ONDCP: It's Official -- Kerlikowske Named as Drug Czar, But Biden Looms

At a Wednesday press conference, Vice President Joe Biden announced that President Obama will nominate Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske as the next head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), also known as the drug czar's office. But unlike his immediate predecessor, John Walters, Kerlikowske will not get a seat on the Cabinet.

"Gil Kerlikowske is recognized both nationally and internationally for his innovative leadership and law enforcement solutions. He brings a lifetime of experience working on drug policy issues. He has worked on the issue at all levels -- from the Department of Justice to the front lines as a major city chief. He understands that combating drugs requires a comprehensive approach that includes enforcement, prevention and treatment," said Vice President Biden.

Kerlikowske has been police chief in Seattle since 2000 and is currently head of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, representing 56 of the largest police forces in the country. He also served as Police Commissioner for the City of Buffalo, where he served until 1998, when he left to become the Deputy Director of the COPS program for the Department of Justice.

"The success of our efforts to reduce the flow of drugs is largely dependent on our ability to reduce demand for them," Kerlikowske said at the ceremony top-heavy with police brass. "Our nation's drug problem is one of human suffering, and as a police officer but also in my own family, I have experienced the effects that drugs can have."

But Kerlikowske will not sit on the Cabinet; the drug czar position was demoted by the incoming Obama administration, perhaps in order to give Vice President Biden, a long-time congressional drug fighter, a greater role in determining national drug policy, the Washington Post suggested, citing "administration sources."

Although Biden and Obama have said repeatedly that they believe in drug courts and drug treatment over incarceration, Biden could not help slipping into vintage drug warrior mode, replete with every hackneyed cliche in the book. "Addiction is a disease," he said. "The correlation between drugs and violence is well-established," he added. Biden also seemed unable to say the words "drug use," instead only mentioning "drug abuse."

And while Biden said the country needed a "comprehensive answer" to drug use and spoke of treatment, prevention, and law enforcement, he did not mention harm reduction programs. "We know we needed tough laws, and we have tough laws. But that wasn't enough. We needed a balanced approach in combating drugs -- one that included prevention, treatment and enforcement."

One would almost think it was Biden, not Kerlikowske, who had just been nominated as drug czar. Given the demotion from the Cabinet of the new drug czar, will it be Biden more than Kerlikowske calling the policy shots?