DRUG CZAR STRESSES NEED TO BOLSTER PREVENTION

Calling it the "heart and soul" of a national drug control policy, White
House Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey on Tuesday touted prevention as a key
component to curbing drug use among the country's youths.

"We need to involve community coalitions in drug prevention . . . it has to
be glued into the fabric of America," McCaffrey said.

McCaffrey spoke to an audience of about 1,000 at the National Drug
Prevention Network Research Conference at the Adam's Mark Hotel.

His 30-minute presentation wrapped up a two-day visit to San Antonio. On
Monday, he spoke to 2,000 veterans at the national convention of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars and to a forum of parents, teachers and students at
Montgomery Elementary School.

His visit to San Antonio came on the heels of a tour of the U.S.-Mexico
border in El Paso, where he called for better coordination of federal
efforts and agencies in controlling drug smuggling.

While his speeches Monday centered on drug abuse among veterans and
community-oriented policing, McCaffrey focused Tuesday on ways to prevent
drug use.

"It's a lot easier to deal with drug prevention than it is to deal with the
consequences of drug abuse," McCaffrey said.

While he noted that the national DARE program has been successful, McCaffrey
said the campaign typically ends at the primary school level.

Moreover, he said, drug prevention efforts should not be limited to
educational programs in school.

"We have focused way too much on our school systems," McCaffrey said. "What
are we going to do on the weekends or in the summers?"

As part of his 1998 national drug control strategy, McCaffrey enlisted the
support of 36 of the nation's biggest civic organizations to form alliances
to expand drug prevention efforts.

The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign is an example of how experts in
teen marketing and advertising teamed with drug prevention practitioners and
civic organization representatives to prepare media messages for
adolescents, he said.

The first phase of the billion-dollar, five-year campaign, initiated in
January, consists of television, radio, print and outdoor advertisements in
12 urban areas across the United States.

McCaffrey said other drug-prevention programs could be established at the
community level, such as the Boys' and Girls' Clubs.

Checked-by: Don Beck