Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics, Second Edition: A Critical Analysis of Claims Made by the Office of National Drug Control PolicyRevised and updated edition that analyses how the Office of National Drug Control Policy employs statistics to misleadingly claim the War on Drugs is a success. First published in 2007, Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics critically analyzed claims made by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the White House agency of accountability in the nation s drug war since 1989, as found in the six editions of the annual National Drug Control Strategy between 2000 and 2005. In this revised and updated second edition of their critically acclaimed work, Matthew B. Robinson and Renee G. Scherlen examine seven more recent editions (2006 2012) to once again determine if ONDCP accurately and honestly presents information or intentionally distorts evidence to justify continuing the drug war. They uncover the many ways in which ONDCP manipulates statistics and visually presents that information to the public. Their analysis demonstrates a drug war that consistently fails to reduce drug use, drug fatalities, or illnesses associated with drug use; fails to provide treatment for drug-dependent users; and drives up the prices of drugs. They conclude with policy recommendations for reforming ONDCP s use of statistics, as well as how the nation fights the war on drugs. Praise for the First Edition Lies, Damned Lies, and Drug War Statistics is surprisingly easy to read, and Robinson and Scherlen have done a huge favor not only to critics of current drug policy by compiling this damning critique of ONDCP claims, but also to anyone interested in how data is compiled, presented, and misused by bureaucrats attempting to guard their domains. It should be required reading for members of Congress. Drug War Chronicle Book Review The authors have performed a valuable service to our democracy with their meticulous analysis of the White House ONDCP public statements and reports. They have pulled the sheet off what appears to be an official policy of deception using clever and sometimes clumsy attempts at statistical manipulation. This document, at last, gives us a map of the truth. Mike Gray, author of Drug Crazy: How We Got into This Mess and How We Can Get Out Robinson and Scherlen make a valuable contribution to documenting how ONDCP fails to live up to basic standards of accountability and consistency. Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director, Drug Policy Alliance |
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction | 1 |
Chapter 2 About Americas Drug War | 19 |
Chapter 3 Methodology | 51 |
Chapter 4 Claims About Reducing Drug Use | 63 |
Chapter 5 Claims About Disrupting Drug Markets and Claims About Costs of Drug Abuse | 125 |
Chapter 6 A Fair Assessment of Americas Drug War | 193 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
12th Graders 2009 from http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov addiction Administration adults agencies alcohol America’s drug Americans analysis Anti-Drug assessment Chapter claims-making Colombia Control Policy 2009 crack cocaine crime criminal justice current drug declines drug abuse drug availability Drug Control Policy drug control strat Drug Control Strategy drug policy Drug Policy Alliance drug testing drug trafficking drug treatment drug use trends drug war drug war budget drug-related effective efforts evaluation evidence example federal drug control Furthermore heroin Ibid Illegal Drugs illicit drugs incarceration increased interdiction law enforcement legalization marijuana market disruption medical marijuana methamphetamine Monitoring the Future moral panics Narcotics National Drug Control NSDUH Office of National ONDCP claims ONDCP’s Figure opium past month percent prescription drugs presented President Obama price and purity problem programs reducing drug Retrieved June 17 seizures Source statistics Strategy reports Survey on Drug tion twelfth graders United war on drugs youth drug