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26 Results
Vital Role of White House S&T Policy
The director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) plays a central role in advising the president on the impact of science and technology on domestic and global affairs, and on federal funding of scientific research. This paper provides recommendations for the next president to consider when choosing a science advisor and establishing science and technology policy priorities. The project also offers guidance to the next science advisor for developing effective policy while serving in the White House. The recommendations are based on lessons learned from past presidential science advisors as well as feedback from more than 60 reviewers, including individuals who currently serve or have served the OSTP, the President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, federal agencies, Congress or congressional staff, and nongovernmental organizations as well as policy scholars.
Neal F. Lane, Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Kenneth M. Evans September 12, 2016
RX Medicine
Rx for U.S. Drug Policy: A New Paradigm
The core strategies of the U.S. War on Drugs are eradication, interdiction and incarceration. After a 40-year and trillion-dollar effort, illicit drugs remain available to meet a remarkably stable demand. Drawing on decades of government-gathered and publicly available data, William Martin, director of the Drug Policy Program, and contributing expert Jerry Epstein contend that U.S. drug policy is premised on incorrect assumptions, aims at the wrong targets and can never succeed. But because these data run counter to a century of anti-drug propaganda, they play only a small role in public policy, mass-media presentation and popular perception. In this policy report, Martin and Epstein call for a reexamination of the data and sweeping revision of existing strategies. They urge formation of a politically independent national scientific commission, its members chosen by the National Academy of Sciences, in consultation with the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services, to facilitate open examination and honest consideration of alternatives to current failed or flawed policies.
William Martin, Jerry Epstein June 30, 2015