Former Czar's Memory Faulty On "Successful" Drug War PLEASE COPY AND DISTRIBUTE DrugSense FOCUS Alert # 210 Wednesday May 16, 2001 Former drug czar William Bennett has been busy cranking out oped pieces defending John P. Walters, who has been chosen to be the new drug czar. Walters subscribes to the same dangerous "lock 'em up" mentality as Bennett. Unfortunately for both of them, the failure of their strategies have been documented thoroughly. But, never one to let facts get in the way of his opinions, Bennett evoked a mythological golden age of the drug war in the Wall Street Journal this week. He boasts: "...far from being a failure, drug-control programs are among the most successful public-policy efforts of the later half of the 20th century." Bennett acknowledges that the past 8 years have seen increases in drug use statistics, but he blames that on the Clinton administration. He conveniently ignores the fact that under Clinton the number of drug arrests and prison sentences soared, as did federal funds allocated for the drug war. But somehow, Walters will win the drug war by getting even tougher. Please write a letter to the Wall Street Journal to expose Bennett's nonsense for what it is. PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID (Letter, Phone, fax etc.) Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the sent letter list () if you are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your efforts and be motivated to followsuit This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and effectiveness. Contact Info Source: Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Contact: ARTICLE US: OPED: The Drug War Worked Once - It Can Again URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n863/a06.html Newshawk: Douglas Caddy Pubdate: Tue, 15 May 2001 Source: Wall Street Journal (US) Copyright: 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc Contact: Website: http://www.wsj.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487 Author: William J. Bennett Note: Mr. Bennett is co-director of Empower America and co-chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. He was director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George H.W. Bush THE DRUG WAR WORKED ONCE - IT CAN AGAIN George W. Bush recently announced the nomination of John P. Walters to serve as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The new "drug czar" is being asked to lead the nation's war on illegal drugs at a time when many are urging surrender. The forms of surrender are manifold: Buzzwords like "harm reduction" are crowding out clear no-use messages. State initiatives promoting "medical marijuana" are little more than thinly veiled legalization efforts (as underscored by yesterday's 8-0 Supreme Court ruling against medical exceptions). The film "Traffic" portrayed the war on drugs as a futile effort. In a recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 74% of Americans believe the war on drugs is a failure. And yet recent history shows that, far from being a failure, drug-control programs are among the most successful public-policy efforts of the later half of the 20th century. According to a national drug survey, between 1979 and 1992, the most intense period of antidrug efforts, the rate of illegal drug use dropped by more than half, while marijuana use decreased by two-thirds. Cocaine use dropped by three-fourths between 1985 and 1992. Why is this record described as a failure? For those who would legalize drugs, all drug-control efforts must be painted as disastrous. But for most Americans, frustration with the drug issue stems from the fact that over the past eight years we have lost ground. During the Clinton administration, our nation's drug policy suffered a period of malign neglect. President Clinton's two clearest statements about illegal drugs were his infamous statement "I didn't inhale" and his immediate and dramatic cut in the size of the federal antidrug staff. Morale and political leadership were both compromised, and a national cynicism about drug use resulted. Hiring a four-star general may have fooled the public and the Washington press corps for a while, but it didn't add up to a meaningful program. To paraphrase Arthur Miller, attention was not paid, and the problem quickly worsened: Between 1992 and 1999, rates of current drug use -- defined as using once a month or more -- increased by 15%. Rates of marijuana use increased 11%. The situation was far worse among our children: Lifetime use of illegal drugs increased by 37% among eighth-graders and 55% among 10th-graders. We have reached the point where more than one-quarter of all high school seniors are current users of illegal drugs; indeed, rates of monthly drug use among high school seniors increased 86% between 1992 and 1999. We must re-engage this fight. What we were doing in the 1980s and early 1990s -- vigorous law enforcement and interdiction coupled with effective prevention and treatment -- worked. It can work again. The most important component of any antidrug strategy is prevention. Children who reach the age of 21 without using illegal drugs are almost certain never to do so. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America has crafted some of the most memorable and effective advertisements in history, encouraging children to turn down illegal drugs. The message that drug use is dangerous and immoral is the essential key to prevention. In addition, we must continue to develop effective treatment programs. Many criticisms have been leveled at America's lack of treatment capacity, but more troubling is the lack of treatment efficacy. However, 12-step programs (akin to Alcoholics Anonymous) have been shown to be both inexpensive and effective in private-sector drug treatment. Hopefully, their success can be extended to public-sector treatment as well. Everyone agrees on the necessity of effective treatment and strong prevention efforts. Some people, however, believe that law enforcement should have no role in the process. This is an altogether simplistic model: Demand reduction cannot be effective without supply reduction. It is true that there will always be a supply of illegal drugs as long as there is a demand. But forceful interdiction can help to increase the price and decrease the purity of drugs available, a critical means of intervening in the lives of addicts, who can only beg, borrow and steal so much to support their habit. Government reports document that recovering addicts are more likely to relapse when faced with cheap, plentiful drugs. Aggressive interdiction efforts, then, are not supply reduction so much as the first step in demand reduction. Some people will admit that there is a place for law enforcement, but contend we spend too much on this effort, to the detriment of demand reduction. In fact, according to Robert DuPont, who led the nation's antidrug efforts under Presidents Nixon and Ford, there has never been as much federal money spent on prevention education as is being spent today. The U.S.'s total spending on drug-demand reduction far exceeds the amounts spent in the rest of the world combined. A more pragmatic point: While treatment is often centered at the individual and local levels, interdiction and law enforcement must be federal responsibilities. Given the scope and complexity of drug trafficking, the federal government can and must assume the responsibility for stopping the traffic of drugs across and within our borders. The drug czar's first concerns, then, must be interdiction and law enforcement, if only because they are tasks no other agency can perform as effectively. I believe that the position of drug czar ought to remain at the cabinet level, but more important is the president's personal support and commitment to the office. I had that backing, and I expect the new drug czar will enjoy that same support and commitment from Mr. Bush. If Mr. Walters is to have any success, he must enjoy it. The past eight years are, once again, illustrative: Gen. Barry McCaffrey never enjoyed that support from President Clinton. In renewing the drug war, the new drug czar will not be alone. He will be able to draw on the assistance of people -- parents, teachers, substance-abuse counselors, clergymen and elected officials -- who have continued to fight drug use over the past eight years. These groups are our first lines of defense; without them, the regression since 1992 would have been far worse. Their dedication gives the lie to the gospel of futility. I look forward to America re-engaging in the war on drugs -- and continuing the success that we had between 1980 and 1992. SAMPLE LETTER To the editor, I find it interesting that former Drug Czar William J. Bennett attributes rising drug use during the '90s to Bill Clinton's "malign neglect" of the Drug War ("The Drug War Worked once - It Can Again", May 15). Under Clinton, the amount budgeted for domestic drug law enforcement rose 74 percent. Arrests for cannabis possession soared from 271,900 in 1992 to 620,500 in 1999, a 128 percent increase. On average, annual drug arrests were 30 percent higher under Clinton than under Bennett's boss George H.W. Bush. Yet, according to Bennett, "rates of monthly drug use among high school seniors increased 86% between 1992 and 1999." How tragic if, as both Bennett and the evidence suggests, Clinton's costly escalation was less significant than his quip on MTV. Unfortunately, due to a lack of research funding, no one really knows why usage rates rise and fall. A recent government-commissioned study by the National Research Council found that "Neither the necessary data systems nor the research infrastructure to gauge the usefulness of drug-control enforcement policies exists." As Charles Manski, a professor of economics and chairman of the study committee put it, "It is unconscionable for this country to continue to carry out a public policy of this magnitude and cost without any way of knowing whether, and to what extent, it is having the desired result." Matthew M. Elrod contact info IMPORTANT: Always include your address and telephone number Please note: If you choose to use this letter as a model please modify it at least somewhat so that the paper does not receive numerous copies of the same letter and so that the original author receives credit for his/her work. TARGET ANALYSIS Wall Street Journal There are 61 letters to the WSJ in the MAP archive. A sampling of recent letters shows some as short as 93 words and some as long as 340 words, with an average of about 180 words. The published letters can be viewed here: http://www.mapinc.org/mapcgi/ltedex.pl?SOURCE=Wall+Street+Journal+(US) ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts 3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm TO SUBSCRIBE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER TO HELP, OR UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SEE http://www.drugsense.org/hurry.htm TO UNSUBSCRIBE SEE http://www.drugsense.org/unsub.htm Prepared by Matt Elrod and Stephen Young - http://www.maximizingharm.com Focus Alert Specialists

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