SAFE Glen Cove Coalition: 2019 National Drug Control Strategy

At the end of January, Jim Carroll, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), released the Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy, which establishes the president’s priorities for addressing the challenge of drug trafficking and use. The strategy builds upon the current whole-of-government approach that educates Americans about the dangers of drug abuse, ensures those struggling with addiction get the help they need, and stops the flow of illegal drugs across borders.

The negative consequences of trafficking and use of illicit drugs, along with the toll that drug misuse and abuse is taking across America, have endangered communities, ruined families, and taken lives. The Trump administration’s National Drug Control Strategy is focused on reversing these developments, saving lives, and setting the Nation on a path to being stronger, healthier, and drug-free.

The strategy is intended to guide and focus Federal government efforts along three complementary lines of effort:

1. Reduce the size of the drug-using population by preventing initiates to illicit drug use through education and evidence-based prevention programs.
2. Reduce barriers to treatment services so that access to long-term recovery is available for those suffering from substance use disorder.
3. Drastically reduce the availability of these drugs in the United States through law enforcement and cooperation with international partners to lessen the negative effects of drug trafficking that impact the safety of communities and the well-being of citizens.

While the strategy reflects the President’s top priority to address the current opioid crisis and reduce the number of Americans dying from these dangerous drugs, it also sets the path to develop further the capability, knowledge, and infrastructure to respond to the evolving nature of the drug threat moving forward.

In terms of the opioid crisis, the strategy discusses disrupting and dismantling illicit drug production infrastructure. The United States and Mexico have expanded cooperation to address the common threat of illicit opioids, and both governments agree that reducing the supply of heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl is a shared responsibility.

Mexico is increasing its efforts to eradicate poppy fields more effectively, destroy clandestine laboratories, and interdict heroin and other drugs before they reach the U.S. border. The U.S. Government provides training to Mexican law enforcement officers, analysts, chemists, and military personnel to identify and safely dismantle clandestine drug laboratories that produce heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, and how to address the dangers synthetic drugs present to law enforcement.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is a component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The Director of National Drug Control Policy, colloquially known as the Drug Czar, heads the office. For more information please visit

https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/. To read the Strategy please visit https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/NDCS-Final.pdf.

The SAFE Glen Cove Coalition is conducting an opioid prevention awareness campaign entitled, "Keeping Glen Cove SAFE," in order to educate and update the community regarding opioid use and its consequences. To learn more about the SAFE Glen Cove Coalition please follow us on www.facebook.com/safeglencove or visit SAFE’s website to learn more about the Opioid Epidemic at www.safeglencove.org.