HIGH DRUG ZONES TAGGED

WASHINGTON The White House Tuesday designated a dozen New England counties
including Fairfield, New Haven and Hartford as a "high-intensity
drug-trafficking enforcement area," which could bring millions of federal
law enforcement dollars to the region.

The three Connecticut counties will join with nine other New England
counties to share $1 million in federal aid, which will help local, state
and federal law enforcement agencies coordinate efforts to break drug
networks.

The counties also will be able to compete for additional $185.5 million in
federal grants that will be awarded this year.

"I view these designations as a catalyst for law enforcement and
prosecutions," said Barry R. McCaffrey, director of the White House Office
of National Drug Control Policy. "They are making a huge impact on the
quality of life."

McCaffrey made the announcement at a Capitol Hill press conference flanked
by dozens of lawmakers, including Reps. John Larson, D-1; Rosa DeLauro, D-3;
James Maloney, D-5; and Nancy Johnson, R-6.

Maloney said much of the anti-drug effort funded by the program will be
aimed at rooting out the Dominican and Colombian drug traffickers operating
in New England.

"By gaining access to these funds, our communities will have a stronger
collective defense in fighting drugs," DeLauro said.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., welcomed the federal initiative, but said
it was sad to have Fairfield, New Haven and Hartford counties named as areas
with a large drug problem particularly since the counties are among the
wealthiest in the nation.

"Even at a time of plenty, America still has plenty of problems," Lieberman
said. "Drugs are a high-intensity problem and they require a high-intensity
response."

Along with the 12 New England counties, several counties in California,
Hawaii, Oregon and Ohio also received the designation Tuesday. The counties
will join 21 high-intensity drug-trafficking enforcement areas nationwide
that have received $162 million in federal grants since the program began in
1990.

On a related issue, the National Institutes of Health announced Tuesday that
some cocaine addicts are significantly more likely to break their addiction
if they receive at least 90 days of treatment.

Cocaine addicts with problems such as unemployment, poor support from family
and friends, other drug or alcohol use, depression or anxiety require more
intensive and lengthier treatment to overcome their drug abuse than those
without such problems, according to the NIH study.

"This study indicates that patients addicted to cocaine who have moderate to
severe problems need at least three months of treatment to get a maximum
effect," says NIDA Director Dr. Alan I. Leshner. "Clearly, these findings
argue against the efforts that have been made recently to cut back on the
length of drug abuse treatment in order to save money."

DeLauro, Shays and Lieberman said that they recognize drug abuse requires
strong prevention and treatment efforts in addition to stronger law
enforcement."There is no simple response to resolve this issue. We have to
keep working at it on many levels," Lieberman said.

Peter Urban, who covers Washington, can be reached by e-mail at
Nabrup@aol.com