d $2,296 million on plans to reduce youth drug use, $8,052 million on reducing drug-related crime, $3,101 million on rehabilitation programs, $2,555 million on border control, and $2,047 on reducing the source of supply. This money is further broken down into specific programs. Parents for a Drug-Free Future Program will spend $5 million dollars on educating communities on drug abuse prevention of young people, and providing scientific information to provide factual information to children. Eleven million dollars will also be spent on the Drug-Free Communities Program, which assists community-based groups to foster local anti-drug activities. The federal government will spend over $126 million dollars on research to improve drug abuse treatment for addicted offenders in the criminal justice system. Twenty-nine million dollars will be spent on the National Data Collection, which will decide which drug-related services are still effective. The most outrageous statistic of all, the federal government will spend $731 million on the Andean Regional Initiative that will give "counter-drug" money to Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, and Panama (ONDCP). The description by the ONDCP states, "The counter-drug strategy in the region must include funding to bring greater economic and political stability to the region and a peaceful solution to Colombia's internal conflict." I find that most of these program descriptions are vague and are generally a waste of taxpayer's moneys on programs that haven't been working. Something drastic needs to be done to change federal government policy to either decriminalize certain drugs or to actually attack the sources of these drugs instead of funding money to the source.Drugs, the terrorist war, and education have affected each and every single American. All of our nation's problems tie into together like a spider web. There are many problems faced by this nation, that all must be ...
