WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) -- A White House official says the results of a recent study indicate 50 percent of men arrested in 10 U.S. cities tested positive for drugs.
Gil Kerlikowske, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy director, said the results of the study on 3,924 men in 10 U.S. cities indicates a need for available drug treatment, while also highlighting the relationship between crime and drugs, USA Today said Thursday.
The study focused on 2008 interviews and drug tests conducted on male suspects in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New York, Portland, Sacramento, Washington and Charlotte, N.C.
The study found marijuana was the most prevalent drug among the test subjects in every city but Atlanta where cocaine was the most common drug discovered.
Marc Mauer of the Sentencing Project, which supports alternatives to criminal incarceration, told USA Today the study results indicate a need for a resources shift in the war on drugs.
"The federal resources that have gone into the drug war have been heavily oriented toward police and incarceration rather than treatment. We need to shift that use of resources," Mauer said.
