Pubdate: Fri, 13 Dec 2002
Source: Mobile Register (AL)
Copyright: 2002 Mobile Register.
Contact:  http://www.al.com/mobileregister/today/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/269
Author: Joe Danborn

Q&A: DEA BOSS LAUDS STATE EFFORTS

Editor's Note: Staff Reporter Joe Danborn was able to spend some time 
Wednesday talking to Asa Hutchinson, the current and possibly outgoing 
chief of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, while Hutchinson was in 
Mobile.

Asa Hutchinson, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, visited 
Mobile this week to kick off an initiative dubbed IDEA -- Integrated Drug 
Enforcement Assistance. The Mobile-Prichard area is the fifth site 
nationally for the program, which is aimed at coordinating existing efforts 
to stem drug use and crime.

A three-term Republican congressman and former U.S. attorney from Arkansas, 
Hutchinson took over the DEA in August 2001, three weeks before the Sept. 
11 attacks. Late last month, President Bush nominated him as Under 
Secretary of Border and Transportation Security, a top post at the newly 
created Department of Homeland Security.

Assuming the U.S. Senate approves him, Hutchinson will leave the DEA after 
18 months on the job. Wednesday, he sat down with the Mobile Register to 
discuss the changing nature of the DEA and the country's drug scene in 
general, as well as how homeland security will help and hurt the anti-drug 
efforts. Here are some excerpts:

Q: When you were nominated as DEA chief, you were very vocal about how the 
DEA was going to take an increased role in promoting treatment. How would 
you grade yourself in terms of the success you've had broadening that focus?

A: Very substantial. I think it's recognized by those in the treatment and 
prevention arena as not changing its mission but having a broad 
understanding of how it all works together and that the DEA is an advocate 
for improved treatment programs, as well as personal involvement in 
effective prevention programs. So I think we've really changed the culture 
of the DEA.

Q: Where do you think you've failed, and how would you counsel your 
successor to get around that?

A: Well, I can't point to areas that we've failed. There's more initiatives 
to accomplish. For example, this IDEA initiative right now is in pilot 
cities. Eventually, I hope that it is a nationwide effort, that it's a more 
comprehensive program or strategy, and that's going to take time. It's 
going to take the commitment of my successor.

Q: In this area, no other illegal drug has caused nearly as big a problem 
as crack. Lately, though, methamphetamine has just come sweeping through 
here, as in Arkansas and other parts of the country. How is what's 
happening with meth different from what happened with crack?

A: What's different about it is crack is all brought into our communities. 
So you don't have the complicating factor of the labs and all the chemicals 
that go with it that add the component of environmental hazards and greater 
danger even to children. So meth does the damage of crack to the human 
spirit and body, but you've also got a whole host of other problems and 
challenges that go with meth production. ... I think it's one of the most 
dangerous drugs that are out there today.

Q: Other than increasing penalties for possessing and producing it, what 
sorts of things can be done to curb the trend?

A: It has to be addressing the chemicals that go to make methamphetamine, 
the precursor chemicals. ... Part of that is getting Canada to regulate 
pseudoephedrine. That sounds like a long ways away, but whenever you can 
have a meth cook get on the Internet here in Mobile, Alabama, and order 
pseudoephedrine from Canada and have it shipped here, it's a problem. ... 
And the other part of it is, of course, the education side.

Q: You're a big fan of drug courts for nonviolent, first-time offenders. 
Mobile's decade-old drug court was among the first in the country. 
Somewhere near half of those who've entered the program have graduated. How 
different would the drug use and drug enforcement landscape look if drug 
courts were as extensive as you think they should be?

A: Drug courts need to be expanded. I think I cited the fact that there's 
about 15 here in Alabama, with 10 more planned. Well, 25 drug treatment 
courts are not enough to cover the state of Alabama, and Alabama has been a 
leader in it. You look at other states, some of them have even fewer drug 
courts and less impact. So we have to get additional federal pilot projects 
pushing drug courts.

But also, we have to have the states buy in to help fund it. You can't have 
a strong drug treatment court program nationwide without the states 
participating by funding those programs. ...

Another part of it is, it's not enough to have a drug treatment court that 
refers people to treatment if you don't have the treatment facilities. ... 
And that's one of the difficulties, whether it's California or some of the 
other states that have mandated treatment -- they have not provided 
treatment programs to go along with it. And therefore you just have a 
revolving door.

You asked how this would change the landscape. It would change it 
dramatically, because you're going to reduce the addict population that has 
been the hardcore, recurring problem that we have not dealt with 
effectively in the last 20 years.

Q: Several of the agencies that have been fighting the war on drugs -- the 
Customs Service, the Coast Guard -- are shifting their efforts to the war 
on terrorism. The FBI is, for all intents and purposes, getting out of the 
drug business altogether. The president, the attorney general and you have 
all linked drugs to terror, but it still appears the DEA will have a pretty 
significant gap to plug. What resources will the DEA need to continue to 
fulfill its purpose?

A: Adjustments are going to be made within federal law enforcement. ... As 
these different agencies focus on counterterrorism and increased security 
on the borders, there is a benefit that comes to our drug enforcement 
efforts. So it's not a matter of a dollar-for-dollar shift. ... We need to 
let the dust settle a little bit and then look at what additional resources 
are needed and where they need to go.

Q: To follow up on that, local agencies like the Mobile Police Department 
have been having a hard time maintaining their ranks. Without as much 
direct federal help on the drug front, how can they expect to avoid being 
swamped?

A: Well, the fact is, they're swamped. You're right. I mean, you have the 
local police agencies that generally have budget constraints that prevent 
hiring more officers, and they have more responsibilities. ... The federal 
government cannot come in and make up that gap.

So I think we have to forge strong partnerships that are effective. I think 
one of the examples is what we're doing today, where we try to work smarter 
rather than simply pour more resources in that many times our governments 
do not have.

Q: Critics of the Homeland Security legislation complain that it emphasizes 
law enforcement at the expense of civil liberties within the country and 
that it may be threatening the rights of legitimate immigrants on the 
borders. What's your response to that?

A: We never want to violate the civil liberties that are protected under 
the Constitution. I know that's a general statement, but whenever you look 
at our immigrant population, for example, immigrants make up America. We 
are a land of immigrants. We don't want that to change.

But at the same time, we have security issues that we have to make sure 
that ... our borders are protected. So it's a constant balancing of those 
two tugging values we have in our country. I think Attorney General 
Ashcroft has had to deal with that, and we're going to have the new 
Homeland Security that's going to have to deal with it as well. If you look 
at the legislation, my mandate is to protect the borders of the United 
States from terrorists. ...

I know that's a general answer, but that's all I can give, because I'm not 
confirmed by the United States Senate yet. (laughter)

Q: Mayor Dow has pushed hard to make Mobile a tourist destination, from 
cleaning up downtown to promoting cruise ship terminals. He envisions 
cruise lines between Mobile and Mexico and even Cuba. As you just said, you 
have a mandate to protect and secure the borders. Is there a conflict 
there? Is that going to make it more difficult for people who are trying to 
open the borders somewhat?

A: You can call it a conflict. That's not the word I would use. It is a 
natural fact of life, whether you're looking at what the mayor is trying to 
do in Mobile or whether you're looking at the commerce that has to flow 
through the land borders. We have to keep the economy moving. ... So we 
have to protect our borders and our security through better technology, 
better information, better targeting of our inspection services. ... That's 
something that we want to be able to emphasize -- improved, advanced 
technology, as well as intelligence that allows us to target those boats or 
vessels or entities that might come in and do us harm.

Q: Mobile's got a small Border Patrol office, but it is responsible for 
everything from the Louisiana line to Tallahassee or so. We also have a 
Secret Service office and a pretty sizable Coast Guard presence. All of 
those will come under the Homeland Security umbrella. Will we be able to 
see those offices doing things differently around Mobile?

A: I'm not going to comment specifically as to specific things you may see 
change down the road. Those decisions are still subject to discussions. ... 
But the mandate is for the new department to increase the coordination of 
these different agencies that have responsibilities on our borders and 
ports, to make sure that communication flows, and that if there is an 
incident, that the command and leadership structure is clear. ... But as to 
how we get to that objective, you'll have to wait and see.
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MAP posted-by: Alex