DRUG CZAR SELF-CONGRATULATIONS UNMERITED

Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey pats himself on the back for waging a successful
war on drugs in the past five years ("Departing drug czar cites progress,
says more to be done," Jan. 5). Like most bureaucrats, he measures his
"effectiveness" by the amount of money he spends. That is why Gen.
McCaffrey touts the fact that federal spending on drug programs has
increased 55 percent in recent years.

Gen. McCaffrey has been urging President-elect George W. Bush to "stay the
course" with the federal drug war, but Mr. Bush should pause to consider
where we are going.

Federal prosecutors are threatening doctors in California for simply
discussing the pros and cons of using marijuana for medicinal purposes. The
drug czar's office is reviewing the scripts of our TV shows for politically
incorrect comments. Drug enforcement agents are using forfeiture laws to
seize the homes and cars of people who have not been convicted of any
crime. Our military personnel are getting killed in the jungles of Colombia
in a futile attempt to stop coca production.

Gen. McCaffrey also does not mention his setbacks at the ballot box, where
voters have opted repeatedly for drug treatment instead of criminalization
and militarization.

Even President Clinton has criticized the general's position that marijuana
users should be punished criminally. Against that backdrop, it is
understandable why Gen. McCaffrey would want to declare "victory" and leave
town.

Timothy Lynch, Director, Project on Criminal Justice,
http://www.cato.org/people/lynch.html, Cato Institute, Washington