Republican Critical of Clinton Drug Policy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michigan Sen. Spencer Abraham said Saturday
President Clinton's strategy to fight drugs fell far short of his promises
and had not stemmed a rising tide of illegal drug use.

Abraham, giving the weekly Republican radio address, cited statistics
showing drug use among 10th-graders had doubled in the last six years, and
the percentage of high school seniors who had used illicit drugs had risen
by more than half.

From 1992 to 1996 the drug interdiction budget was cut by 39 percent and
drug surveillance flights were cut in half, he said.

"Since 1992, our nation has been losing important ground in the war on
drugs," Abraham said.

He blasted Clinton's acceptance last year of a proposal by Attorney General
Janet Reno and White House drug-policy chief Barry McCaffrey that Abraham
said would lower sentences for crack dealers to bring them more in line
with sentences for powder cocaine dealers.

The proposal followed a recommendation by the U.S. Sentencing Commission
that the difference in penalties for possession and sale of the two
varieties be narrowed, partly because of complaints of racial bias since
defendants in the more heavily penalized crack cases are primarily black.

"There's a better way. We must reject President Clinton's proposal to lower
sentences for crack dealers," Abraham said. "Instead, here's the Republican
answer; let's make the sentences for powder cocaine dealers a lot tougher."

Abraham, along with Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and Senate Majority Leader Trent
Lott of Mississippi, wrote to Clinton in January asking him to reconsider
his support for the proposal.

"It would be a catastrophic mistake to let any drug dealer think the cost
of doing their deadly business is going down," Abraham said.

He said success in the drug war would hinge on the efforts of parents,
schools, churches, law enforcement and community leaders. But Washington
should play a role, he said.

"We must provide needed resources, and we must reinforce the message that
drugs aren't acceptable and that drug dealers belong in prison -- for a
long time," he said.

Copyright © 1998 Reuters Limited.