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UNCLAS LONDON 006159 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR ONDCP SISSON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR UK
SUBJECT: COUNTERDRUG: ONDCP DIRECTOR WALTERS IN LONDON 
AUGUST 8-9 DISCUSSING U.S. NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICIES 
 
  ¶1. Summary.  The Director of the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy John Walters was in London August 8-9 to 
present at an international demand reduction conference 
entitled: "The Future of Drug Policies Globally - UNGASS 2008 
and Beyond:  Reconciling Research with Reality, Rights with 
Responsibilities." In addition to his remarks on U.S. efforts 
to meet UNGASS drug demand and supply goals for 2008 he also 
met with UK representatives and exchanged U.S.-UK experiences 
with student drug testing and drug courts. Director Walters 
and Minister of State for Schools Jim Knight discussed drug 
testing in schools, its benefits to serve as a deterrent and 
to identify and get help for those early in dependency, as 
well as the challenges encountered in implementing these 
programs.  Knight broached the idea of a visit to the U.S. to 
learn about these programs and U.S. programs to reduce 
weapons in schools. During his conference remarks Director 
Walters highlighted U.S. achieved goals to reduce drug use. 
He also echoed UNODC's concern for rising potency of 
marijuana and commended Colombia and Afghanistan for the work 
that they have done to reduce illicit drug production in 
their countries.  In a meeting with several officials from 
the West London District Court Officials on their Pilot Drug 
Court Initiatives Director Walters explained how the U.S. 
uses the criminal justice system as a tool in achieving 
treatment referral and recovery by enlisting the power of the 
courts to effect supervised treatment rather than jail. As a 
result of the meeting ONDCP has arranged for Senior Judge 
Justin Philips who will be in Washington the week of 
September 4 to visit a drug court. End Summary. 
 
-------------------- 
Student Drug Testing 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  The Director of the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy John Walters and Minister of State for Schools Jim 
Knight met on August 8 in London.  Joining Knight from the 
Department of State for Education and Skills were Charles 
Deighton-Fox, Knight's Private Secretary; Helen Bird, policy 
official from the Personal, Social and Health Education Team; 
Tania Rawle, policy official from the Substance Misuse Team; 
and Colin Willis, International Visits Team. Joining Walters 
were Brian Blake, ONDCP Senior Advisor; Charlotte Sisson, 
ONDCP Policy Analyst; Rafael Lemaitre, ONDCP Deputy Press 
Secretary, and Emboff as notetaker. 
 
SIPDIS 
 
¶3.  Random drug testing in schools is not widespread in the 
UK according to Knight.  The success though of a voluntary 
testing program at a Kent school prompted HMG to launch a 
scientific study of that school's program to document drug 
testing's benefits in improving school performance.  While 
Knight does not envision HMG requiring schools to begin 
random drug testing of students he does want schools to have 
the information they need to make informed decisions on 
testing. 
 
¶4.  Director Walters reviewed the Administration's support of 
Student Drug Testing as a key tool in addressing drug use and 
the federal grants that have been awarded over the past few 
years. He further explained that the disease of addiction 
spreads through non-addicted users, from peer to peer and 
disrupts the learning environment for all students. Schools 
test for tuberculosis and other communicable diseases because 
of the public health threat and that testing for drug use 
extends those same protective factors. Parents, school 
administrators, and educators are not powerless against the 
drug problem.  Random drug testing of high school students 
gives students who are under peer pressure from drug-using 
peers an excuse to say 'no' and provides parents with help in 
keeping their children drug-free.  Walters stressed that the 
testing is non-punitive and that positive test results are 
never provided to police.  The goal is to both serve as a 
 
deterrent and to identify and get help for those early in 
dependency. 
 
¶5.  Knight outlined the obstacles to widespread drug testing 
of students in the UK.  Knight noted the UK's human rights 
legislation would preclude a school from requiring testing. 
He also stated that British confidentiality and data-sharing 
regulations made it difficult to share information among the 
different agencies which assist children.  Knight also 
described the concerns of some who feel that searching 
students for weapons and then testing them for drugs gives 
children sense they are being "locked-up" when they go to 
school. 
 
¶6.  Knight was interested in learning of any U.S. studies 
which showed the absence rate in schools where drug testing 
takes place and the rate of participation in extra-curricular 
activities in schools with drug testing. Walters gave the 
example of Polk County School in Florida that started testing 
student athletes in 1997 and saw marijuana use drop by 24%. 
In Polk County, random drug testing has not discouraged 
extracurricular participation - 448 more students tried out 
for sports in 2005 than in 2004, and 319 more students tried 
out for sports in 2004 than in 2003.  In the U.S., 46% of 
schools with Random Student Drug Testing programs reported 
increases in student participation in athletic activities and 
45% reported increases in extracurricular activities. 
 
¶7.  Knight remarked that he is interested in visiting the 
U.S. to examine American procedures for dealing with weapons 
in schools and the use of random drug testing in 
U.S. schools. 
 
--------------------------- 
Demand Reduction Conference 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8. ONDCP Director Walters spoke at the August 9 international 
conference "The Future of Drug Policies 
Globally - UNGASS 2008 and Beyond:  Reconciling Research with 
Reality, Rights with Responsibilities" organized by MOTGIFT 
International, the European Cities Against Drugs (ECAD), 
London Drug Policy Forum, Institute on Global Drug Policy and 
others. The purpose of the day long conference was to support 
the UN conventions on drugs and examine how harm reduction 
policies undermine the conventions. Other speakers included 
representatives from anti-legalization NGOs, UNODC, UK 
government, U.S. Department of State, as well as Habibullah 
Qaderi, Afghanistan's Minister of Counter Narcotics and 
Raymond Yans, Director, Drug Unit (MFA/Belgium), former 
Chair, Dublin Group Member, and new to the International 
Narcotics Control Board. 
 
¶9.  UNODC Policy Analysis and Research Branch Chief, Sandeep 
Chawla, spoke before Director Walters at the conference on 
UNODC Policies and the upcoming UNGASS review in 2008.  He 
pointed out one of the strengths of UN Drug Conventions is 
the responsibility that member states share in tackling the 
drug problem.  More importantly, he noted that one of the 
weaknesses of the conventions is the liberalization of drug 
policies towards cannabis due to changing public and 
political perceptions since the '80s and '90s. Noting the 
recent release of the World Drug Report in June, Chawla 
highlighted the section on cannabis and reminded the group 
that cannabis is much stronger drug and therefore a higher 
risk to public health.  Chawla also presented on the 
challenging review process that will begin for UNGASS 2008. 
He noted that the Biennial Reports Questionnaire completed by 
countries will be the main tool to evaluate how countries 
have done to significantly reduce the demand and supply of 
drugs from 1998-2008. In particular, he noted that the 
prevalence of drug use, national policies and documented 
 
 
successes such as the Golden Triangle's significant decrease 
in opium poppy would be the key areas of evaluation. 
 
¶10.  Director Walters presented U.S. drug policy successes 
noting that the key is to have a balanced drug control 
strategy.  Walters stated that in the U.S., we have set goals 
to reduce teen drug use by 10% in two years, and 25% in five 
years.  We exceeded the two-year goal, with an 11% reduction, 
and over the past three years there has been an historic 19% 
decrease in teenage drug use.  Globally, we have all learned 
that international cooperation is key and the problem of drug 
trafficking and drug use threatens not only our society, but 
also those of our neighbors across the globe.  Walters also 
noted that addiction is a fundamental disease of the brain 
and that science and extensive experience tell us that drug 
use is both a preventable behavior and one that we can 
intervene against and stop.  Walters highlighted U.S. efforts 
to conduct random drug testing of high school students as not 
only as a powerful public health tool but also as a way to 
identify those who may need help or drug treatment early and 
in a confidential way.  He also agreed with UNODC Chawla's 
presentation that marijuana's potency has dramatically 
increased over the last 15 years. Walters also noted the 
efforts of Colombia and Afghanistan to control illicit 
production in their countries.  In particular he praised 
President Uribe's leadership and the eradication of potential 
cocaine production by one-third since August of 2002.  He 
also pointed out that the Karzai government in Afghanistan 
has made remarkable progress to reduce opium cultivation 
through much sacrifice and courage. Walters thanked the INCB 
and others for the emphasis that has been placed on 
controlling precursor chemicals globally.  He added that the 
reductions in the number of methamphetamine labs in the U.S. 
and reduced methamphetamine use in the workplace is evidence 
that international chemical control efforts can attack 
illicit drug production. 
 
----------- 
Drug Courts 
----------- 
 
¶11. On August 9, ONDCP Director Walters met with West London 
District Court Officials on their Pilot Drug Court 
Initiatives. Court representatives included Justin Philips, 
Senior District Judge West London Magistrates; Tracey 
Goodhew, Criminal Justice Manager West London; Adam 
Frankland, Manager of Drugs Interventions Programme West 
London; Jonathan Joels, Senior Probation Officer; Sandra Fox, 
Chair of the West London Magistrates Bench; Simon Thacker, 
Policy Advisor on the Drug Court Project at HMCS HQ; 
Catherine Elkington, Head of the Courts innovations Branch at 
HMCS HQ; Sharon Harambee, Probation Officer; Dr Gul Dhanani, 
Clinical addiction psychologist; and Raj Boyjoonavth, Deputy 
Director (NHS) Central NW London, Mental Health Trust and 
Substance Misuse Unit. Joining Walters were Brian Blake, 
ONDCP Senior Advisor; Charlotte Sisson, ONDCP Policy Analyst; 
and Rafael Lemaitre, ONDCP Deputy Press Secretary. 
 
¶12.  The dedicated drug court (DDC) pilot in West London 
contributes to the UK Government's drugs strategy and builds 
upon the Home Office's Drug Interventions Program. 
Specifically, the DDC targets drug-addicted offenders, who 
currently pass through the Criminal Justice System, are sent 
to prison and come back out and re-offend.  The motivation 
behind the DDC is to remove the catalyst for the offending 
behavior and to rehabilitate individuals.  The rehabilitation 
and treatment service for the DDC is 
provided by the National Treatment Agency. Drug court 
officials were interested to learn more about U.S. Drug 
Courts, other U.S. programs focused on reducing drug use, and 
U.S. experiences with methamphetamine as crystal 
methamphetamine has been reported in West London on a few 
 
occasions. 
 
¶13.  Director Walters explained how the U.S. uses the 
criminal justice system as a tool in achieving treatment 
referral and recovery by enlisting the power of the courts to 
effect supervised treatment rather than jail.  There are 
1,621 courts currently in operation in all 50 states - an 
increase of more than 400 courts just in the past year. A 
National Institute of Justice study compared re-arrest rates 
for drug court graduates with individuals who were imprisoned 
for drug offenses, and found significant differences.  The 
likelihood that a drug court graduate would be rearrested and 
charged for a serious offense in the first year after 
graduation was 16.4%, compared with 43.5% for non-drug court 
graduates.  By the two-year mark, the recidivism rate had 
grown to 27.5%, compared to 58.6% for non-graduates. 
 
¶14.  Walters reviewed how the U.S. spends $3.5 billion a year 
on drug abuse treatment and research.  This does not include 
the additional funds spent by state and local governments and 
private individuals. He also answered their questions on the 
use of a voucher program that empowers individuals by 
allowing them to choose among various drug-treatment 
programs, including Faith-Based programs. Drug Court 
officials were very interested to learn of other ways to 
limit the spread of drug use by individuals who are in the 
early stages of use, before the negative effects of continued 
use and addiction are compounded. Walters explained the cost 
effectiveness of U.S. drug screening and intervention 
programs when used as part of the nation's existing network 
of health, education, law enforcement, and counseling 
providers. 
 
¶15.  Walters shared U.S. experiences in dealing with 
Methamphetamine, highlighting controlling precursor chemicals 
as essential. In 2003, there were 17,448 clandestine meth lab 
incidents across the country. 2004 numbers are still being 
formulated, but early evidence indicates that the increase in 
meth lab numbers may have been halted. The vast majority of 
labs (over 95% in 2002) are seized and investigated by state 
and local law enforcement, with cleanup costs that run in the 
millions of dollars for these jurisdictions every year. 
Nationally, drug treatment admissions for 
methamphetamine/amphetamine dependencies have been 
increasing: In 2003, more than six percent of treatment 
admissions nationwide were for methamphetamine/amphetamine, 
up from 1.3% in 1993.  The greatest myth we need to debunk is 
that methamphetamine addicts cannot be treated that is simply 
not true. However, methamphetamine addicts do sometimes 
require longer treatment and/or inpatient treatment. 
Regulations in 35 U.S. states on retail sales has shrunk the 
number of small methamphetamine labs. Congress has also 
created the Meth Act which goes into effect Sep 30 to combat 
the methamphetamine epidemic through limiting the individual 
to purchase 3.6 grams; eliminating the blister pack loophole; 
and requiring importers of pseudoephedrine to get approval if 
there is a change to the shipment's original purchaser in 
order to prevent the diversion of the product. 
 
¶16.  As a follow on to this meeting, Senior Judge Justin 
Philips will be in Washington the week of September 4 and is 
interested in visiting a U.S. drug court.  ONDCP is in the 
process of arranging a meeting for him with the Judge(s) of a 
local Washington D.C. drug court, attending a drug court 
proceeding, and visiting with one of the treatment facilities 
affiliated with the court. 
 
¶17.  This cable was cleared by ONDCP Director Walters. 
 
Visit London's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/london/index. cfm 
Johnson