MOST AMERICANS FEEL COUNTRY LOSING THE DRUG WAR

WASHINGTON - The American public is increasingly convinced there is little
the nation can do to combat the problem of illegal drugs, says a poll that
shows three-fourths of Americans think the demand for drugs is so high it
will be impossible to stop their use.

Just as many believe the nation's government is losing the drug war.

But they still believe in a tough policy with the emphasis on arresting
drug dealers and stopping the importation of drugs, according to the poll
by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

"This suggests the public is frustrated with the war on drugs and doesn't
think it's succeeding," Pew pollster Andrew Kohut said. "But it is still
sticking with the tactics of the drug war, giving the highest priorities to
interdiction and incarceration."

Two-thirds in the poll say they believe Latin American nations never will
control drug traffic.

Americans were more compassionate toward users of illegal drugs, with half
believing drugs should be treated as a disease, compared with a third who
think it should be treated as a crime.

The strategies of the drug war have gotten a renewed focus in recent
months, reflected in the attention of news coverage and the Oscar-nominated
film "Traffic" that examines the inefficiency of long-standing policies
toward the drug trade.

In Congress, some lawmakers have been debating the balance between
punishment and treatment of the nation's drug users, and even cite the
movie's influence on the debate.

The poll suggests significant public skepticism has grown up around
government policy toward drug treatment and enforcement, said Maureen
Steinbrenner, president of the Center for National Policy, a Washington
think tank.

The White House is looking for the right blend in developing its drug
strategy, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Tuesday.

"Fighting illegal drugs is a priority for President Bush because drugs
destroy our neighborhoods, harm our children and ruin lives," McClellan said.

Blacks and those with low incomes and less education have high concerns
about the potential effects of drug use on their own family, according to
the poll. Four of five blacks said they were at least somewhat concerned
about the effects of drugs on their family.

Almost as many who made less than $20,000 or had less than a high school
education - about seven in 10 - felt that way.

The poll of 1,513 adults was taken Feb. 14-19 and has an error margin of
plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Feelings about whether drug use should be treated as a disease or a crime
split sharply along partisan lines. Republicans were more likely by 48
percent to 38 percent to say drug use should be treated as a criminal
offense. Democrats said by a 2-to-1 margin it should be treated as a
disease. More than half of independents said it should be treated as a disease.

Young people were far more likely than older people to say drug use is a
disease.

Americans were about evenly split on the question of eliminating mandatory
sentences just for drugs. Women were slightly more inclined than men to say
that getting rid of mandatory sentences would be a bad thing.