NEW STRATEGIES ARE REQUIRED IN U.S. WAR ON ILLEGAL DRUGS

Terrorists didn't invent illegal drugs, but they might as well have. The
impact of addiction on U.S. society has been devastating, both in terms of
human suffering and in economic impact.

In a series of special reports, Florida Today recently explored the ongoing
crisis caused by crack cocaine and other illegal drugs in our society.

The situation revealed by the investigation is nothing short of alarming:

It's estimated that between 1989 and 1998 Americans spent $77 billion a
year on crack and regular cocaine. And that's not counting many more
billions spent on marijuana, heroin and other drugs.

About 58 percent of federal prison inmates are behind bars for drug crimes.

In Florida, 18 percent of prison inmates are there because of drugs, and in
Brevard County nearly a quarter of the jail's more than 1,400 inmates have
been charged or convicted of those offenses.

And those numbers don't come close to reflecting the scope of illegal drug
use in the USA or its impact on our communities.

So what's to be done?

That's where the situation gets even more frustrating, because there are no
simple solutions, no quick fixes, no magic bullets.

The illegal drug trade persists because the demand for drugs is constant, a
demand fueled by complex conditions, trends and pressures in our society.

A few things, however, are increasingly clear:

The nation's decades-old war on drugs hasn't worked. Although many billions
of dollars has been spent on intercepting drugs and eradicating related
activities in this country and abroad, illegal drugs are at least as
available on U.S. streets as they were 20 years ago.

Focusing on punishment rather than treatment hasn't worked. Countless
thousands of Americans have been imprisoned for drug offenses, but new
addicts quickly replace them on the streets and prisons fill up as quickly
as they are built.

Warning young people to avoid experimentation with drugs hasn't worked.
According to a survey last year, one in four high school students in
Brevard County had tried some sort of illegal drug in the previous month.
Statewide, one in five had used an illicit substance.

In a report early this year, the National Center of Addiction and Substance
Abuse at Columbia University said states need to change their priorities in
dealing with substance abuse.

The study found that in 1998, the states together spent $81.3 billion on
substance abuse and addiction, but only four cents of each dollar was spent
on prevention and treatment.

None of this surprises Harold Koenig of Satellite Beach, who has been
preaching the gospel of drug law reform for years.

"We know where the main customers of drugs are. It's people who have run
afoul of the law," said Koenig, the president of H.E.A.R.T., an acronym for
Help Early Addicts Receive Treatment. "To cut demand, we need to put people
into treatment, starting with the first offenders. We could save the lives
of kids, create a windfall of money (in savings) for the government and
also cut off cash flow to terrorists, some of whom are supported by drug
trafficking."

That's easier said than done, of course, but Florida and many other states
gradually are becoming more progressive on the issue. Special drug courts
and other programs now provide more treatment options for young offenders,
but the needs still far outweigh available resources.

That's why public officials across the nation need to review their
priorities with an eye toward what works and what doesn't.

If the war on drugs has taught us anything, it's that merely locking up
offenders and hoping they will see the error of their ways is not enough.

(SIDEBAR)

H.E.A.R.T. meeting

What: Meeting of Help Early Addicts Receive Treatment.

When: 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18.

Where: Parish Hall at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 1650 S. Hickory
St., Melbourne, across from the public library.

More information: (321) 773-0298.