FORMER DRUG CZAR SAYS SMARTER POLICY NEEDED

(KRT) - Former drug czar and retired Army Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey said
the effort to stem illegal drug use in the United States is working.

He said there are now more drug treatment programs, drug courts, and
high-tech research about drug addiction.

Cocaine production has decreased in Latin American countries, such as
Peru and Bolivia, allowing democracy to flourish there.

And with respect to Colombia, the Western Hemisphere's largest
producer of cocaine and heroin, McCaffrey said U.S. policy is making
slow, but steady progress in helping to restore order in that country.

In an interview last week, McCaffrey was unflappable in his belief
that the nation's counter-drug policy has worked effectively - despite
a public perception that the so-called "war on drugs" is an utter failure.

"One of the worst things they came up with was the metaphor, the war
on drugs," said McCaffrey, head of President Clinton's drug-control
policy.

"I spent five years trying to replace it with a metaphor as a cancer
affecting American communities."

The decorated Army veteran and West Point spoke Friday at the Citizens
Bank/Providence College Veritas Forum, honoring activist Henry J.
Shelton for his work helping the poor.

During an hour-long interview after the forum, McCaffrey said he takes
the long view of the drug problem.

A commander in Vietnam, who watched drug use demoralize his troops,
McCaffrey said that drug use is significantly down since its peak in
the 1970s.

Nonetheless, McCaffrey said that "drug and alcohol addiction is the
single most significant problem facing America. Period."

McCaffrey said that overall drug and alcohol use is decreasing, but
chronic substance abusers need more help.

He said the solution requires expanding access to drug-treatment
programs, which are costly and rarely covered by private insurance.

McCaffrey said insurers need to be told that covering treatment
programs will reduce health-care costs because addicts tend to suffer
from HIV and other ailments as they age.

"We have to change the laws and trap the insurance industry into doing
what is actually a smart policy move," he said.

McCaffrey said "misinformation" has plagued the national debate about
drug policy.

For instance, he dismissed criticism that people have been locked in
jail for years for simple drug possession. While their record might
reflect such a charge, McCaffrey said the vast majority are put in
jail because of a pattern of criminal behavior.

"As a general statement, people do not get arrested, prosecuted, put
behind bars for the simple possession of illegal drugs when addicted,"
said McCaffrey.

On the issue of Colombia - a country rife with political kidnappings,
guerrilla warfare, and an industry producing 600 tons of cocaine a
year - McCaffrey praised its government and police force.

The United States provides military and other assistance to Colombia
as part of its counter-drug efforts.

"We think they have advanced the policy," McCaffrey said of the
Colombian government. "We think they are moving forward. We think the
thing is working. We think it's immeasurably better."

He said intervention into Latin American countries to stop the flow of
illegal drugs in the United States makes up only a small portion of
Washington's counter-drug budget - about 8 percent under McCaffrey's
reign as drug czar.

"If you are trying to stop heroin addiction in Providence, the least
likely way to do it is to go to Colombia and cut down opium bushes,"
he said.

"You ought to do some of that. But you shouldn't expect that you are
going to change the chronic drug-taking behavior of 3.2 million
cocaine addicts in the United States, and just under a million heroin
addicts."

That doesn't mean the United States should give up trying to stop drug
production altogether, McCaffrey said. This is an international
problem that not only feeds addicts, but threatens struggling
democracies in Latin America and Central Asia.

McCaffrey roundly dismissed people arguing one solution is to legalize
drugs. "By the way, you probably don't know what you are talking
about. But I certainly do," he said.

Before becoming Clinton's drug-policy director, McCaffrey commanded
the 24th Infantry Division during the Persian Gulf War.

McCaffrey said he expected the division to experience between 500 and
2,000 casualties or injuries. In the end, there were eight deaths and
36 people wounded.

The recipient of two Silver Stars and three Purple Hearts, McCaffrey
predicts that there could be more casualties if the United States
attacks Iraq again. He expects Saddam Hussein will use chemical
weapons and that U.S. troops will encounter heavy fighting in Baghdad.

"We ought to treat this as a deadly serious project. My son is about
to deploy, so this is not a theoretical prospect for me."