FORGET THE CHAMPAGNE

You might think Joseph A. Califano jr. would be gloating these days about
the drug problem. Califano, 69, is the former Carter cabinet member who is
now arguably the number one authority on drugs, not to mention the most
quoted. The number of Americans using illicit drugs is down 41% since 1979.
Marijuana use among teens is finally leveling off. Drug-related crime? Way
down. The fact that we heard virtually nothing about drugs during the
presidential campaign means we must not have a problem.

Time to break out the champagne and celebrate? Not for Califano, who wants
sandwiches in his New York office and has plenty to be glum about. He is
quick with depressing statistics. A 1998 study found that of the nation's
1.7 million prisoners, 80% are there due to alcohol- or drug-related
crimes. Of these, 1.2 million are substance abusers, and most are not
getting treatment. Most are going to be released someday.

And yes, while teen drug use may have peaked, 55% of high school seniors
have tried an illicit drug, says Califano in his jet-engine voice, left
over from his early days in Brooklyn when he smoked a pack a day himself.

So Califano has made it clear he absolutely isn't ready to back away from
the war on drugs. His platform is the National Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse at Columbia University, known as Casa. He founded it eight
years ago. Through its well-regarded studies and advocacy, the center now
steers a lot of the national debate on drugs. Califano's celebrity, as it
were, is no small factor, either, in the center's influence. Califano made
tobacco public enemy number one in 1978 when he was secretary of Health,
Education and Welfare under Jimmy Carter (he was later fired for
insubordination). The old HEW seal still glares down from a wall behind his
head.

If you were to look at the situation cynically, it doesn't help Califano or
his center to declare the drug problem under control. The center, with its
$14.5 million annual budget, is brought to us via grants from foundations,
the government and corporations; all of which might contemplate diverting
their money elsewhere if they perceived drugs were no longer a major problem.

So one of Califano's challenges these days is getting people whipped up
about drugs. The subject certainly wasn't much discussed during the
presidential election.

"It was a stealth issue in the campaign," says Califano. When both
candidates were yabbering on about Social Security surplus, he recalls,
neither talked about how that surplus could be dramatically increased by
addressing the costs associated with diseases caused by smoking and alcohol
abuse. "And any President who is going to deal with welfare reform,
education, public housing and criminal justice is going to have to deal
with substance abuse," he fumes. Instead of posing with children, why
didn't either candidate consider doing something for them, like giving them
a drug-free school?

At the risk of really antagonizing Califano we ask him about
decriminalizing marijuana, a drug many feel is not much worse than alcohol.
Couldn't we save some big chunk of the $19 billion the U.S. is spending
this year on the war on drugs? We could cut out crop eradication and
interdiction, which we know don't work. We could save on all the drug bust
and sting operations that inspire exciting TV but are expensive in real
life. The money saved and the taxes collected could be funneled into drug
treatment.

"Legalizing drugs would be catastrophic, a disaster!" he says, more with
exasperation than the biblical thunder for which he is known. "Why? Because
it would be more available to children." Kids would be particularly
vulnerable, he explains, "because it wouldn't be the neighborhood guy
selling it, it would be Philip Morris, with a big ad budget," he says,
waving the remains of his sandwich: "If you are selling addiction, you need
two things: an addictive substance and kids. The tobacco companies would be
out of business if they didn't get people addicted before 21."

"Do you get many donations from Philip Morris?" I ask. He laughs politely.
Still, we can't help noting that 72 million Americans have used marijuana
and most haven't moved on to mainlining. What does our drugbuster say about
that? Furrowing his brow, Califano is perhaps wondering if this lunch was a
good idea. He barks to his secretary: "Get me the Gateway study."

We spread out the colorful bar charts on the table. Califano explains the
data is adjusted for adolescents with eating disorders, poor academic
performance, suicide attempts, drunken driving, violent actions and
promiscuous sexual behavior because not doing so would distort the results.
(I wondered how they found enough kids to study.) Among these teenagers,
Califano says, those who have used cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana at
least once in the past month are more than 16 times likelier to use another
drug like cocaine and heroin, which are far more addictive.

Even so, is it drugs that give addicts a habit or do addicts make a habit
of drugs? A deep sigh from our drug foe: "Yes, there is some genetic
explanation," Califano says. "Children of alcoholics have a higher chance
of becoming alcoholics. But here is the simple fact: We are 5% of the
world's population and consume 50% of the cocaine. That's not a comment on
genetics, but a comment on American society. The more you make drugs
available, the more people will get hurt. Why make it more certain children
will screw up their lives?"

Califano continues with more good sense: "Parents have much more power than
they realize. It's not a matter of telling children not to use drugs, but a
matter of being more involved in their lives. Parents raise hell about
asbestos but not about drugs in the school. Half the high school teachers
think kids can smoke marijuana every weekend and do fine."

He asks his secretary to get him one of the most recent of his constant
stream of editorials. In it, Califano writes that the center has proven
what people just suspected: Pot savages short-term memory, flattens
ambition and, despite popular opinion, is addictive.

Ending our conversation on an appropriately depressing note, Califano
quotes some final statistics: While illegal drug use has leveled off among
youth, usage is still way ahead of what it was in 1989.

Lunch is a long time over; the campaign, which ignored the problem, is
over, but the war on drugs is not. Our new President can assume that
shortly after noon on Jan. 20, he'll be hearing from Califano.