Pubdate: Wed, 07 Mar 2001
Source: WorldNetDaily (US Web)
Copyright: 2001 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
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Author: Don Feder

BUSH NEGLECTS DRUG WAR

Almost seven weeks into his administration, President George Bush has
yet to appoint a drug czar. For a nation in which addiction has become
a chronic problem and drugs take a devastating toll, that does not
inspire confidence.

There are three names on the short list for director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy -- former Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Fla.,
Florida drug czar James McDonough and Maricopa County, Ariz.,
Prosecutor Rick Romley.

Robert B. Charles, former chief of staff to the House Speaker's Task
Force on Drugs, believes McCollum is the ideal candidate. Charles told
me, "McCollum was a congressional leader on drugs. He pioneered
legislation on drug-free workplaces. He worked closely with local
activists and professionals in the areas of prevention, treatment and
enforcement. And he has the stature to command instant attention."

The White House is divided between those who know the issue and are
deeply concerned, and those who view it as just another thing to be
handled. The latter favor dropping the drug policy director from the
Cabinet. They don't seem to understand that while the public may not
particularly care if the trade rep has Cabinet rank, they firmly
believe the leader of our national anti-drug effort should.

During the campaign, Bush addressed the issue only once. "From 1979 to
1992, our nation confronted drug abuse successfully," Bush reminded
us. "It was one of the best public-policy successes of the 1980s."

He did not exaggerate. In those years, high-school seniors who were
current drug users dropped from 38.9 percent to 14.4 percent. Under
Clinton, the drug culture rebounded. Last year, 25.1 percent of
seniors used drugs in the past 30 days.

Drug-related emergency-room admissions are at a historic high -- over
555,000 in 1999. Illegal drugs cost America $300 billion annually in
health-care expenditures, crime and lost productivity. The human cost
is incalculable.

Does the president understand that the success of the '80s was due to
tough law enforcement as well as effective education? At times, it
seems Bush believes if he throws enough money at faith-based charities
that work with addicts, the problem would disappear. (Unless he can
give those charities guns and the addresses of dealers, too, that
won't happen.)

In the meantime, a decade of neglect has taken its toll. Eight states
and the District of Columbia have passed medicinal pot measures, a
significant step toward legalization. Billionaires like George Soros
have poured millions into these initiatives, with no one except
mom-and-pop anti-drug groups to oppose them.

Hollywood has rejoined the ranks of pushers. "American Beauty," winner
of five Oscars last year, romanticized drug use. "Traffic," a
best-picture nominee this year, is meant to show the futility of the
law-enforcement approach to drugs.

Robert Downey Jr. was the cover boy in a recent issue of Newsweek that
argued the drug war is a failure and addicts should be treated, not
imprisoned. But Downey only seeks treatment when he's in criminal court.

Wanted: a drug czar like William J. Bennett -- who will bang the bully
pulpit till the wood splits, confront the drug lobby in the ballot arena,
and not neglect supply reduction and punishment.

As Bennett pointed out in a Feb. 18 Washington Post piece, treatment
(which drug defeatists would substitute for everything else) has a
modest success rate.

Only half who begin treatment programs complete them, and 25 percent
of those relapse within five years. Thus, just 38 percent who enter
rehab are cured. Besides, many addicts would never get treatment
without a prison sentence hanging over their heads. Limiting supply,
through interdiction and the incarceration of dealers, is far more
effective.

The key to success is a coordinated approach -- reduce supplies, limit
sources and make punishment so severe that it deters casual users,
from whose ranks hard-core addicts come. Combine this with treatment
and education.

Drugs claimed the lives of 15,973 kids in 1998. Bush says he wants to
cut taxes because he cares about families. But no one's teen-ager ever
overdosed on marginal tax rates.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake