THE MEXICAN GAMBIT

Drugs

MEXICAN President Vicente Fox can take pride in the success his
administration has had in nabbing drug lords and attacking government
corruption linked to the drug trade. Since Mr. Fox took office two years
ago, Mexico has jailed several cartel leaders and arrested dozens of
federal officials for feeding information to the cartels. It also has
disbanded an army battalion accused of helping traffickers transport drugs.

Yet Mr. Fox says attacking the supply alone isn't going to keep coke and
pot off the streets of Mexico City. "We have to keep the demand from
growing," he said. His comments this week were part of his government's
shift in strategy; more resources will be devoted to addiction and stemming
the demand for drugs. This shift is occurring, Mr. Fox said, because drug
consumption is rending Mexico's social fabric, tearing families apart and
triggering kidnappings, murders and robberies.

The United States could learn something from Mr. Fox's call for more
balance between interdiction and treatment. In the previous fiscal year,
the United States spent more than $3 billion in interdiction-related
programs; billions more were spent on local law enforcement. During the
same period, $3.5 billion was spent on treatment and treatment research.

Law enforcement and the courts, along with well-funded treatment programs,
have important roles to play in helping this nation cope with drug
problems. Questions should be raised about the wisdom of the global scope
of the U.S. drug war, especially since it failed to achieve its goal.
Starting with the Reagan administration, the U.S. goal has been to try to
disrupt cocaine, heroin and marijuana supply chains in an effort to make
them costlier to produce and too expensive for ordinary Americans to buy.
Notwithstanding U.S. efforts in Latin America, drug prices have remained
relatively stable.

How could we make a difference? Treatment. The most recent federal drug use
estimates are that 1.1 million youngsters between the ages of 12 and 17
need treatment, but only 150,000 are getting it. The conclusion Mr. Fox has
come to is one we should have learned by now: Spend as much on stemming
demand and treatment as on cutting supplies.