The White House\u2019s drug policy arm is looking for input on whether its existing policies are creating \u201csystemic barriers to opportunities for underserved communities\u201d and whether future programs could be developed to better promote equity. It is also seeking advice on how to better involve people who use drugs in the creation of policies that affect them.<\/p>\n
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) announced the 30-day public comment period in a notice published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. And it\u2019s an opportunity that reform advocates will likely take advantage of, as the so-called drug czar\u2019s office has historically resisted policy changes like marijuana legalization that could help to repair the harms of prohibition, which has been enforced on a racially disproportionate basis.<\/p>\n
The filing doesn\u2019t represent ONDCP independently soliciting feedback on the equity implications of the various agencies and grant programs it oversees, however. Rather, it was published in accordance with a government-wide executive order<\/a> that President Joe Biden signed in January.<\/p>\n \u201cThe E.O. requires agencies to assess whether, and to what extent, its programs and policies perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups,\u201d ONDCP said. \u201cSuch assessments will better equip agencies to develop policies and programs that deliver resources and benefits equitably to all.\u201d<\/p>\n ONDCP says it is seeking \u201cmore perspectives from a wide array of backgrounds, including those most impacted by United States\u2019 drug policies\u201d to inform its future endeavors.<\/p>\n The office currently administers efforts such as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program that enable the war on drugs, under which people of color are arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to prison at disproportionate rates.<\/p>\n In the new notice, the office offered a series of prompts<\/a> for submissions on how it can better carry out its duties \u201cwith the goal of embedding equity throughout agency practices and policies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow might research examine equity in the context of law enforcement actions against drug trafficking or transnational criminal organizations?\u201d one prompt asks. \u201cAre there existing applicable research frameworks that might be applied to ONDCP\u2019s Grant Administration Programs or other multi-jurisdictional task forces?\u201d<\/p>\n Another asks stakeholders for \u201crecommendations for short-term and long-term goals that ONDCP should take into account to measure progress towards equity in drug policy.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s already a breadth of research that\u2019s been done by drug policy and civil rights groups like the ACLU and Drug Policy Alliance on equity issues that have stemmed from federal drug enforcement efforts. Those research initiatives may well be shared with ONDCP during this comment period, but the question remains why certain findings haven\u2019t already been incorporated without an administrative mandate.<\/p>\n \u2014 Backing us at the $25\/month level also gets you access to our Bill Tracker so you won\u2019t miss any important marijuana legislation in your state.<\/strong> Another interesting prompt from the agency concerns how to \u201cinvolve people who use drugs, especially those not typically included in household surveys, in the development of national drug control policy.\u201d<\/p>\n That could be an informative topic, as reform advocates often criticize government bodies for aiming to deal with issues like addiction without hearing directly from the people most impacted by the health condition, for example.<\/p>\n ONDCP and advocates have had a strained reputation since the agency\u2019s inception in the 1980s, and that hasn\u2019t changed under the Biden administration. Some have questioned whether the organization, which Biden helped to create during his time as a senator, is necessary in the first place.<\/p>\n But mandated or not, some reflection on how it could remove systemic barriers for certain communities is a laudable goal as far as activists are concerned. In the meantime, it seems ONDCP\u2019s budget is protected, as the Biden administration preserved it in its proposal, whereas the previous president proposed slashing that funding by about 90 percent<\/a>.<\/p>\n Comments on how ONDCP can better achieve equity are being accepted at OGC@ondcp.eop.gov<\/a> through August 6.<\/p>\n Marijuana Industry \u2018Will Continue To Grow,\u2019 Federal Economic Panel Says While Recommending Classification Changes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post White House Invites Comment On How Drug Policies Create \u2018Systemic Barriers\u2019 For \u2018Underserved Communities\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The White House\u2019s drug policy arm is looking for input on whether its existing policies are creating \u201csystemic barriers to opportunities for underserved communities\u201d and whether future programs could be developed to better promote equity. It is also seeking advice on how to better involve people who use drugs inContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48709"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48710,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48709\/revisions\/48710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: White House Invites Comment On How Drug Policies Create \u2018Systemic Barriers\u2019 For \u2018Underserved Communities\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"