ANTI-DRUG STRATEGY GETS INTRODUCTION

The Clinton administration introduced a plan for sharing information about
drug trafficking that it says will help in the war on drugs.

The General Counterdrug Intelligence Plan was unveiled by representatives of
eight federal agencies, including the CIA, the Justice Department and the
State Department.

The $186 million program will build a database of information on seized
drugs and improve the government's ability to provide information to every
facet of the law enforcement community, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, head of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, said at a news conference.

Also, McCaffrey said the United States had revised its estimate for how much
cocaine Colombia could have produced in 1998 to 435 metric tons from a
previous estimate of 165 metric tons. The estimate for 1999 was 520 metric
tons, he said.

State Department officials said the figures were revised based on new data
showing that coca plantation yields were at least twice as high as
previously believed.