DRUG WAR PROGRESS

Re: "War on Drugs - How can we win some more ground?" Editorials, June 15.

Thank you for your editorial pointing out that drug use is down in
this country. It is rewarding to read responsible and accurate media
coverage reflecting the progress being made. In Texas a survey of more
than 125,000 secondary students found that illicit drug use fell 9
percent from 1998 to 2000, and tobacco use dropped 15 percent.

Texas now has a powerful new weapon to reduce substance abuse. Gov.
Rick Perry has signed Senate Bill 558 creating a Demand Reduction
Advisory Committee to develop a statewide strategy to reduce drug demand.

This legislation brings together 15 state agencies and selected
members of the public to work together on this critical issue. The new
committee will develop a strategic plan that includes 10-year targets
for reducing drug demand, sets performance-based measurements and
accountability standards, emphasizes research-based approaches and
provides a mechanism to coordinate local, state, federal and private
efforts.

A 1997 report by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse found
that substance abuse costs this state more than $19 billion a year.
This new committee offers the potential of a comprehensive and
sustained approach to reduce the toll to our social, educational,
medical and criminal justice systems that drugs take, benefiting our
children, our families and our communities.

Beverly Barron, Vice Chair,
Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse,
Austin