MCCAFFREY COMMITS TRUTH DURING EUROPEAN TOUR

Barry McCaffrey is a stand-up guy. If there were any doubts that the
Clinton administration's drug czar was anything but, he dispelled them
during his recent eight-day visit to Europe.

The highlight of McCaffrey's trip was a stop in the Netherlands, where
the retired army general got to judge for himself the merits of that
nation's liberal drug policies.

McCaffrey was unimpressed. He pronounced the Dutch government's heroin
distribution program an "unmitigated disaster," not the least, he
added, because the program consigns "part of the population to
suffering endlessly from heroin."

The drug czar also made known his dim view of Dutch coffeehouses,
which sell marijuana and hashish to anyone over 18, even though they
technically are not allowed to do so under Dutch law. "It is a legal
hypocrisy that bothers many," McCaffrey understated.

The Dutch government took umbrage with McCaffrey's frank criticisms.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry called in the U.S. ambassador in protest.
And the Dutch Ministry of Health questioned why McCaffrey had set foot
on Dutch soil in the first place.

But McCaffrey was guilty only of committing truth. The Dutch
government's laissez-faire drug policies are, indeed, a disaster. This
is borne out by the across-the-board increases in crime and
drug-related deaths in the Netherlands since 1978.

The frightening thing of it is that, in recent years, a startling
number of prominent Americans -- from former Surgeon General Jocelyn
Elders to U.S. Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner to billionaire
George Soros -- have publicly expressed the view that the United
States should emulate the Netherlands by legalizing drug use.

This kind of thinking -- whatever the motivation -- may have
contributed to the rise in drug use in this country, particularly
among younger Americans. Indeed, marijuana use among teen-agers has
increased more than 100 percent. Teen-age use of cocaine, heroin and
LSD is up 150 percent.

Liberalizing America's drug policies, a la the Netherlands, would only
make these disquieting statistics worse. And it is hard to see how
having more junkies in this country amounts to good public policy, no
matter what Elders, Posner, Soros and other advocates of drug
legalization suggest.

The best approach, the approach that happens to be favored by Gen.
McCaffrey, is three-pronged: Maintain law enforcement's zero tolerance
of illegal drug use, not the least to deter casual use. Coordinate
with foreign governments to fight drug trafficking. Expand prevention
programs to discourage nonusers from becoming users and expand drug
treatment programs to help addicts beat their deadly habit.

Ultimately, victory or defeat in the war on drugs will depend in part
on leadership at the top. And, unfortunately, leadership has been
sorely lacking in most of the men who have occupied the position of
drug czar. But Gen. McCaffrey is different. He has proven his
willingness to speak the truth, no matter the political fall-out.
That's the mark of a real leader.

Checked-by: "Rich O'Grady"