FILLING VOIDS DRUGS CAN'T

Washington's chief antidrug official has the unenviable job of bringing
some sense to the multipronged, $19 billion program loosely referred to as
the "war on drugs."

For the past four years that "war" has been conducted by a bona fide former
general, Barry McCaffrey, who brought great energy and military discipline
to the job.

But he didn't, of course, "win" the war. That was no fault of his. He
initiated some promising new tactics, such as more-effective advertising
aimed at youth. He came to recognize that greater emphasis was needed on
preventing and reducing the demand for drugs than on curbing their flow
into the United States.

Drug-use statistics remain disturbing. Cocaine and heroin use is still
high. And new problems, such as the rise of the so-called party drug
Ecstasy, have sprouted.

The command now shifts to a Bush appointee, John P. Walters. With the
shift, the nation has an opportunity to reconsider the country's antidrug
strategy.

The "war" analogy is wearing thin. That terminology always has evoked
images of police raids on crack houses or bombing raids on coca fields in
Latin America. It has meant sweeping up narcotics users and sending them to
prison with mandatory sentences. But the attempt to raid and arrest
America's drug problem into surrender has failed. Many states are now
rethinking their harsh sentencing laws for drug users.

Tactics like interdiction are still needed, though they're insufficient.
The primary focus must be on giving people the moral courage to avoid drugs
and ending the addiction for those already hooked.

Individuals who think drugs fill a void in their lives must be invited to
fill that void with something immeasurably better - better relationships,
more-enriching work, more education, and loving family and community
support. To help this, President Bush hopes to support the antidrug work of
faith-based social services.

In announcing Mr. Walter's appointment, Mr. Bush aptly noted: "the most
important work to reduce drug use is done in America's livingrooms and
classrooms, in churches, in synagogues and mosques, in the workplace, and
in our neighborhoods." He also said he would "focus unprecedented attention
on the demand side of this problem." That means more and better drug
treatment. Today, most treatment programs have long waiting lists. Only
about half of the 5 million chronic drug users who need treatment can find it.

Bush proposes increasing federal funding for drug treatment by $1.6 billion
over the next five years. That's a good start, and state and local funding
should be boosted, too.

Treatment isn't a mechanical process. Much depends on the individuals'
inner readiness to kick the habit - and on the advice they receive.

Walters has warned that children often lack the moral environment that
would keep them off drugs. That means he'll likely focus on both the
recreational use of "softer" drugs as well as hard-drug use. And he's in
favor of treatment "that works." But he's also known for stressing tougher
law enforcement and interdiction.

The new antidrug chief has an opportunity to shift the balance between the
use of threats and the use of incentives in the "war on drugs."