A MAJOR FLORIDA FOCUS ON DRUG USE

This Friday the state will hold a summit meeting in Tallahassee on illegal
drug use. Speakers will include Gov. Jeb Bush, national drug czar Barry
McCaffrey and Senate President Toni Jennings and many other dignitaries.

The goal is to look at why drug use in the nation and state is on the
increase and consider what should be done about it. The conference may
produce some concrete drug-fighting strategies or may generate, as do so
many meetings, little more than warm and fuzzy platitudes.

But at least it is attempting to take a serious look at a very serious
problem.

JUVENILE DRUG USE is on the rise. Consider: From 1992 to 1997, the number
of state delinquency drug offense cases increased 120 percent.

More than 14,000 drug offense cases were referred to the Florida Department
of Juvenile justice last year. The category represents the fastest-growing
population in the juvenile justice system.

Some other frightening figures: The increase in drug offense cases over the
past six years is almost nine times greater than the increase in the
population of juveniles in Florida during the same period.

. Felony drug offense commitments have gone up 98 percent since 1993.

Drug use is not a victimless crime. Besides the horrific physical and
emotional damage illegal drugs do to the individual and his or her family,
the addiction almost invariably leads to crime. Most inmates in Florida's
prisons are, or were until incarceration, drug users.

What can be done? Certainly part of the solution is vigilant law
enforcement and harsh penalties for chronic offenders. But prison should be
a last resort. It is far better to transform a drug user into a productive
citizen.

Hillsborough and other counties have enjoyed great success with drug
courts, which require offenders to undergo drug treatment take regular drug
testing and comply with other strict rules.

This arrangement gives the drug abuser a chance to straighten himself out
and spares taxpayers the high costs of incarceration.

Judges, lawyers and police officers all report that the drug court has set
many drug users on the straight and narrow. Of course, those who continue
to use drugs deserve little mercy.

But there is more to combating drugs than simply arresting users and
sellers. An interesting statistic is brought up by Mark Merrill, president
of Family First a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting stable
families.

According to Merrill, close to 80 percent of the youths committed to the
state delinquency programs are from single-parent homes. He believes that
drug use and crime are very much intertwined with the breakdown of the family.

Of course, government can scarcely mandate intact families, but it can be
much more family-oriented. Schools can require more family participation.

In particular, the responsibilities of fatherhood should be emphasized to
young men, too many of whom feel no obligation to become involved in their
children's lives.

Beyond government, businesses too should consider whether their policies
are supportive of families or create obstacles for parents.

Another matter that should be addressed is Florida's fragmented approach to
juvenile drug use. There are some 23 agencies that are involved in some
way or other in the state's anti-drug efforts. There is little coordination
among them and little monitoring of the programs' results. The cost for
all this is about $2 billion a year.

GOV. BUSH should link each agency's funding to a program's results. There
should be a return for the state's investment.

Merrill rightly advocates the development of a statewide drug policy
council that would provide the latest information on substance abuse,
collecting those programs that have proved effective elsewhere and
recommending the wise use of tax dollars in anti-drug efforts.

The council also could help develop and implement a state drug control
strategy.

Another important way to discourage drug use is simply not to tolerate this
destructive behavior.

Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign was widely ridiculed, but it was
successful. Drug use went down during that national campaign.

In any event we hope the drug conference comes up with some workable steps
to put a stop to the growing and dangerous drug problem, especially among
our vulnerable young. But, at the very least, the event is focusing
attention on a social threat that deserves our utmost attention.