'TRAFFIC' DRIVES DRUG POLICY TO FOREFRONT

WASHINGTON "Traffic," a gritty, R-rated movie that was shot partially with
a hand-held camera, is having more impact on the debate over drug policy
than any public official, including President Bush.

One reason for that is the president says little about the issue, hasn't
made drug control a priority and hasn't named a drug czar.

The other reason is the movie's popularity. It's earned $97 million in 11
weeks, could win best picture at the Academy Awards next Sunday and has
jolted the often-hackneyed discussion in the nation's capital over what to
do about illegal drugs.

"Traffic" is a sprawling, ambitious look at how drugs cripple the lives of
many people: a courageous Mexican cop trying to survive rampant corruption;
U.S. drug agents struggling to stem a flood tide of smuggling; and a drug
czar, played by Michael Douglas, devastated by his daughter's drug
addiction and disillusioned by empty rhetoric.

"Right now, a movie is bringing drug issues into the forefront of the
public debate, not the president," said Manon McKinnon, a conservative drug
policy analyst who supports Bush.

"The film has moved the debate over drugs from the op-ed pages into the
popular culture," said Kevin Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug
Policy, which opposes many current drug laws. "(Director) Stephen
Soderbergh has tapped into the public's unease about what government is doing."

And government is responding, or at least talking about it. Critics of the
drug war say the movie exposes the futility of costly efforts to stop
smuggling. Some activists, including supporters of interdiction, praise the
film for its graphic depiction of a teen-ager in the throes of addiction
and prostitution.

In recent weeks, Washington has seen this impact:

_ President Andres Pastrana of Colombia arranged a screening of "Traffic"
for members of Congress, diplomats and policy-makers.

"That was a smart thing for Pastrana to do and somewhat bold, and it had
everybody talking," said Bernard Aronson, a former assistant secretary of
state for inter-American affairs. "The movie has captured the mood of
Washington and some of the ambivalence about what to do."

_ At a hearing on a bill to spend $900 million more for drug prevention and
treatment, including money for community programs and prisons, senators
cited the movie as a common reference point. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., used a
scene from the film to make the case for greater efforts to reduce the
demand for drugs.

"I was struck when the drug czar played by Michael Douglas questions the
lack of emphasis placed on drug treatment," said Leahy.

"The comment that stood out most for me was, how can we fight a 'war on
drugs' when the enemies are drug users who are members of ordinary American
families?"

_ One by one, officials are taking in the movie, often with younger family
members. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., saw it with his 16-year-old
daughter. "It had a very powerful effect; it's caused me to rethink our
policies and priorities," he later told commentator Arianna Huffington.

_ On the television show "20/20," Barbara Walters asked Bush about the
movie and "its premise that the war on drugs is a failure, and many
Americans feel that way. Can a president do anything about that?

Bush, who once overcame a drinking problem, responded: "I think we need to
examine all policies in terms of treatment. I think we ought to focus on
treatment programs that work."

Acclaimed by most reviewers, the film also has its critics. Sen. Joseph
Biden, D-Del., described it as "simplistic and wrong: It concludes that
we're losing this effort, that we should give up on law enforcement.

That's so wrong."

Biden and retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the former drug czar, said the
film poses a false choice between law enforcement and drug treatment.

"It wasn't very subtle," said McCaffrey, a former general now teaching part
time at West Point. "The message was the futility of it all, the madness of
those involved, that it's all failing. You wouldn't know that drug abuse is
substantially down from 15 years ago.

"When Douglas says, 'Why aren't we talking about treatment?' _ well, we
are, and we're doing a lot."

Even its critics, however, acknowledge the film's power and influence.

William Bennett, another former drug czar, said in a Fox News interview: "I
disagree with some of it, but it has raised the issue again, and that's a
good thing."

Drug policy analyst McKinnon, who worked with Bennett on drug issues, saw
the film with her daughter-in-law, who took something very personal from it.

"The portrayal of drug use was shocking and horrifying to her," said
McKinnon. "A picture is worth a thousand words, and many young people get
the message just how harmful this is."

The film includes a scene that's an unusual mix of Hollywood and
Washington. Douglas attends a cocktail party where real senators who are
playing themselves, including Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.,
and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chat with him and give him a few words of
advice about his new job.

Hatch afterward criticized the film for its profanity and violence, but
more recently said it helped persuade him to back the Senate bill, which he
has sponsored with Leahy, to fund more drug treatment.

Groups that are pushing to decriminalize drug use say "Traffic" has boosted
their cause. Ethan Nadelman, who heads the Lindesmith Center-Drug Policy
Foundation, likened the movie to "Dead Man Walking," which got people
talking about the death penalty. Others compare it to "The China Syndrome,"
which questioned the safety of nuclear power plants in 1979.

"Films, late-night talk shows _ that's how many people get information
these days," said Zeese, of Common Sense for Drug Policy. "This movie
doesn't preach, but it gets your attention and makes people think."

Jack Valenti, a former aide to President Lyndon Johnson and the longtime
chairman of the Motion Picture Association, noted a certain irony: Senators
used to criticizing Hollywood are responding to a film that includes some
of them and poses hard questions to political leaders.

"I think it's one of the great anti-drug films ever made," said Valenti.
"It also shows that unless you do something about demand, you can hang all
the drug dealers till the skies grow dark, and it won't stop it."

On Capitol Hill, senators are critiquing each other's cameo appearances.
With a smile, Democrat Leahy turned to Republican Hatch at last week's
hearing and praised his performance.

"I wasn't acting," responded a deadpan Hatch.