U.S. DRUG CZAR PRAISES SWEDEN'S DRUGS POLICIES

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey on Monday praised
Sweden's drug policies, saying they make far more sense than liberalized
policies such as those in the Netherlands.

McCaffrey, who's beginning a European fact-finding tour, sparked Dutch ire
last week by saying the country's policy of letting its citizens use
marijuana and other soft drugs for therapeutic and recreational purposes was
``an unmitigated disaster.''

The trip comes as the U.S. government launches a $1 billion, five-year ad
campaign aimed at steering young people away from trying drugs.

``We are sure that the most important inoculation for a society is to
convince your own young people to reject the abuse of drugs ... that
includes alcohol and cigarettes. And I think Sweden by the evidence that's
available has done a better job at that than almost any society in Europe
and certainly better than the United States,'' McCaffrey told a news conference.

Sweden, which discourages alcohol and tobacco use through high taxes, and
which keeps a tight watch on other drug use, has created a ``national
consensus'' against drugs, he said.

Statistics compiled from various sources by McCaffrey's Office of National
Drug Control Policy show that about 3 percent of Swedish teen-agers report
having used cannabis, compared with 9.1 percent in the United States and
30.2 percent in the Netherlands.

McCaffrey, however, cautioned countries with low drug-use rates that they
may come under increasing pressure as U.S. drug use declines and sellers
look for new markets.

``The United States is probably in the end phases of an epidemic; it's
possible that Europe is in the beginning phases of an epidemic,'' he said.

Despite his criticism of Dutch drug policy, McCaffrey will travel this week
to the Netherlands ``to learn from them and listen to their own viewpoint.

The Netherlands ``does have a drug abuse problem in general that is enormous
and growing, not getting better ... Their prison population has doubled,
their murder rate is much higher than it used to be,'' he said.

Copyright 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett