Obama Names SPD Chief Nation's New Drug Czar

This morning, the president announced that Seattle Chief of Police Gil Kerlikowske is his pick for the nation's new Drug Czar. That means a local will direct national drug policy, though the position will no longer be Cabinet-level. (Curiously enough, Vice President Biden coined the phrase "drug czar" in the first place.) As the Washington Post notes in a blog post about the announcement, Kerlikowske's appointment to the position was delayed because of his stepson's legal problems--Jeffrey Kerlikowske was arrested recently for violating parole from his drug and assault charges in Florida.

What kind of Drug Czar will Kerlikowske be? We're hoping (really hard) that he'll be a compassionate, open-minded policy leader, given his personal experiences and his time in green-loving Seattle. Here, he most strongly supported SPD efforts on intervention and treatment rather than just throwing the book at citizens with drug charges; how will that translate in real terms for the U.S.' war on drugs? The P-I's Robert Jamison called him a "philosopher cop more than a cop's cop," well-suited to life in D.C., and we guess time will tell how this appointment plays out. We wish the man clarity of thought and a healthy dose of empathy as he embarks on this next, giant stage of his career.