NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Holding the line in the war against drugs, especially when our youths are
involved, simply is not good enough.

The recently released annual Monitoring the Future survey examining drug,
alcohol and cigarette use among eighth-, 10th- and 12th graders indicates
over-all teen-age drug use has remained stable for the third consecutive year.

The use of most illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and
inhalants, remained steady in 1998. Cigarette smoking and alcohol use also
remained stable, but the survey also indicated more high school students
have been using steroids and the "club drug" ecstasy.

While we applaud this turnaround in a decade that, for the most part, has
seen an upward trend in drug use, we question whether the resources used in
the war against drugs are being used as wisely as they could be.

In a war that this country has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into
since we began fighting it in earnest in the 1960s, having teen-age drug
use remain stable for three years is nothing to boast about. How can it be
that the richest and one of the most advanced nations in the world cannot
do more than just hold the line in this most important of wars?

America's generals fighting this war must rethink their strategy and find a
way to effectively reverse the trend to one that consistently sees a
decline in drug use among the nation's teen-agers and adults.

Americans, all of us, must become involved in helping others turn away from
drugs.

We can do better.

We must do better.