| | |  Americas & Beyond | May 2009 
U.S. Senate Approves Drug Czar
 Matthew Daly - Associated Press
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| | The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved the nomination of Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske (R) as the nation's drug czar. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite) | |
Washington - The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved the nomination of Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske as the nation's drug czar, signaling a change in U.S. drug policy.
Kerlikowske, a 36-year law enforcement veteran who has been Seattle's top cop for nine years, has pledged to take a balanced, science-based approach to the job. He also said he will focus on reducing demand for illicit drugs in the United States - a sharp contrast from the former U.S. government's focus on intercepting drugs as they cross the border and punishing drug crimes.
"Our nation's demand for drugs often fuels drug production and trafficking, as well as violence and corruption, within other nations," Kerlikowske said at his confirmation hearing for the job of director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The position is commonly known as the drug czar.
"Domestic drug use directly funds the terrible drug-related crime currently wracking Mexico and fuels illegal armed groups in Colombia," Kerlikowske said, adding that while he and other officials will work to reduce the international drug supply, "the greatest contribution we can make toward stability would be to reduce our demand for illicit drugs" in the United States.
The Senate approved his nomination, 91-1, on Thursday.
The drug policy coordinator's office will lose its Cabinet-level status under U.S. President Barack Obama, in part due to Vice President Joe Biden's experience and knowledge about federal drug policy. Biden helped create the post in the late 1980s while he was in the Senate.
Biden said he was pleased by the overwhelming show of support for Kerlikowske and called him "the right man for the job." |
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