PREVENTION AT HEART OF POLICY, DRUG CZAR SAYS

He may be a retired four-star Army general but federal drug czar Barry
McCaffrey dismisses the notion of a "war on drugs."

Instead, during a visit Monday to Milwaukee, he said he considers America's
drug problem a cancer that needs to be managed, treated and prevented.

Serious drug use in the U.S. peaked in 1979 when 14% of the population
abused drugs, he said. That figure has dropped to 6% of the population, or
about 13 million, with about 4 million suffering serious addictions, he
estimated.

Seven of 10 serious drug users have jobs, are white and mirror the general
U.S. population, said McCaffrey, the director of the Office of National
Drug Control Policy. "It is not a black, minority, poor, city, crazy
population -- and that's a fact that many find very surprising," he said.

Often a person can have a drug habit for 10 years before it becomes
apparent and their life begins to fall apart, he said during a meeting
later with the Journal Sentinel Editorial Board.

During a tour of the Clarke Street After School Program, at 2816 W. Clarke
St., he said one of the best ways to curb future drug use is by keeping
children safe from drugs and violence after school hours. If a child can
turn 18 and not have a drug problem, the chance of the adult developing a
drug problem greatly diminishes, he said.

"Prevention is the heart and soul of our policy," he said as the
after-school drill team went through its foot-stomping, hand-clapping paces
in the school gym.

Earlier, he talked with some second-grade children who were reading a story
about a fish while sitting with a volunteer tutor from the Boys and Girls
Club. If children are kept busy and away from what he calls the "gateway
drugs" of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, then there's a greater chance
those children will lead drug-free lives, he said.

Clarke Street School Principal Diane Neicheril explained to McCaffrey that
100 children are enrolled in the program, which is run in conjunction with
the Boys & Girls Clubs. The program, which includes tutoring and
recreation, costs about $100,000 a year and is subsidized with some federal
funds.

The nation's drug problem costs the country $70 billion a year, and each
year 16,000 people die as a result of it, he noted. During the last three
years, McCaffrey said Monday, his anti-drug budget has climbed from $13
billion to $17 billion, with 33% of that earmarked for prevention programs.

"With so many mothers working, this is the way to go," McCaffrey told
Neicheril. "It's a taxpayers delight," because it spends tax dollars to
involve children in activities during the often-idle hours of 3 to 7 p.m.
when many children get into trouble because of the lack of supervision and
positive alternatives. While after school programs such as the one at
Clarke School generally cost about $2,000 a year, the cost of a drug
addicted youth to society is about $2 million, he said.

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Rep. Tom Barrett (D-Wis.), U.S. Attorney Tom
Schneider, Milwaukee Public School Superintendent Allen Brown and others
from community groups joined McCaffrey on the tour. Brown said MPS hopes to
open 13 more safe havens this year and eventually expand that to 100
throughout the city.

Checked-by: trikydik@inil.com (trikydik)