TOP DRUG FIGHTER VISITS OPA-LOCKA

Gen. Barry McCaffrey said America does not have a national drug
problem; instead, 'community drug epidemics.'

The nation's top drug fighter came to Opa-locka's infamous Triangle on
Tuesday to tell dozens of residents bluntly that it was up to them to
find solutions to the problems narcotics cause in their
neighborhood.

"Nobody's in charge of America," said Gen. Barry McCaffrey, director
of the Office of National Drug Control. "You've got to organize
yourselves in a community."

McCaffrey delivered his remarks in the Triangle, a neighborhood
well-acquainted with drugs and the turf-war violence they inspire.
More than 100 people heard McCaffrey speak at the Young, Bowers and
Brown Cultural Arts Center. Before he uttered a single word,
participants -- dozens of them standing along the walls -- gave him a
standing ovation.

McCaffrey said America does not have a national drug problem; instead,
there are "community drug epidemics." The solution, he said, lies with
people in communities like Opa-locka coming together and keeping the
faith.

"What's the biggest problem?" he asked. "A lot of decent people like
you think that the problem is hopeless. Lots of Americans have given
up. We just put our heads down."

He said police and sheriffs departments "are not going to solve the
problem of 5 million drug addicts in America."

True solutions should come from residents in neighborhoods starting to
identify local addicts and developing strategies to help them, he said.

"You can't begin to understand the problem unless you collect data
locally and organize yourselves in your community," he said. "There's
no doubt about it. The solution to the problem is right here in the
room. The future is in your hands."

He also said that many young people start to use drugs in grade
school, beginning a downward spiral that leads to other problems.

"If you want to do something about drug addiction, you've got to get
me when I'm in the 8th grade," McCaffrey told the group that included
ministers, social workers and anti-drug groups.

Programs such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, the YMCA and football
leagues are critical, he said. "Once you give kids a lifeline where
they can rescue themselves, they will grab it."

McCaffrey announced some startling figures about drugs and blacks, who
make up more than 60 percent of Opa-locka's population:

African Americans, who are 12 percent of America's population, account
for 14 percent of users of crack cocaine under 30.

Of users serving time for possession of crack cocaine, 88 percent are
black.

Blacks comprise 30 percent of those arrested for drugs and 48 percent
of those behind bars for drug-related offenses.

"You can bet your bottom dollar it has nothing to do with race,"
McCaffrey said, adding that Midwestern communities have just as big a
problems with drugs as inner cities.

Kathy Hightower, 41, unemployed Triangle resident who attended the
meeting, agreed with McCaffrey about focusing on children.

"The young people don't have anything to keep their minds occupied,"
said Hightower. "We need help. We just can't do it by ourselves, as a
parent, as a community."