A SMARTER WAR ON DRUG ABUSE

Attention: The Surgeon General has found that Hollywood can sometimes be
good for your health.

This happens when a movie accurately depicts a health problem and
sends a powerful message to the country. Last week the medical
establishment, led by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA),
went to Tinseltown and gave the mind-blowing movie "Traffic" the
health equivalent of best picture award.

"Traffic" certainly got all the parts of the drug-trafficking world
right, from the cartels in Mexico to the living rooms of Middle
America. To sit through the movie -- through the violence, death,
corruption and sorrow -- is to get an education in how the nation's
war on drugs has failed.

As a result, "Traffic" has changed the debate on drugs. No one is
talking about simple answers in the old-style polarized rhetoric of
lock 'em up vs. treat 'em. The movie makes it clear that both sides --
the law enforcement side and the treatment side -- need an overhaul.

"It was a good refreshing jolt," said a male friend, who came of age
during the Reagan era war on drugs. "There's no silver bullet that's
going to solve the problem." The problem is too huge, with "lots of
ugly facets," he continued, referring to scenes in the movie with the
corrupt general, the misguided drug czar, the broken daughter. "The
movie made a very big impact," my friend said. "People really looked
at it."

"The movie was a rude awakening for me," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley
(R-Iowa). People were awakened to "the fact that the drug world is a
very vicious, cruel and militaristic operation," he told a group of
health reporters last week. And there was a message for moms and dads,
grammas and grampas, Grassley said: "They ought to be more concerned
about what their kids are doing."

The federal government spends about $ 18 billion on the war on drugs,
but only about 30 percent goes for research, prevention and treatment.
Congress is set to increase the total to about $ 20 billion, Grassley
said. "Until we get all the elements of society together -- police,
education, family advocates, substance abuse [specialists], religious
groups -- we're never going to do any good," he said.

" 'Traffic' has raised the complexity of this issue," said NIDA
director Alan I. Leshner, who presided at the celebrity awards event
last week. "What 'Traffic' says is that you can't just arrest your way
out of this."

In other words, it's not a question of supply or demand, of cops or
therapists, but both. "You need all forces at the table at the same
time to make sure you're looking at the full complexity of this
issue," he said.

Three different voices from an OP (ordinary person), a pol and a pro.
And all three have similar things to say. They may not agree on what
exactly to do about the problem of drugs and addiction, but there is
consensus on the need to rethink the war on drugs in a comprehensive
way.

My bias favors the health side of this war, and I came away from
"Traffic" with two strong impressions:

For starters, the country needs to invest more funds and talent in
treatment. Ten years ago, there was little research on effective
strategies. Today, addiction specialists have a much better idea of
what works and how to restore abusers and addicts to productive lives.
The young woman in "Traffic" who gets into treatment reflects the
fortunate few. Only about 50 percent of addicts get treatment.

Second, the focus of any national campaign should be broadened to
include not just illegal drugs but all addictive substances, from
alcohol and prescribed drugs to cigarettes. In the real world, most
addicts are also alcoholics. Most treatment centers deal with multiple
addictions. From the health viewpoint, it doesn't make sense to
isolate and target just one category of harmful substances.

With last week's Prism award, "Traffic" received an official seal of
approval from the medical experts. These public health Oscars --
sponsored by the Entertainment Industries Council Inc., NIDA and the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation -- are given every year to movies and
television shows that most accurately portray the use and abuse of
drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.

If Hollywood can get it right, why can't Washington?