TEEN DRUG USE REPORTEDLY DOWN

Outgoing drug czar optimistic but warns of increased `club drug' use

WASHINGTON -- Drug use among teens is down 21 percent during the past two
years, but steroids and club drugs such as Ecstasy are increasingly popular
with young Americans, according to drug czar Barry McCaffrey's final annual
report.

McCaffrey, who leaves office today after five years as director of national
drug policy, gave a largely positive appraisal Thursday of national trends
and attitudes toward drug use, and said he's optimistic that the Bush
administration will continue initiatives on prevention and treatment that he
has pushed.

``Drug-related murders are down by half, and adolescent drug use is in
decline,'' McCaffrey said at a White House briefing. ``I can't imagine that
there isn't widespread unanimity that we need to continue prevention,
education and treatment. I'm very upbeat about the new team.''

But McCaffrey warned about the ``explosive increase'' in designer or club
drugs such as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly called Ecstasy.
Several surveys showed nearly a doubling of its use by high school students
in the last two years.

``They think it's a dance-all-night, feel-good drug,'' said McCaffrey,
adding that users don't realize it can permanently impair brain functions.
And his report cited another danger, especially visible in Florida
nightclubs:

``Growing numbers of users -- primarily in the Miami and Orlando areas --
combine MDMA with heroin, a practice known as `rolling.' If this trend
continues, MDMA may become a `gateway' drug that leads to the consumption of
other substances.''

McCaffrey said steroid use also has increased in recent years among youths
who want to excel at high school sports or ``even Little League baseball.''

By contrast, a collection of surveys of household use and emergency room
reports shows a 21 percent decline in overall drug use by children ages 12
to 17 since 1997. The surveys show that overall rates of use for cocaine and
heroin have stabilized since 1992, while young adults' use of marijuana has
increased.

McCaffrey credited more effective education campaigns and community-based
programs, a factor cited by President Clinton.

``Adolescents increasingly disapprove of illegal drugs, and a growing number
are using positive peer pressure to help friends stay away from drugs,''
Clinton said in a statement.

McCaffrey said the ``great unfinished business'' facing the new
administration is helping to remove the stigma of drug treatment and
providing insurance coverage and heath care for addicts.

In assessing enforcement problems in the hemisphere, McCaffrey said he was
pleased with efforts by the new Vicente Fox administration in Mexico but
warned that Colombia continued to face ``enormous problems'' from drug
traffickers. He called for continued U.S. aid to Colombia.

``These are 40 million people three hours' flight from Miami who have a huge
importance politically, culturally, economically to the United States, and
we intend to stand with them,'' he said.

Last summer, President Clinton signed a bill authorizing the United States'
$1.3 billion contribution to Plan Colombia, a multicountry aid package to
help Colombia battle drug trafficking.

McCaffrey, a retired four-star Army general and Gulf War commander, plans to
write a book about his experiences as drug czar. In three weeks he begins
teaching a course on national security at the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point.