President Barack Obama says he wants to treat the nation's drug problem as a public health issue as well as a law enforcement one. So he has said nonviolent drug offenders should be given a chance at rehabilitation over jail.



Along those lines, the administration has supported drug courts, which allow low-level drug offenders to have their charges dropped if they successfully complete a court-monitored treatment program. We rated Obama's promise to enhance drug courts as a Compromise, because while federal funding has increased and the number of drug courts has grown by about 400 during his term to more than 2,700, the system has not expanded into the federal courts system as Obama pledged.



"These courts are a perfect example of how we're working to shift our emphasis to treat the nation's drug problem as a public health issue, not just a criminal justice issue," Rafael Lemaitre, spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in an email. "(The National Association of Drug Court Professionals) estimates that we send roughly 120,000 people into treatment instead of prison each year – and that number will continue to rise as more courts open."



Lemaitre also pointed to other progress on emphasizing rehabilitation for drug offenders:



• Last fiscal year, the Obama administration spent $10.4 billion on drug prevention and treatment programs compared with $9.2 billion on domestic drug enforcement.



• Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 into law that dramatically reduced a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine, which disproportionately affected minorities. His administration also advocated for, and the U.S. Sentencing Commission approved, the retroactive application of these sentencing guidelines which became effective last year.



• The administration has worked to clarify rules regarding the eligibility of housing authorities to allow ex-offenders access to public housing, excluding individuals convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine in public housing and registered sex offenders.



• Attorney General Eric Holder has urged state officials to review the legal collateral consequences of state laws that hinder ex-offenders' successful reentry into society.



• The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in November that for the third straight year the nation's prison and jail population decreased.



Lemaitre said the White House is also keeping an eye on research and pilot programs that test alternative approaches to drug enforcement. In Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program, probationers receive swift and predictable sanctions -- typically several days in jail -- for violations such as detected drug use or missed appointments with a probation officer. Evaluations indicate the program is resulting in fewer positive drug tests and new arrests.



The Drug Market Intervention program takes a different approach to cleaning up high-drug areas. Instead of swooping in, making arrests and prosecuting every offender. Lemaitre said the program separates first-time offenders and those with substance-abuse problems. Those people are offered a second chance if they participate in drug treatment and other community services.



"This community-based diversion strategy has shown tremendous promise in disrupting open-air drug markets," Lemaitre said.



Obama's promise to send low-level drug offenders to rehab instead of jail is a tough one to assess, but we think it's clear the administration has put resources behind its rhetoric and is trying new approaches to breaking the interconnected cycle of drugs and crime. We rate this a Promise Kept.