DRUG POLICY OFFICE TARGETS REDUCING DRUG DEMAND

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Drug courts, prison testing and methadone treatment of
heroin addiction could get more funding in the president's budget proposal,
as the administration's drug policy office seeks to press ahead with
prevention and treatment efforts.

But even as the Office of National Drug Control Policy gears up to ask
Congress for more money to reduce drug demand, some Republicans say they
hope to shift the focus back to eradicating illegal narcotics at their
source.

The drug policy office received $17 billion for the current fiscal year, up
from $13.2 billion four years ago. Officials said the office expects to
request more money in next year's budget, which President Clinton will send
Monday to Congress Monday.

Most of the money in the current fiscal year, as in many past years, has
been earmarked for drug reduction efforts.

"For many years, the prevention side was downplayed," James McDonough,
chief strategist at the drug policy office, said in an interview. "That's
where we're going to have to grow."

In the past four years, the administration has expanded its budget for drug
prevention by 40 percent, and for drug addiction treatment by 17 percent.

The office says such measures have shown results: In December it reported
that teen drug use was stabilizing after years on the rise, although it is
still much higher than it was in the early 1990s.

"I think we've made some progress in the past year," said Rep. Rob Portman,
R-Ohio, pointing to initiatives such as the Drug-Free Communities Act that
he sponsored in 1997. The program, which channels federal assistance
directly to grassroots anti-drug coalitions around the country, received
$20 million last year. Portman said he hopes for $30 million in this year's
budget.

Portman also praised a $1 billion, five-year advertising campaign launched
last year that targets young adults, but some members of Congress say
they'll be looking for evidence the ads are a worthwhile investment.

"That's one area we are going to carefully look at," said Rep. John Mica,
R-Fla., who heads the House Government Reform Committee's panel that
oversees drug policy. Mica also said in an interview that he hopes to
restart some drug eradication and interdiction programs cut in the mid-1990s.

At Republican urging, Congress authorized $690 million in emergency
spending this summer for illegal drug interdiction, money that has helped
to pay for more Coast Guard and military personnel to fight drug smuggling.

Coca farming has dropped sharply in the two countries that traditionally
supply most of the drug crop -- Peru and Bolivia. But that success has been
offset by increases in Colombia, the drug office says.

Still, that will allow the administration to focus on one country, rather
than three, in curbing supply, McDonough said. The administration also says
it would like to see more agents patrolling the Southwest border.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, would also like to see improved technology
for halting drug traffickers, particularly at border crossings. But Reyes,
a former border patrol chief, said simply halting the supply is not enough.
He also supports such initiatives as drug courts, which allow those
convicted of nonviolent crimes to go into rehabilitation instead of prison.

The drug office also will try to gain support in Congress for treatment
programs, including those using methadone.