Trump is planning to effectively kill the office that has traditionally spearheaded the ‘War on Drugs’ – Yahoo News

(Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks, as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (L) looks on, during Trump's five state primary night event in New York City, U.S., April 26, 2016.Reuters/Carlo Allegri) The Trump administrationplans tocut 96% of the budget ofthe Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), effectively eliminating the federal agency that has traditionally been used to spearhead the war on drugs, according to multiple media reports.

The White House Office of Management and Budget's proposed fiscal year 2018 budget reduces the funding request for ONDCP from $388 million in 2017 to $24 million, according to a leaked memofirstreported by CBS News.

The cuts would eliminate approximately half ONDCP's staff, around 33 employees, as well as "intelligence, research and budget functionsat the agency, as well as the Model State Drug Laws and Drug Court grant programs,"CBS reported Friday.

"These cuts are frankly heartbreaking and, if carried out, cause us to lose many good people who contribute greatly to ONDCP's mission and core activities," Acting Director Richard Baumwrote in an email to ONDCP staff obtained by CBS.

Baum added that news is "discouraging," but told staff "not to panic" and that "events are unfolding."

In addition, the budget proposes to eliminate multiple grant programs administered by ONDCP, including theHigh Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program and the Drug-Free Communities Supportprogram, which the memo called "duplicative of other efforts across the Federal government and supplant State and local responsibilities."

Staff was notified of the budget cuts on Friday. Baum, who was aware of the impendingcuts last week, had reportedly been lobbying Jared Kushner, Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, to keep the agency's budget intact.

In February, when rumors first began circulating that Trump might cut ONDCP's budget, a coalition of medical and drug policy organizations sent a letter toMick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, urging for ONDCP to remain at the center of efforts to fight drug use.

"At a time when drugs now kill more people than firearms or car crashes, it is more important than ever for ONDCP to remain a strong voice in the White House and a visible presence nationally," the letter read.

But some drug policy experts are cautiously optimistic at the agency's elimination.

"Unfortunately, the ONDCP has a history of advancing predominatively counter-productive policies,"Grant Smith,deputy director of national affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance, told Business Insider, notingthat DPA has supported the "dismantling" of the agency.

Smith noted that elimination of theagency could actually accelerate efforts to treat drug use as a public health, rather than criminal issue, if it means less funding for programs like HIDTA.

But that depends, Smith said, on ifthe nation's drug policy is in the hands of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has called for cracking down on drug offenders, or someone else.

The ONDCP was first created in 1988 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act at the height of the crack epidemic and the so-called War on Drugs.

Tom Angell, the founder ofpro- marijuana legalization group Marijuana Majority, told Business Insiderthat it was only during the last years of the Obama Administration, under the direction of then-ONDCP director Michael Botticelli, that the agency made positive efforts towards harm reduction and treatment policies. Traditionally, according to Smith, the agency has been at the forefront of efforts to prosecute and stigmatize drug use.

ONDCP's proposed elimination comes after Trump signed an executive order in March to establish a national commission to address the opioid crisis, headed by New Jersey Gov.Chris Christie. The commission, which was due to receive "administrative support" from ONDCP, was tasked with coming up with strategies to address the crisis.

Many experts said the president's action is "underwhelming."

The reportscome one day after Rep. Tom Marino announced that he was withdrawing from consideration for the appointment of ONDCP director, the position more informallyknown as the Drug Czar, after more than a month of speculation that he would serve. The Pennsylvania Republican was one of Trumps earliest supporters in Congress.

The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Trump is planning to effectively kill the office that has traditionally spearheaded the 'War on Drugs' - Yahoo News