mr. botticelli was the director of the bureau of substance abuse services at the massachusetts department of public health. while he was there he pioneered innovative effective approaches to substance abuse challenges. he was responsible for launching a program that expanded treatment and recovery opportunities in local community health centers including a focus on providing a continuum of care for those suffering from substance use disorders. mr. botticelli also expanded innovative and nationally recognized strategy, he established and implemented jail diversion programs, reenter services for those leaving state and county directal facilities and overdose prevention programs. though there is always more work to be done it is because of mr. botticelli's efforts and the legacy he left behind that massachusetts is in many ways a leader in addressing a prescription and heroin abuse epidemic. mr. botticelli has been public about his personal history of struggling with an alcohol use disorder as a young professional and seeking help that has led him into long-term recovery. he recently celebra

mr. botticelli's vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: i thank the chair. i see nobody else seeking recognition foe i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. enzi: i'd ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order the question occurs on the botticelli nomination. the yeas and nays have been requested. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: anyone wishing to vote or change their vote? if not on this vote the yeas are 92. the nays are zero. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate will resume legislative session. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period

mr. botticelli's taunting of the state of texas and suggesting anything negative -- >> austin has a sense of exceptionalism. >> dr. morrison's legitimate question. i'm not going to suggest there's a monolithic set of views when i am working around the country working this issue. i would suggest as makes perfectly good sense that most american citizens look at the drug issue through the prism of their own experiences family, school community, business and are not thinking necessarily in terms of the international aspects. when they are thinking of the international aspects, they tend to see the negative side of it games in their communities that are part of this process or the belief sometimes erroneous that the product comes in universally from overseas and from foreign countries. at the end of the day the dialogue tends to be more than 50% on the impact of the drug issue, the international drug issue on their lives their families, their communiticommuniti es and considerably less than 50% in terms of what we are doing or can do overseas. that's partly my responsibility. that's one of the

mr. botticelli, yesterday morning you stated that marijuana would remain classified as a tightly-regular lawsuited schedule i drug, and you said: the administration continues to oppose attempts to legalize marijuana and other drugs. this opposition was driven by medical science and research. would you care to comment on the medical science and research that you think suggests that marijuana and heroin should be on the same schedule, and do you believe that they are equally dangerous? >> okay. why don't we, why don't we come to bill first here and then to michael, and then we can close. bill? >> sure. um i'll start with the incb question. by the way, in crushes b is the international narcotics control board, it is that body which was established by the united nations when they ratified the 1961 international fist convention -- first convention on control of narcotic and psychotropic drugs. and the incb's role to a certain extent is to serve as referee, assessing whether individual member states are in compliance with their treaty obligations, and it has other more specific funks as well.

mr. botticelli at about 5:30 p.m.astern today and you could watch it live right here on c-span2. >> good afternoon. welcome. i'm senior vice president here at csis. we're delighted today to be able to host michael botticelli acting director of the white house office of national drug policy, and ambassador william brownfield the assistant secretary in the inl. of the department of state international narcotics and law enforcement. let me just say a few words here. this event which is the first time we've had this opportunity to welcome michael botticelli to csis, this event falls a couple of different opportunities we've had over the last year, year and a half to focus on policies around both domestic and international drug policy. on march 31 of last year we hosted ambassador brownfield come along with ruth dreyfus former head of state switching former health minister along with michelle, both of them here representing the global commission on drug policy. last september september 11, we had the good fortune to host r