DRUG WARRIORS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE IN 5-PART PLAN

Emphasizing the need for a drug control strategy that measures success and
failure, the Clinton administration is announcing a five- part plan designed
to cut the size of the nation's drug problem in half by 2007.

In a report to Congress, White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey
said drugs cost more than 14,000 lives annually, despite a nationwide effort
that includes close to $18 billion spent this year by the federal
government.

President Clinton said that while "there is some encouraging progress in the
struggle against drugs . . . the social costs of drug use continue to
climb."

In a message to Congress, Clinton said that among the positive signs are a
growing view among young people that drugs are risky and a continuing
decline in cocaine production overseas.

"Studies demonstrate that when our children understand the dangers of drugs,
their rates of drug use drop," Clinton said.

The five parts of the plan are educating children, decreasing the addicted
population, breaking the cycle of drugs and crime, securing the nation's
borders from drugs and reducing the supply of drugs.

The blend of strategies is aimed at reducing the use and availability of
drugs by 50 percent by 2007, half of that by 2002.

A cornerstone of the strategy is accountability for the wide array of
current anti-drug programs, with boosts for those that work.

"In the past, Congress had been critical because there were no specific
measurements for success," said Bob Weiner, a spokesman for McCaffrey.
"There was some real heat in the government" resisting demands for
accountability, but "no longer do we only measure the people working the
issue and the dollars spent on it. Now you've got to prove bang for the
buck."