EDUCATION AND CARING THE KEY TO DEFEATING DRUG 'CANCER'

THE danger of illegal drugs was first brought home to me during the Vietnam
War. It was a time when drug use among American troops rose alarmingly.
Marijuana and heroin were widely available in Southeast Asia, and use of
such drugs under combat conditions proved lethal or disabling for many
soldiers. Back in the United States, illegal drugs and alcohol abuse
increasingly plagued the military and the rest of society. In the 1970s,
drug use in the service was estimated at 30 to 50 per cent.

Yet by the time our armed forces were victorious in the Persian Gulf War,
less than 1 per cent of military personnel tested positive for drugs. We had
all but eliminated the problem _ through education, drug testing, treatment,
leadership and sensible law enforcement.

That's why I'm optimistic about the chances of cutting illegal drug use in
wider society. Unlike world hunger, racism and other intractable social
crises, drug abuse can be turned around in a relatively short time through
collective efforts and determination.

Left unchecked, illegal drugs could cost America half a million deaths and a
trillion dollars over the next decade. Criminal organisations that traffic
in drugs threaten democratic governance, the rule of law, economic stability
and human rights in many nations.

The international community's growing maturity in understanding the scope of
this problem is helping dissolve the myth that the US market is the sole
engine driving global drug trade. In fact, the US makes up just a small
fraction of the world's consumers. Even with the relatively high price
Americans are willing to pay for illegal drugs, our citizens account for
only 10-15 per cent of the more than US$400 billion (HK$3.12 trillion) spent
on drugs worldwide every year.

>From my perspective, the struggle against illegal drugs is not a "war."
Misplaced battle imagery leads people to expect a conclusive victory. Wars
have an end, but drug education, like all schooling, is continuous. To
reduce the demand for drugs, prevention must be ongoing. Addicted
individuals are to be helped, not defeated.

Cancer, rather than war, is the more appropriate metaphor for the nation's
drug problem. The key to reducing both is prevention coupled with treatment
and research. Slashing drug-use rates will require a sustained effort to
change individual and social attitudes. It also will demand fundamental
shifts in the way our public health and criminal justice systems deal with
chronic addicts. We cannot arrest our way out of the problem. Neither can we
make unrealistic promises to solve the drug problem in a few years, or rid
the world of drugs entirely. We must be serious and get organised with
long-term prevention and treatment programs that work.

The government's response is only a small part of the national effort to
counter illegal drugs. The drug problem is in essence a collection of local
epidemics that can best be addressed at the community level by coalitions of
parents, coaches, health professionals and teachers. Our children are most
influenced by people they love and admire, rather than by rock stars,
celebrities and other remote figures. An adult involved with mentoring can
change a child's life.

Much of the work that must be done against drug dependence will take place
within the criminal justice system. Drug courts are able to offer treatment
in lieu of prison for non-violent offenders. Drug treatment must be married
to legal coercion if America's five million hard-core users are to be
stopped from ruining their lives at great cost to our country in terms of
overcrowded courts and prisons, spiralling healthcare costs and violent
criminal behaviour. Strict law enforcement, combined with humane and
intelligent policy, is the answer to the enormous public safety problem
posed by drug dependence. The indirect campaign to legalise drugs has tried
to manipulate the issues of "medical marijuana" and "harm reduction." This
approach should offend America's sense of integrity. The welfare of children
must come first. Reducing drug abuse is in our country's most fundamental
interest.

I saw a lot of destruction and suffering in US combat operations. Nothing,
however, exceeds the chaos caused by young Americans who drift into the
spiral of chronic addiction.