U.S. DRUG CZAR SOFTENS NETHERLANDS HARD LINE

New York Times

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The Netherlands had its jaw tightly set Thursday
for the arrival of Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the outspoken commander of the
American war on drugs. Several days ago the general prepared for his visit
by dealing a few public punches against the Dutch and their tolerance for
narcotics.

McCaffrey is on an eight-day tour of European cities, looking at how
Europeans fight and cope with drugs. That includes the Netherlands, which
more than any other country has painstakingly developed a division between
``soft'' and ``hard'' drugs. It is where, over the counter, one can buy
small bags of ``space cake,'' ``northern light'' or ``zeropolm,'' all forms
of marijuana, and not go to jail.

The Dutch policy to disconnect cannabis from the criminal underground of
so-called hard drugs by allowing small quantities of marijuana to be sold in
cafes has earned it the envy of some countries and the derision of others.
McCaffrey has made it clear that he belongs to the critics.

In recent days he has called the permissive Dutch policy ``an unmitigated
disaster.'' He further said, mistakenly, that the Dutch murder rate far
outstripped that of the United States, and his office issued a statement
that all but scolded the Dutch government.

Government officials expressed their annoyance publicly. The foreign
minister called in the American ambassador.

The fracas has made the general the talk of the nation, not just in
government offices, but also in the ``soft drug'' bars. One newspaper
headline returned the criticism, saying it was the general who was ``an
unmitigated disaster'' for drug policy.

Thursday, McCaffrey returned to more conventional diplomacy by praising his
hosts and saying that he had gained valuable insights from meetings with the
police, doctors, social workers and policy-makers in several cities. He said
he had appreciated the chance to learn of experiments in treating heroin and
cocaine addicts.

``I came here to listen and see what I can borrow,'' the general said.
``Most important for me is to discover how to use methadone as a tool to
deal with heroin addiction. The Dutch have 20 years of experience doing
that, and we want to watch that carefully.''

Programs to treat addicts are more thorough in the Netherlands than in the
United States, McCaffrey said. And Dutch treatment projects ``also have a
much higher rate of contact with addicts than we have,'' he said.

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"