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Introduction
On behalf of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy (ONDCP), I want to thank the Subcommittee for the opportunity to testify
before you on the subject of personal importation of controlled substances.
Chairman Greenwood, Ranking Member Deutsch, distinguished members of the
Subcommittee, we greatly appreciate your continuing interest in the public
health and safety issues associated with the importation of pharmaceuticals. The
critical oversight of this Subcommittee assists ONDCP in its coordinating role
in ensuring continuity and consistency in the Executive Department and agency
efforts to provide a comprehensive response to the issue of personal importation
and potential diversion of controlled substances. This comprehensive response is
essential to our success in reducing drug use and its consequences in our
nation. We know that there is no single solution that can effectively address
this multifaceted challenge. Drug use prevention, treatment, and research; as
well as law enforcement, protection of our borders, drug interdiction, and
international cooperation remain necessary components of our efforts.
Coordination Issues Surrounding the Personal
Importation of Controlled Substances
As the Subcommittee is aware, ONDCP is a unique
organization within the Executive Office of the President that has the dual
mission of serving as the President’s primary Executive Branch support for
counter-drug policy and program oversight while managing several diverse
programmatic responsibilities. ONDCP’s policy role consists primarily of
developing national drug control policy, developing drug control budget
priorities, coordinating and overseeing the implementation of that policy, and
evaluating drug control programs to ensure that federal departments and agencies
remain focused and coordinated for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
ONDCP was recently asked to assist in
coordinating a response to the challenges posed by the personal importation of
controlled substances across the land border of the United States. ONDCP is
particularly well-suited to provide such assistance, as this issue transcends
the typical jurisdictional boundaries of one department or agency. However,
ONDCP recognizes the great institutional expertise that resides in the other
agencies represented today. ONDCP takes great pride in the fact that the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the
United States Customs Service (USCS), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
are working closely together to ensure the citizens of our country can continue
to rely on the guidelines established for using controlled substances in a
manner that maximizes health, safety, and efficacy.
ONDCP is committed to supporting our inter-agency
counterparts in their efforts to implement a system with respect to the import
of controlled substances that draws the appropriate balances among the need to
prevent diversion, promote public health and safety by permitting travelers to
have the pharmaceutical controlled substances they need, and the need for
straightforward standards for Customs to apply at our busy ports of entry.
Clearly, the solution to these challenges, is complex; it involves a variety of
statutes, regulations, enforcement practices, research, and citizen awareness.
As with any complex, multi-jurisdictional solution to a public health and safety
issue, the perfect solution will not be conceived, or implemented overnight.
There is no silver bullet approach; all affected departments and agencies must
bring their own expertise and authorities to bear if we are to succeed.
Recognizing that ONDCP only recently became involved in this coordination, the
DEA and FDA have advised us that they will continue to provide the USCS with the
guidance they require to carry out their mission relating to the importation of
pharmaceuticals effectively and with limited inconvenience to licit commerce and
personal travel. Clear guidance is essential if we expect Customs officials to
continue their efforts, which typically process 1.3 million passengers and
nearly 350,000 vehicles at ports and border crossings across the United States
each and every day of the year.
The cross-border diversion of pharmaceutical
controlled substances obviously has an international component. Some diversion
of foreign produced pharmaceutical controlled substances involves U.S. drug
users or traffickers who obtain controlled substance pharmaceuticals, including
Rohypnol and OxyContin, from Mexican pharmacies. The U.S. government highlighted
the need to better control the movement of prescription drugs during the April
2-3, 2001, U.S/Mexico Senior Law Enforcement Plenary. The Mexican government
understands the issues and agreed to address them, although they have not yet
presented a specific course of action. We will continue to follow-up with them.
DEA has two diversion investigators assigned to Mexico City where they are
responsible for coordinating bilateral regulatory efforts and any investigations
of this sort of diversion.
We cannot forget that the basis for our
involvement is preserving the safety of our citizens. In order to maintain
credibility with those we seek to protect, the approaches we employ must be
rational and research-based. We are fortunate to have NIDA providing the
scientific basis for our policies. In fact, I would like to commend NIDA for the
major initiative it recently launched on prescription drug abuse and misuse,
resulting in a Research Report on Prescription Drugs Abuse and Addiction.
NIDA should also be recognized for its ability to translate its findings into
clear, concise messages which it disseminates to professionals and the general
public alike.
Unfortunately, there are a number of factors that
indicate prescription drug use and abuse are increasing:
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In 1999, more than
nine million Americans aged 12 and older reported past year use of
prescription drugs for non-medical reasons. (National Household Survey on
Drug Abuse)
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Of those nine
million people, one quarter or more misused prescription drugs for the first
time the year prior to the survey.
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Furthermore, of
those nine million people, an estimated 4 million reported using
prescription drugs for non-medical purposes in the month prior to the
survey.
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NIDA’s Community
Epidemiology Work Group which monitors 21 major U.S. metropolitan areas for
community-level drug use and abuse trends, also reports a general increase
in abuse of selected prescription drugs in several cities in recent years.
Conclusion
Developing policy and implementing programs and
procedures to manage effectively the use and movement of controlled substances
requires a holistic, long-term, and research-based approach. While we cannot
expect to resolve these challenges overnight, we can and will continue to make
steady and significant progress on all fronts. Since becoming involved in this
issue, ONDCP has convened several inter-agency meetings to identify the myriad
of issues involved in maximizing the effectiveness of our policy concerning the
personal importation of controlled substances across the U.S. land borders.
ONDCP will remain an active participant in the decision-making and
implementation processes.
We look to this Subcommittee, and indeed the
entire Congress, to continue providing bipartisan leadership in this effort.
ONDCP is committed to working within the Executive Branch, as well as with
Congress, state and local governments, international participants, and private
citizens to reduce drug use and its consequences in our nation.
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