The presidential candidates have not widely touted their plans to deal with drug abuse. Is it because of their own suspect histories? Oct. 12, 2000 | Al Gore and George Bush have strenuously avoided discussing the $19 billion drug war for most of the presidential campaign -- a deafening silence compounded by the national media's peculiar inclination not to press the candidates on drug-related issues beyond their own alleged (Bush) and acknowledged (Gore) use of illicit substances. So it was something of a landmark moment in the campaign when Bush finally broke his silence on the issue last Friday by taking a swipe at the Clinton administration's drug war policies. In a speech in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Bush deplored what he claimed was an increase in teenage drug use caused by Clinton and Gore "sending the wrong message" and "failing to show leadership." [continues 1729 words]
Does National Institute on Drug Abuse chief Alan Leshner push propaganda over science in his close coordination with drug czar Barry McCaffrey? Social gatherings can be a downer for Alan Leshner, the gruff, no-nonsense director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one of the two dozen separate agencies that compose the National Institutes of Health. As soon as he arrives, he says, other guests admonish him about how to do his job. "I am probably the only NIH institute director who goes to a cocktail party and the first 12 people who come up to me tell me how to fix the drug problem," Leshner said recently. "The director of the National Cancer Institute doesn't have that problem." [continues 2660 words]
Gen. Barry McCaffrey drives his government office like a lockstep battalion, but some contend his ruthless schedule and egomanical ways are only hurting his effort to bring sanity to America's drug policy. Aug. 30, 2000 | It was 10 p.m. on a Friday that had started at 6 a.m. and drug czar Barry McCaffrey, two aides, two federal marshals and a D.C. cop were hurrying through Washington's National Airport to a lounge where McCaffrey could sit comfortably for a radio interview. [continues 4747 words]
