President Clinton praised recent signs of progress in curbing drug
use on Thursday but bemoaned the fact that "drugs continue to exact a
tremendous toll" on young people dabbling in steroids and club drugs
such as ecstasy.

In receiving the final report from his drug policy adviser, Clinton
said he was glad that the report showed drug-related murders are at
their lowest level in 10 years and that drug use by young people aged
12-17 is down 21 precent since 1997.

But, he said, studies also are providing disturbing evidence of
increased use of steroids, ecstasy and other drugs. "Too many young
people are still using alcohol, tobacco and illegal substances,"
Clinton said.

"We must never give up on making our children's futures safe and
drug-free," he said. "Despite our progress, drugs continue to exact a
tremendous toll on our nation."

Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy, noted that drug education and prevention efforts have not
kept up with the onslaught of new drugs such as ecstasy, known
chemically as methylenedioxymenthylamphetamine, or MDMA.

Those who use ecstasy normally experience feelings of euphoria and an
increased desire for social interaction. They also experience
dramatic increases in blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature.

Use of MDMA, once mainly an East Coast drug, has spread rapidly
across the country, McCaffrey said, with an "explosive increase in
exposure among our children."

"They think it's a hug drug, it's a dance-all-night, feel-good drug,"
McCaffrey said. But ecstasy also may permanently impair the brain's
neurochemical functions, McCaffrey said, "never mind the possibility
of dropping dead the first time you use it."

McCaffrey also noted that steroid use is up, particularly among
youths who want "to get that slightly ripped look ... to improve
their chance of getting selected for Little League baseball, or high
school diving, or track."

And he said treatment remains a goal of the National Drug Control
Strategy, pointing out that chronic drug users in the United States
tend to be employed and stable, but view treatment as a stigma.

"We've got 5 million chronically addicted Americans. If we don't have
them in effective drug treatment programs we can't ever break the
cycle of crime, violence, accidents, health costs that come from drug
abuse," McCaffrey said in an interview Thursday on CBS' "The Early
Show."

McCaffrey, who is stepping down Friday, said he is confident the
incoming Bush administration is aware of the importance of treatment.

Ethan Nadelmann, director of the New York-based Lindesmith Center
Drug Policy Foundation, said in choosing McCaffrey's successor,
President-elect Bush should focus on "a new bottom line" for drug
policy that emphasizes reducing the consequences of drug use - death,
disease, crime and overall suffering - rather than focusing on
cutting the total number of drug users.

"The war on drugs persists because most politicians dare not admit
that the strategy itself is fundamentally flawed," Nadelmann said.

McCaffrey's report said curtailing illegal drug use requires an
approach much like the fight against cancer - "prevention coupled
with treatment accompanied by research."

"The moment we believe ourselves victorious and drop our guard, drug
abuse will resurface in the next generation. To reduce the demand for
drugs, prevention must be ongoing," the report said.

Among the other elements of the drug control strategy:

- -Shielding air, land and sea frontiers from the drug threat.

- -Breaking foreign and domestic drug sources of supply.

On the Net:

Office of National Drug Control Policy: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/