EDITORIAL: DRUG PLEA A BUST

President Clinton's recent plea before the U.N. General Assembly for less
name-calling and more cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking was
on the mark, but it received a less-than-rapturous reception from some
nations that decry this country's enduring appetite for narcotics.

Producing, exporting, and consuming nations should work together to
eradicate the trade in illicit drugs. But as a practical matter, our
consumption is key. With less than 5 per cent of the world's population
consuming 50 per cent of illegal drugs, the United States has been notably
unsuccessful in curbing the drug problem here.

That failure, and the continuing inability to recognize the sensitivities
of our neighbors about their sovereignty, impedes the very efforts the
President proposes.

Mexico has been criticized for its failure to display enthusiasm for
tackling drug trafficking. However, President Ernesto Zedillo has reason to
be upset that officials in his country weren't notified of a U.S. operation
leading to the indictment of 26 Mexican bankers for money laundering. The
silence says that Mexican authorities aren't to be trusted.

Mr. Zedillo, like the president of the Dominican Republic, also cited
supply and demand. Reduce the demand in this country and the supply also
dwindles.

Mexico's past lack of enthusiasm for serious anti-drug measures and dismal
human rights record, when combined with this country's inability to get a
handle on consumption, are but some of the impediments to meaningful
reduction in the drug trade. A greater hindrance is successive
administrations' futile embracing of such tactics as television ads,
excessive jail time, and plenty of tough talk to remove drugs from our
streets.

The advertisements are manifestly a waste of time. Hard time in jail with
no rehabilitation creates hardened criminals, and tough talk on drugs from
Mr. Clinton is a joke.

Distinguishing between levels of drugs; focusing of rehabilitation as an
adjunct to punishment; tackling the underlying social issues that cause
many to turn to drug use and supply - these are ways illegal drug use can
be confronted and reduced.

Mr. Clinton is on the right track in asking for an end to recrimination and
the start of cooperation. His message will mean more when the United States
has a more effective strategy to combat drug use at home.

Copyright 1998 The Blade.

Checked-by: Richard Lake