SYRACUSE SPEAKERS FACE OFF ON NATION'S DRUG WAR

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The United States is far from winning the
ongoing war against drugs, said retired U.S. Ambassador Melvyn
Levitsky. But Mike Roona, a former Syracuse University professor, said
he was pleased with the progress.

"The war on drugs does not mean the war against drug addicts," said
Levitsky, who is also an SU professor of international relations and
public administration. "To clarify, it is the war on the drug problem.
We need to be flexible in terms of seeing solution."

Levitsky and Roona debated Monday in Maxwell Auditorium. Levitsky said
he favors zero tolerance for drug users.

Roona, executive director of the Social Capital Development
Corporation, said he favors a more approachable solution to the drug
war.

Society has determined that drugs should be prohibited or used only
for medicinal purposes, Levitsky said. But only when scientific
evidence for their use is available, he added.

Methods for drug rehabilitation have also proven unsuccessful in
recent years, Levitsky said.

"If addicts are trying to get clean, society is paying for them,"
Levitsky said. "Therefore, there needs to be a better rate of success."

Levitsky said he worked in various countries that supply large
quantities of illegal drugs, including China. Based on his experience,
Levitsky said he came to the conclusion that there needs to be a
strong supply reduction program in order to win the war. The fewer
drugs there are, prices will rise and there will be less demand, he
added.

It is the government's responsibility to take a strong role in
reducing drug use, Levitsky said.

"The Clinton administration ignored the situation for too long," he
said of former President Bill Clinton's eight-year span in office.

Drug-Free Country

Prohibition of drugs is closely linked to racism, paranoia and
sexually-related violence, Roona said.

When the Transcontinental Railroad was being built in the late 19th
century, the United States imported a large number of Chinese people
to help with the labor, Roona said. Upon completion of the railroad,
it had a surplus of unemployable Chinese workers.

This event is closely linked with the prohibition of opium because
Americans feared Chinese would get white women high on opium and take
advantage of them sexually, Roona said.

"For a period of 26 years," Roona said. "We weren't particularly
concerned with the increases of opium. We were concerned about Chinese
people smoking opium. We were concerned about white Americans smoking
opium."

An example like this shows that race was important in the prohibition
of drugs, Roona said.

He supported the scientific claim that marijuana is a "gateway drug"
and usually facilitates other drug use, including heroin and ecstasy.
The more money the government spends on anti-drug campaigns directly
correlates to an increase in drug use, Roona said.

"The more money spent on the war against drugs, the more likely people
are going to die," Roona added.

A possible solution to the rise of drug use among teenagers is to have
a probation officer "deal" drugs to teenage users. In order for the
teen to receive the drug, Roona said the teenager would have to come
to the officer and explain why he needed that particular drug.

Roona said this solution would allow the drug officer to reach teenage
drug users, to counsel them and to possibly convince them to use an
alternative, less harmful drug.

This process commonly takes place in Germany and Switzerland and
serves as a model to other countries trying to defeat the drug war,
Roona said.

Levitsky said he was not satisfied by Roona's idea, and two SU
students agreed.

Sophomore Michele Pecce said Roona's plan for eliminating drug use is
not feasible at the college level.

"Obviously, a person would not be willing to give the drugs out that
easily," said Pecce, a marketing and entrepreneurship major. "It
wouldn't be that effective."

Teenagers would find some way to elude the process, Pecce
added.

Sophomore Carol Bustros agreed that Roona's plan was not viable in
reality.

"They can get the drugs they want with less hassle from normal drug
users," said Bustros, a marketing major. "There will always be kids
getting drugs illegally. They are not going to go to some officer.
There are too many drug users out there for them to bother going to
some officer."