PUSH DRUG WAR ON ALL FRONTS

The Clinton administration's drug-control strategy unveiled last month
proposes to cut drug abuse in half by 2007. That's an ambitious but vital
undertaking.

Despite a federal expenditure of $18 bullion this year, an estimated 14,000
people continue to die from illegal drugs each year, and the social toll is
mounting.

Yet the game plan worked out by White House drug czar Gen. Barry R.
McCaffrey has the best chance of success in the so-far ineffectively fought
war on drugs.

The recipe for reducing drug use by 50 percent is an intelligent mix of
prevention, treatment and interdiction. It contains some creative twists
that promise to energize what ought to be a nationwide campaign on the
order of anti-tobacco and drunken-driving efforts.

The keystone is an assessment component that will tie government grants to
the measurable success of anti-drug programs. The ones that don't work
won't be supported.

Coaches, parents, mentors, teachers and clergy will be enlisted for an
advertising capaign to educate children on the risks of drug abuse. The ads
would be partly paid for through matching contributions from media companies.

Alternatives to jail are also part of the strategy, based on evidence that
prisoners who get treatment are less likely to be repeat offenders.

Goals also include reducing crimes related to drug trafficking by a third
and cutting health and social costs by 25 percent. The latter will be
difficult to measure. Health costs can be calculated and crime statistics
tabulated. Byut here is no index for the devastating emotional toll on
families and other victims of the scourge of drugs.

Cocaine production has declined. Crime rates are down. Sentencing is
stiffer. President Clinton has told Congress that more young people are
viewing drugs as risky. This is a good time for a well-coordinated attack.