A WAY TO BEAT ILLEGAL DRUGS

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 to be between 30 and 50 percent.

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

That's why I am optimistic about the chances of cutting illegal drug use in
the greater 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. In fact, it has decreased in
the United States by more than half since hitting a peak in 1979.

Left unchecked, illegal drugs could cost this country a half-million deaths
and a trillion dollars over the next decade. Criminal organizations 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 U.S. market is the
sole engine driving global drug trade. In fact, the United States 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 to 15 percent of the more than $400 billion spent on
drugs around the world 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 a continuous
process. To reduce the demand for drugs, prevention must be ongoing.
Addicted individuals are to be helped, not defeated. They must be held
accountable for their actions and offered drug treatment to help change
destructive behavior.

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 just a few years
or rid the world of drugs entirely. We must be serious and get organized
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 needs to 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 nonviolent offenders. Drug treatment must
be married to legal coercion if America's 5 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, spiraling health-care costs and violent
criminal behavior. 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 legalize 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 have seen a lot of destruction and suffering in U.S. combat operations.
Nothing, however, exceeds the chaos caused by young Americans who drift
into the spiral of chronic addiction.

The writer is director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.