Overview

The 2013 "National Drug Control Strategy" articulates the Administration's vision for a modern, balanced drug policy, yet it also contains the voices of thousands of individuals committed to building a safer and healthier future, both across the country and around the world. Throughout 2012, these individuals submitted their ideas about how we can improve our efforts to reduce drug use and its consequences. The "Strategy" also reflects input from members of Congress and the Federal Government. This process of consultation led to a number of enhancements in the 2013 "Strategy." For example, our work to address prescription drug abuse in the United States led us to collaborate with a wide range of researchers, advocates, and policymakers concerned with the impact this epidemic is having on the health of mothers and infants. In August 2012, a national leadership meeting focused on neonatal abstinence syndrome and evidence-based treatment and prevention options for maternal addiction. The conclusions reached at this meeting are reflected in a renewed emphasis on maternal addiction and neonatal abstinence syndrome in the "Strategy." The 2013 "Strategy" also includes an enhanced focus on overdose prevention and intervention as an important component in reducing drug-related deaths and connecting those in need with treatment and recovery services as well as a section on overdose and highlights from a law enforcement professional who is pioneering the use of naloxone by police officers in his hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts. These new components augment the Administration's balanced public health and safety approach to reducing drug use and its consequences. There are no easy answers to the drug problem, but experience has shown us that by breaking down silos and collaborating across disciplines, we can make real and lasting change.