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Report of the Drug Control Research, Data, and Evaluation Committee

NCJ Number
174454
Date Published
January 1999
Length
209 pages
Annotation
This report of the Federal Drug Control Research, Data, and Evaluation Committee summarizes the actions of the Subcommitte on Data, Research, and Interagency Coordination and describes three major task accomplishments.
Abstract
The major task accomplishments were a Federal Drug-Related Data Needs Assessment; an Inventory on Federal Drug-Related Data Sources; and a Forum on Integrating Information and Drug Control Policy. The report discusses the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP's) reporting requirements in the context of the National Drug Control Strategy, as well as the newly announced Performance measures of Effectiveness system designed to measure the progress of major drug programs in supporting the National Drug Control Strategy. The report also outlines legislative mandates of ONDCP and the dramatic extension of drug control data needs required by the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Principles for guiding national data policy priorities are also outlined. Among the principles are that information on illicit drug use should be adequate, accurate, and timely in order to measure the extent of the problem nationally; that information on the health risks and consequences of drug use should be valid and reliable for the purposes of defining the scope and magnitude of the problem; and that information on the social cost of drug use and the cost-effectiveness of treatment and treatment alternatives must be comprehensive and research-based. These principles and the five other presented are intended to be a blueprint for improving the usefulness and national policy relevance of Federal drug-related data sources. Actions necessary to implement each principle are also outlined. Appended inventory of Federal drug-related data sources, as well as a forum on integrating information and drug control policy