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Gil Kerlikowske is the new drug czar in the presidential administration of [[Barack Hussein Obama]], appointed by vice-president [[Joseph Biden|Joe Biden]].  He was previously chief of police of [[Seattle]], where officers upheld of vote of no confidence against their chief. He also infamously allowed himself to be shocked with 50,000 volts of electricity in order to demonstrate the nonlethal nature of the [[taser]].  As drug czar, Kerlikowske has emphasized efforts to combat the drug trade in [[Mexico ]] and its effects across the Southwest.  As a result, he is expected to de-emphasize the pursuit of trafficers of drugs like [[cocaine]] and [[marijuana]] inside the United States, a policy in line with that espoused by President Obama (himself an admitted former user).

Gil Kerlikowske (b. 1950 ) is the new drug czar in the Obama administration. He was appointed by vice-president [[Joseph Biden|Joe Biden]] in June 2009. He will not have cabinet status.   

 

Kerlikowske ran two small police departments in Florida, then became chief of police in Buffalo, N.Y. in 1994. He became Seattle's police chief in 2000 and brought the city's crime rate to a 40-year low, despite a resurgences in youth and gang violence. Kerlikowske has maintained a national profile, paying special attention to gun control, immigration and electronic data mining of private records.  

 

In 1994 he allowed himself to be shocked with 50,000 volts of electricity in order to demonstrate the nonlethal nature of the [[taser]].   

 

 

As drug czar, Kerlikowske has emphasized efforts to combat the drug trade in Mexico and its effects across the Southwest.   

 

*Kate Pickert, "Gil Kerlikowske: Obama's New Drug Czar," [http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1879306,00.html ''Time'' Feb. 13, 2009]  

 

[[category:Obama Administration]]