Nonetheless, federal  penalties remain, and some marijuana-related activity may also be illegal  under state law, including in states that have legalized marijuana for  medical or recreational purposes. As such, DEA has  obligated funds to participating agencies in states with and without some  form of marijuana legalization under state law. Participating Agencies Expended Most Funds on Aviation Support and Overtime in Recent Years

Participating state and local agencies have expended DCE/SP funds on a  range of items, as described below. All other expenditures. By  comparison, state and local officials in California—where medical  and recreational use of marijuana is legal under state law—said  that all of the grow sites they eradicate are in violation of state and  local laws. These grow sites include those on public lands such as  national forests, and private land that had been trespassed  upon. DEA Oversees Participating Agencies’ Expenditure of DCE/SP Funds in Various Ways, but Does Not Consistently Collect the Supporting Documentation

		DEA Provides Guidance, Pre-approves Purchases, Conducts On-Site Observations, and Reviews Information on Participating Agencies’ Expenditures to Help Ensure Compliance with Program Requirements

DEA oversees participating agencies’ expenditure of DCE/SP funds in  various ways to help ensure compliance with program requirements,  including the following:  Provides guidance. In addition, officials  said they had met with regional contractors to discuss potential solutions  to address this issue. However, DEA headquarters officials could not  provide us with a plan for this effort. By  developing and implementing such a plan to ensure that regional  contractors are implementing DEA’s requirement for collecting supporting  documentation in the intended manner, DEA could have greater  assurance that program funds are being expended appropriately. DEA Collects and Uses Information on Program Activities to Help Manage DCE/SP, but Should Strengthen Data Reliability, Clearly Document Goals, and Establish Measures

		DEA Collects and Uses Information on Number of Plants Eradicated and Other Program Activities to Help Manage DCE/SP

DEA collects information from participating agencies and DEA field  officials on their marijuana eradication and suppression activities to help  manage DCE/SP, such as the number of marijuana plants eradicated,  pounds of processed marijuana seized, and number of arrests made. Participating Agencies’ Practices for Reporting Some of Their Marijuana Eradication and Suppression Activities Differ from DEA Guidance

We found that participating agencies have practices for reporting  information on some of their marijuana eradication and suppression  activities that differ from DEA’s written guidance. As a result, the  information DEA collects is not fully reliable for the purpose of assessing  program performance. DEA headquarters officials were not aware of this reporting  practice. DEA Has Not Clearly Documented All of Its Program Goals, and Does Not Have Measures to Assess Performance

Although DEA collects and uses information on DCE/SP activities to help  manage the program, it has not clearly documented all of its program  goals and has not developed performance measures to assess whether  the agency is making progress towards achieving its goals. These participating agencies have collectively eradicated  several million illegal domestic marijuana plants annually in recent years. In response to our first recommendation that DEA develop and implement  a plan with specific actions and time frames to ensure that regional  contractors are implementing DEA's requirement for collecting  documentation supporting participating agencies' DCE/SP program  expenditures in the intended manner, DEA concurred and stated that it  will take measures to ensure that contract personnel are documenting  and reporting expenditures in accordance with policy. Appendix I: Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program Funds Obligated to and Expended by Participating Agencies, 2015 through Fiscal Year 2018

From 2015 through fiscal year 2018, the Drug Enforcement  Administration (DEA) obligated about $56 million through its Domestic  Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) to state and local  law enforcement agencies (participating agencies) in 43 states and the  U.S. Virgin Islands to support their marijuana eradication and suppression  activities. See table 2.
Why GAO Did This Study

Marijuana is generally illegal under federal law. Nonetheless, an increasing number of states have legalized medical or recreational marijuana under state law. However, in these states, some marijuana-related activity may still be illegal under state law. Since 1981, DEA's DCE/SP has provided financial support to participating state and local agencies for their efforts to eradicate illegal marijuana.
GAO was asked to review DEA's DCE/SP. This report examines (1) DCE/SP funding and expenditures in recent years, (2) how DEA ensures that participating agencies expend funds in accordance with program requirements, and (3) how DEA uses performance assessment to help manage DCE/SP. GAO analyzed DCE/SP guidance, and expenditure and performance information from 2015 through fiscal year 2017, and evaluated DEA's oversight and performance management efforts against internal control standards. GAO also interviewed officials from DEA, the U.S. Forest Service, and participating agencies in six states, which GAO selected to include varying levels of DCE/SP funding and numbers of marijuana grow sites eradicated in recent years.

What GAO Found

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) obligated over $17 million annually on average from 2015 through 2018 to its Domestic Cannabis Eradication/ Suppression Program (DCE/SP)—which supports participating state and local law enforcement agencies' efforts to eradicate illegal marijuana. DEA obligated funds to participating agencies in states with and without marijuana legalization laws. Participating agencies expended the majority of funds on aviation support and overtime (see fig. below). Officials told GAO they expended funds to help eradicate marijuana that was not in compliance with state and local marijuana laws. For example, officials in California—a state with medical and recreational marijuana legalization laws—said that all of their eradication occurs on public lands such as national forests, or private land that had been trespassed upon. In total, agencies have eradicated several million plants annually in recent years.
Participating Agencies' Top Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program (DCE/SP) Expenditures in Recent Years
DEA oversees participating agencies' compliance with program expenditure requirements in various ways, but does not consistently collect supporting documentation for expenditure reports. DEA field officials collect varying levels of documentation, and headquarters officials were not aware of these varying practices. DEA officials said they are now working to address this issue, but they have not developed a plan with specific actions and time frames for completion. By developing and implementing such a plan, DEA could have greater assurance that funds are being expended appropriately.
DEA collects information on program activities to help manage DCE/SP, such as number of plants eradicated. However, participating agencies GAO spoke with have practices for reporting some program activities that differ from DEA's guidance due to varying interpretations of the guidance. As a result this information is neither fully accurate nor reliable for assessing program performance. Also, DEA has not clearly documented all of its program goals or developed performance measures to assess progress toward those goals. Improving the reliability of the information it collects, clearly documenting all program goals, and developing performance measures could provide DEA with the information it needs to manage the program more effectively.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making four recommendations, including that DEA develop a plan to ensure the collection of consistent documentation of expenditures, clarify its guidance for reporting program activities, document all of its program goals, and develop performance measures. DEA concurred with the recommendations.