Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists . The annual report was mandated by the Republican-led Congress last year when it reauthorized funding for the office. Previously, the office had only been required to submit its strategy. Both McCaffrey and members of Congress agreed that annual reports were needed to better gauge the effectiveness of U.S. drug policies. But in other areas, there is still more drug use among young people than in 1996, when President Clinton appointed McCaffrey to the drug czar post.
Serious challenges remain.
It's unclear if such figures indicate an actual decrease of illegal drug flow into the country. McCaffrey did note that coca production in Peru and Bolivia, formerly the top two suppliers of U.S. cocaine, has dropped 66 percent and 55 percent respectively since 1995. McCaffrey also said that more work needs to be done on treating drug addicts. Although the Clinton Adminstration has increased funding for drug treatment programs by more than 30 percent over the past five years, the report revealed that only about two million of the estimated five million addicts in the United States actually receive treatment. McCaffrey called on parents, teachers, and business and religious leaders to play a more active role in helping the federal government keep drugs out of U.S. communities.