WHITE HOUSE CRAFTS PLAN TO HALVE ILLICIT DRUG TRADE

Ambitious strategy for next decade outlines goals based on cooperation
among federal agencies but allocates no additional money.

WASHINGTON--The White House, in perhaps the most ambitious anti-drug effort
the nation has undertaken, has devised a plan that aims to cut illicit drug
supply and demand in half over the next decade.

The plan, to be released Saturday by President Clinton but obtained by The
Times, contains specific 10-year goals for federal agencies involved in
stemming the flow of drugs into the United States, as well as those
departments involved in educating youths about narcotics abuse and reducing
drug use in the workplace. The plan represents the first time the
government has issued specific targets for such sharp reductions in drug
use. However, among criticisms it is likely to encounter is that its lofty
goals are not backed up by money, at least for now. Clinton's latest budget
proposal, for instance, does not envision massive spending increases for
drug control.

The plan, authored by Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the White House coordinator
of drug-control policy, says a cooperative approach by agencies such as the
Drug Enforcement Administration, the Customs Service, the Coast Guard and
Border Patrol can dramatically cut production of cocaine and heroin abroad
and that new technology can be used to vastly decrease drug smuggling.

"Drug prevention, education and treatment must be complemented by supply
reduction actions abroad, on our borders and within the United States,"
McCaffrey declares in a draft of his "1998 National Drug Control Strategy."

The annual report is being sent to some members of Congress and others in
advance of its official release. Although drug use has decreased in the
United States--from a high of 25 million people in 1979 to an estimated 13
million in 1996--experts believe a much greater reduction can be
accomplished.

Also, the effects of drug use are often felt disproportionately, they
contend. In neighborhoods where illegal drug markets flourish, crime and
violence are more common.

McCaffrey said targets over the next 10 years include reducing "the
availability and demand for illicit drugs" by 50% and cutting the number of
"chronic drug users" in half within the decade.

He also proposed halving "the prevalence of drug use in the workplace"
within the next 10 years and "increasing the proportion of school districts
that have implemented drug programs."

Referring to the dramatic 10-year target of cutting supply and demand in
half, McCaffrey said: "If this goal is achieved, just 3% of the household
population aged 12 and over would use illegal drugs. This level would be
the lowest recorded drug- use rate in American history."

Mark Kleiman, a drug control expert at UCLA's School of Public Policy,
while reserving judgment of the plan until he could review it, questioned
whether its goals, even if achieved, would have as much impact as some
might expect. "The real damage to our well-being and to our kids is caused
by a relatively small number of users and dealers," Kleiman said.

The plan also would institute what McCaffrey called "performance measures
of effectiveness" to gauge progress by executive branch agencies in meeting
his goals. In a separate volume to be released later, departments will be
given specific benchmarks by which their anti-narcotics efforts will be
measured.

In general, according to the report, these goals include efforts to
"increase the percentage of drugs seized, jettisoned or destroyed in
transit and arrival zones" and to disrupt drug-trafficking organizations
to "reduce the rate of specified drug- related violent crimes."

Drug education goals are grouped under such headings as "pursue a vigorous
media campaign," "provide sound school-based prevention programs" and
"develop community coalitions."

Officials of some agencies reportedly have complained that such measures
represent an unwanted intrusion on their own management prerogatives, and
McCaffrey concedes there are some in government who "are watching this with
differing views."

But he insisted, "Over time this will work." If not, some of the 82
performance goals he lists "may be revised each year" if they prove
unworkable, he said. As recently submitted to Congress, Clinton's budget
for the 1999 fiscal year calls for spending $1.1 billion more for
drug-control measures across all departments, representing slightly less
than a 7% increase over the current year. Of this, the Border Patrol would
be given $163.2 million, including $24.5 million for drug interdiction,
largely along the Mexican border. This budget request includes 1,000 new
officers as well as "funding for new technology which will enable the
Border Patrol to allocate agents more efficiently based on current
information regarding illegal alien traffic," according to McCaffrey's
report.

Some congressional critics question whether McCaffrey's goals are overly
optimistic in view of this relatively modest increase in drug-control
programs. But McCaffrey insisted his ambitious goals were not lightly
drafted. They resulted from consultation with many anti-narcotics experts
both within and outside government and can be achieved without large-scale
spending increases, he said.

Not unexpectedly, McCaffrey's report listed as one of his leading
objectives improved "bilateral and regional cooperation" with Mexico and
other Latin American nations to reduce smuggling of cocaine and heroin.

"Mexico, both a transit zone for cocaine and heroin and a source country
for heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, is key to reducing the flow of
illegal drugs into the United States," the report says.

Copyright Los Angeles Times