DRUG WAR

STATISTICS CALL FOR A DIFFERENT APPROACH

The results of the so-called "drug war" are not particularly encouraging if
one reads the statistics compiled in the July 27 article in the
Post-Intelligencer. In the words of King County's drug and alcohol
coordinator, "The trends are headed in the wrong direction."

Of course, we already know what the bureaucratic response will be: "We must
redouble our efforts." However, it should be pointed out that over the past
three decades, we have redoubled our efforts many times.

The latest result of this redoubling has seen Gen. Barry McCaffrey,
Clinton's drug man on a mission to Colombia, recommend that $1 billion in
"emergency drug supplemental assistance" be made available to Colombia and
other American allies in the Andes and Caribbean as soon as possible.

A more tragic result is the recent crash of a U.S. spy plane in Colombia
while on an anti-narcotics mission.

And yet, in spite of all the money and effort, drug use among the youths of
King County is growing.

Pardon me, but when the tactics you have used in a 30-year war are shown
over time to be an utter failure, isn't it reasonable to assume that it's
time to try a different approach?

Fred Nollan Jr., Seattle