DRUG CZAR TO BE ASKED TO TACKLE ALCOHOL, TOO?

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Janet Reno is looking into whether the Office
of National Drug Control Policy, the drug czar's office, needs to set its
sights on alcohol, too.

The inquiry was prompted by a Justice Department seminar on alcohol and
crime this month. George Hacker, one of a group of alcohol abuse experts in
the audience, asked Reno to urge retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the drug
czar, and his office to devote some of its new money and resources to
alcohol, "given that it's clearly the most used and most devastating drug
among young people.'' Hacker is director of the alcohol policies project at
the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Reno said she would take the idea to McCaffrey. Both hold the same rank as
Cabinet members, although McCaffrey's office only coordinates policy and has
no enforcement powers.

The idea of putting alcohol in the same camp with heroin and cocaine
highlights how all of them frequently are abused by lawbreakers, but it also
emphasizes how differently the federal government currently approaches beer,
wine and liquor.

Reno's response should come as no surprise to tobacco and alcohol industry
executives who have made predictions of the federal government regulating
everything down to the caffeine in coffee.

"There's always been a concern on our part that alcohol could become a focal
point for the office of the drug czar,'' said Jeff Becker, vice president of
alcohol issues for The Beer Institute.

A Justice Department study completed for the symposium attended by Reno
found that 40 percent of violent crimes and fatal car accidents involve alcohol.

"We know that the data is showing alcohol is more closely associated with
crime than any other substance,'' said Marlene Beckman, a Justice Department
lawyer who helped organize the conference.

Hacker's question followed his complaint that the drug czar's office will
receive $195 million each year for the next five years for an anti-drug
advertising campaign and has not included anti-alcohol ads.

The question is logical, given that youngsters are taught in grade school
that alcohol is a drug.

The drug czar's office "has been very reticent to do anything serious about
alcohol,'' Hacker said.

A spokesman for the drug control policy office said that agency already is
tackling underage alcohol and tobacco use, since both are illegal. The No. 1
item on the office's list of "goals and objectives'' is to educate
communities to help youths "reject illegal drugs and underage alcohol and
tobacco use.''

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., however, has noted that the legislation
creating the drug czar's office is unclear about the office's jurisdiction
over alcohol. He is attempting to ensure that underage drinking is included
in the drug policy office's charter.

The spokesman for McCaffrey's office cited the drug czar's speeches and the
planned media campaign as examples of the office's emphasis on alcohol. Yet
among the first ten McCaffrey speeches posted on the office's Website, only
two mention the word 'alcohol' for a total of four references. As for the
media campaign, McCaffrey's office suggested calling Community Anti-Drug
Coalitions of America, a non-profit group helping with the campaign. A
coalitions spokeswoman said the campaign does not address alcohol.

Unlike street narcotics, alcohol is a legal commodity when used responsibly
by adults. It's also a $106 billion-a-year industry. Federal oversight of
alcohol is politically dicey. While cigarette companies historically have
fought efforts to regulate tobacco or declare nicotine a drug, the alcohol
industry has taken a conciliatory stance and, among other steps, helped fund
anti-drunk driving campaigns. It is an industry that holds considerable sway
on Capitol Hill.

Government authority over alcohol is scattered over different agencies. The
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms handles federal excise taxes and
product integrity -- whether the formulas are safe and meet federal
regulations for ingredients. The Department of Health and Human Services,
the Surgeon General and other sub-agencies address alcohol use and abuse.

With Congress and the Clinton administration already embroiled in a struggle
with cigarette makers over legislation that would, among other provisions,
increase the federal regulation of tobacco, it's unclear whether either
branch of government has the stomach to push for tougher scrutiny of the
alcohol industry.

© 1998, Richmond Newspapers Inc.