Mayors, McCaffrey Debate Drug War

WASHINGTON (AP) Suggestions for how best to fight drug use, trafficking and
related violence ran the gamut Tuesday from cracking down on money
laundering to more treatment facilities and recreational opportunities for
young people.

But White House drug policy director Barry McCaffrey cautioned that a
combination of approaches is needed.

``No single program will do it,'' he told more than 100 mayors, police chiefs
and prosecutors from across the nation at the National Forum on Drug Control.

Sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the conference is a major thrust
for the Clinton administration to gather information from local officials on
how federal authorities can best help confront the drug issue.

Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said his agency has proposed new regulations
to help stop the flow of drug proceeds in and out of the country by money
launderers.

``We are striking at drug traffickers where it hurts most, their profits,''
Rubin said.

Conference leaders have scheduled a Wednesday breakfast with President
Clinton and Vice President Al Gore to present the mayor's National Action
Plan to Control Drugs, a list of recommendations that include a call for more
treatment facilities and increased recreational and job opportunities for
youth. They will also meet with officials on Capitol Hill.

The wideranging panel discussion, led by McCaffrey and Chicago Mayor Richard
M. Daley, underscored the complexities of the nation's battle to stem illegal
drug use and sales, a multibillion industry.

The suggestions were many: More family involvement, stricter law enforcement,
increased drug treatment facilities, tightening of border patrols and
expanded recreational activities for children were floated as the best places
to start in combating drug use.

``I see the drug trade becoming institutionalized in the family. It is
supporting the family because young adults often can't match (at work) what
they can earn on the streets,'' said the Rev. John P. Smyth of the Maryville
Academy of Des Plaines, Ill.

Patrick H. Hays, mayor of North Little Rock, Ark., decried a ``more cavalier
attitude towards drug consumption'' among Americans in recent years.

``The drug issue has slipped from the nation's consciousness,'' Hays said.
``I hope we can rekindle it.''

Nancy M. Graham, mayor of West Palm Beach, Fla., said the work of a drug task
force in her city revealed drugs are far more available in schools than she
had believed and that children had few options for recreational activities.

``We kept hearing there wasn't anything to do or anyplace to go,'' Graham
said.

The most unconventional suggestion came from Baltimore Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke,
a drug decriminalization supporter, who said the war on drugs will fail
unless officials can take the profit out of street drug dealing and treat
drug addiction as a medical problem rather than a criminal justice issue.

``It is a domestic Vietnam,'' Schmoke said. ``I'm not suggesting we retreat
or end the war on drugs. I am saying that if we do more of the same, we will
see the same results we have over the past 80 years.''

In response, McCaffrey challenged Schmoke to say ``its important we don't
think this effort is hopeless.''

``Over the last nine years, abuse is down, not up. Cocaine use is also
down,'' said McCaffrey, adding that profits from street drug sales aren't as
great as widely reported.

``It ought to remain against the law,'' McCaffrey said.