal year 2013 for the interdiction of outbound currency and weapons.

--The DEA expanded the National License Plate Reader Initiative, which is a complex camera and alerting system along the Southwest border that is used to monitor and interdict roadway conveyances suspected of transporting bulk cash and other contraband.

--Seizures of Mexican methamphetamine coming across the Southwest border have increased more than sixfold between 2008 (2,282.6 kilograms) and 2013 (14,400 kilograms).

--South American transnational criminal organizations are increasingly trafficking larger and more numerous drug shipments through the Caribbean region.

--Methamphetamine availability is on the increase because of sustained production in Mexico and ongoing small-scale domestic production.

--Marijuana availability appears to be growing due to sustained high levels of production in Mexico.

--Since 2008, crime overall has decreased in the border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

--FBI-led Violent Gang Safe Streets Task Forces dismantled more than 2,300 violent gangs, most of which were involved in some form of criminal drug activity. The Barrio Azteca gang in El Paso is among the gangs that law enforcement has targeted.

While the administration held back approving the use of marijuana, last year it issued U.S. attorneys new guidelines to prevent triggering mandatory minimum sentences when minor drug violations that do not threaten public safety are involved.

"USA's (federal prosecutors) should decline to pursue charges triggering a mandatory minimum sentence in certain circumstances," the Office of National Drug Control Policy report said. "This guidance may prove to lessen 'unduly harsh sentences and perceived or actual disparities' in the justice system."

Guillermo Valenzuela, Aliviane's director of community affairs, keeps track of the Office of National Drug Control Policy as part of his work. Aliviane is the largest substance abuse treatment center in El Paso.

Valenzuela said he agrees that the prevention and treatment ultimately lead to a reduction in the demand for drugs. However, he said, the federal budget weighs more heavily on law enforcement interdiction efforts, what he calls the "guns and bullets" aspect of drug control.

"We need to continue challenging the big disparity between the funding for treatment and law enforcement efforts," he said.

El Paso's drug courts are doing their part to rehabilitate drug offenders in a way that attracted the attention of Office of National Drug Control Policy staffers, according to Maggie Morales-Aina, director of the West Texas Community Supervision and Corrections Department.

El Paso has developed a coordinated collaborative to deal with substance abuse by adults and juveniles. The West Texas Adult Treatment Collaborative includes the 384th Reentry Drug Court, the 384th Adult Drug Court, County Criminal Court-at-Law No. 2, DWI Drug Court, the El Paso Police Department, El Paso Sheriff's Office and others.

"Each treatment court judge must sign a court order for enrollment in the collaborative, and all enrollees remain in a specific treatment court. There is not one set of phases and conditions," Morales-Aina said. "Participation progress is monitored by the drug court team."

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at 546-6140.

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