EXIT MCCAFFREY ... NOW HALT DRUG WAR

We would have to live in a dream world to think it's going to change
anything, but Monday's news that retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey is
stepping down as the nation's drug czar would be an opportune time for
the United States to reconsider its failed war on drugs.

Mr. McCaffrey, whose official title is director of the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy, announced he will resign Jan.
6, two weeks before President Clinton leaves office.

It was Mr. McCaffrey who bribed television networks with millions of
dollars to inject anti-drug messages into TV shows.

Additionally, Mr. McCaffrey wants $1.6 billion to take the drug war
into Colombia. That misguided idea would trap this nation in a
quagmire with no escape, similar to the war in Vietnam.

In the five years since the president appointed Mr. McCaffrey, federal
tax dollars used to fight the war on drugs have increased without any
real dent in drug use. The White House claims adolescent drug abuse
has fallen, but this president has lied so much it's hard to believe
anything that comes out of the executive mansion.

Besides, if true, the drop in adolescent drug use could be attributed
to many factors, such as education or a better economy, rather than a
"zero tolerance" policy on drug use by kids.

Regardless, reduced teen drug use in no way justifies the immoral and
unconscionable war on drugs. Vice President Al Gore has freely
admitted to smoking marijuana while younger. Does this mean he
deserves to be locked in a cage?

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 77
million (35.6 percent) of Americans 12 and older reported some use of
an illicit drug at least once during their lifetime. Should this
country, in the name of combating drug use, imprison 35.6 percent of
its population?

The war on drugs has fostered an atmosphere of disrespect for the
Constitution by police agencies and lawmakers nationwide. The Fourth
Amendment has been all but redacted in the name of fighting drug
abuse. No-knock warrants, roving wiretaps, property seizure laws, the
militarization of our police forces and random drug searches are
becoming more commonplace as legislators try to win votes by appearing
to be tough on drugs.

Stories of police killing innocent people after knocking down the
wrong door also are becoming commonplace. Just two weeks ago, police
in Lebanon, Tenn., killed John Adams, 64, after bad information from
an informant led them to raid the wrong house.

Only 5 percent of the world's population lives in the United States,
but 25 percent of the world's prisoners are housed here, thanks to the
war on drugs.

In 1994, 70 percent of everyone convicted of a drug crime was
sentenced to time in jail or prison. More than half of all federal
prisoners and nearly one-third of state prisoners are being held on
drug charges. The United States spends $9 billion a year incarcerating
drug offenders, according to a recent study by the Justice Policy Institute.

Don't get us wrong. Drug use is bad.

But drug use should be considered a social problem, not a criminal
one. There is no justification in outlawing personal behavior, caging
a large percentage of our population and endangering liberty in order
to fight something that is unhealthy.

When we give up liberties to fight a threat, real or perceived, we
undermine the very foundation on which our freedoms are built.

We should put an end to the war on drugs and instead concentrate on
education and rehabilitation. It's time to stop the use of
incarceration as a means to effect social change.