Platform -- Drug Abuse

THE MOST EFFECTIVE DEFENSE AGAINST DRUGS is proper education -- education that directly unfolds intelligence and creativity, builds self-confidence, eliminates stress, and raises life to be in harmony with natural law, thereby eliminating the tendency towards drug dependence.

To be effective, education must be deeply satisfying and directly relevant to a person’s own life. Such education will eliminate functional and technological illiteracy and also prevent dropouts, who become the principal targets for drugs and drug-related crime (see our Education section).

For those currently suffering from drug dependence, the Natural Law Party promotes programs that have been shown to dramatically reduce drug dependency and to eliminate stress and restore balance in an individual’s physiology and psychology (see our Health and Crime sections). We will cut our burgeoning prison population in half by decriminalizing nonviolent drug offenses, directing such offenders to drug education, prevention, and rehabilitation programs.

The responsibility for stemming the drug trade currently belongs to numerous federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Border Patrol of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as many state and local agencies. This fragmented approach inevitably results in overlapping and at times self-defeating investigations, apprehensions, and prosecutions. These conflicts make administration inefficient -- and sometimes result in senseless anomalies that allow known criminals to escape prosecution altogether.

The Natural Law Party therefore supports procedures that will promote cooperation and coordination among the various law enforcement agencies responsible for interdicting, apprehending, and prosecuting individuals and organizations engaged in illegal drug and narcotics activities.