Pubdate: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2000 The Washington Post Company Contact: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071 Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Author: Barry R. McCaffrey Note: The writer is director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. A WAY TO BEAT ILLEGAL DRUGS The danger of illegal drugs was first brought home to me during the Vietnam War. It was a time when drug use among American troops rose alarmingly. Marijuana and heroin were widely available in Southeast Asia, and use of such drugs under combat conditions proved lethal or disabling for many soldiers. Back in the United States, illegal drugs and alcohol abuse increasingly plagued the military and the rest of society. In the 1970s, drug use in the service was estimated to be between 30 and 50 percent. Yet, by the time our armed forces were victorious in the Persian Gulf War, less than one percent of military personnel tested positive for drugs. We had all but eliminated the problem. We did it through education, drug testing, treatment, leadership and sensible law enforcement. That's why I am optimistic about the chances of cutting illegal drug use in the greater society. Unlike world hunger, racism and other intractable social crises, drug abuse can be turned around in a relatively short time through collective efforts and determination. In fact, it has decreased in the United States by more than half since hitting a peak in 1979. Left unchecked, illegal drugs could cost this country a half-million deaths and a trillion dollars over the next decade. Criminal organizations that traffic in drugs threaten democratic governance, the rule of law, economic stability and human rights in many nations. The international community's growing maturity in understanding the scope of this problem is helping dissolve the myth that the U.S. market is the sole engine driving global drug trade. In fact, the United States makes up just a small fraction of the world's consumers. Even with the relatively high price Americans are willing to pay for illegal drugs, our citizens account for only 10 to 15 percent of the more than $400 billion spent on drugs around the world every year. From my perspective, the struggle against illegal drugs is not a "war." Misplaced battle imagery leads people to expect a conclusive victory. Wars have an end, but drug education - like all schooling - is a continuous process. To reduce the demand for drugs, prevention must be ongoing. Addicted individuals are to be helped, not defeated. They must be held accountable for their actions and offered drug treatment to help change destructive behavior. Cancer, rather than war, is the more appropriate metaphor for the nation's drug problem. The key to reducing both is prevention coupled with treatment and research. Slashing drug-use rates will require a sustained effort to change individual and social attitudes. It also will demand fundamental shifts in the way our public health and criminal justice systems deal with chronic addicts. We cannot arrest our way out of the problem. Neither can we make unrealistic promises to solve the drug problem in just a few years or rid the world of drugs entirely. We must be serious and get organized with long-term prevention and treatment programs that work. The government's response is only a small part of the national effort to counter illegal drugs. The drug problem is in essence a collection of local epidemics that can best be addressed at the community level by coalitions of parents, coaches, health professionals and teachers. Our children are most influenced by people they love and admire, rather than by rock stars, celebrities and other remote figures. An adult involved with mentoring can change a child's life. Much of the work that needs to be done against drug dependence will take place within the criminal justice system. Drug courts are able to offer treatment in lieu of prison for nonviolent offenders. Drug treatment must be married to legal coercion if America's 5 million hard-core users are to be stopped from ruining their lives at great cost to our country in terms of overcrowded courts and prisons, spiraling health-care costs and violent criminal behavior. Strict law enforcement, combined with humane and intelligent policy, is the answer to the enormous public safety problem posed by drug dependence. The indirect campaign to legalize drugs has tried to manipulate the issues of "medical marijuana" and "harm reduction." This approach should offend America's sense of integrity. The welfare of children must come first. Reducing drug abuse is in our country's most fundamental interest. I have seen a lot of destruction and suffering in U.S. combat operations. Nothing, however, exceeds the chaos caused by young Americans who drift into the spiral of chronic addiction. The writer is director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D