REAL DRUG PROBLEM IGNORED

In the 1930s, J. Edgar Hoover inflated headlines and the FBI budget by
wowing the public with the pursuit of outlaws such as Machine Gun Kelly and
John Dillinger. The public did not know until later that Hoover virtually
ignored the consolidation of organized crime. But the petty bank robbers of
the Depression never contributed to a politician.

Now history repeats itself with a drug war that any thinking citizen can
only term "silly," if not for the fact that the real problem is being
ignored once again.

As the governor of New Mexico has observed, the war on drugs is an
outrageous investment for very little return, and it generally victimizes
mainstream citizens, who have chosen to smoke pot instead of gulp martinis.
Drug-free, indeed.

The problem is puerile leadership. Bonded with the wishy-washiness
dribbling from the White House, we have Trent Lott, a former University of
Mississippi cheerleader, running the Senate, and Dennis Hastert, a former
high school coach, calling plays as Speaker of the House. Little wonder the
drug war looks like an overblown locker search.

The U.S. Constitution grants the federal government the power to declare
war, but it does not prohibit doing so on international criminal
organizations. If the CIA can locate the heroin and cocaine production
centers better than they located the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, our
military could deliver the cruise missiles before the next shipment arrives.

On the other hand, it's easier to bust a college kid. Maybe yours is next.

ALAN JENKINS

Fairchild