Needed: a new battle plan for the drug war, with education as a powerful
weapon

By Robert a. Jordan, Globe Columnist, 03/16/97

The nation's "war on drugs" has failed miserably and needs to be
reevaluated. If ever there were a sign of national confusion over how to
deal with the problem, it was the scene at the White House last week.

President Clinton appeared with one of the 14 Woburn youths who recently
overdosed on prescription drugs at a dance. If Clinton believes such a move
will help in the war on drugs, he's sadly mistaken.

There was Brandon Powers who, like several classmates, lapsed into a coma
after swallowing stolen pills that turned out to be the muscle relaxant
baclofen chatting with the president at a forum on drug abuse. Meeting
with the president is something that most boys his age can only dream of.

Brandon's appearance sparked a debate.

Some parents think his meeting with Clinton sends the wrong message: that
overdosing on stolen drugs warrants a reward. Instead of being flown to
Washington, they argue, the teenager should have been grounded at home.

Other parents think it was a good idea that he went to Washington to be at
the forum with other kids who were drug abusers. After all, kids can better
learn about the dangers of drugs from such examples as Brandon.

That parents seem so split on the issue reflects the degree to which
parents have their own ``drug problem'' of sorts: They are at a loss to
know what to do about this plague.

They need real leadership from the White House. So perhaps it is time for
the president to step back and start over.

The current militaristic approach to the problem is costing billions in
taxpayers dollars with no results. The sad but simple truth is that kids in
America today, whether in the cities or the suburbs, will hardly see a day
go by without having a chance to try a drug whether it is marijuana,
crack, cocaine, or heroin.

Meanwhile, large drug cartels continue raking in billions from American
adults and children who have access to drugs that easily get by this
billiondollar antidrug army.

What makes kids today so vulnerable to the epidemic is the fact that
society has lost the strength to keep the drugs out of schools, out of
homes, and off the streets.

Society has lowered its high standards for ethical and moral behavior for
kids and young adults, and as a result drugs have poured into the lives of
millions of young people of all colors and creeds.

It is very clear that drugs, like alcohol, are not going to disappear in
America. And putting kids in jail is not going to keep other kids from
using, and overdosing, on drugs.

What is needed more than tanks, planes, ships, or soldiers is
education, education, and more education.

We must educate children about the dangers of taking drugs, and we must
educate adults, especially local and national elected officials, about what
amounts to wise public policy, and what does not.

For example, there is a growing recognition that legalizing marijuana for
medical purposes benefits patients suffering from cancer and other
illnesses. But far too many politicians still fear that even suggesting
such a move would make them vulnerable to suggestions that they are soft on
drugs.

Last November, California voters overwhelmingly approved a binding
referendum that legalized marijuana for certain medical uses. In that same
month, Arizona voters passed an even stronger measure legalizing not only
marijuana for medical purposes, but also cocaine and other drugs. And here
in Massachusetts, state health officials are working on regulations that
will implement a law, quietly approved by the state Legislature last year,
designed to protect patients from criminal prosecution if they are
certified by the state to use marijuana for legitimate medical purposes.

If other states follow suit, it will mean that the nation has really begun
to understand what kind of drug legislation works to prevent abuse, and
what does not.

To keep kids from starting on drugs requires the kind of education effort
that has been used to discourage alcohol consumption. While it is not
always 100 percent successful, continuous education about alcohol in
schools, homes, and churches has decreased the percentage of kids drowning
themselves in bottles of booze.

The same with cigarettes. When kids are shown what toxic chemicals they are
inhaling into their bodies, they begin to have second thoughts about the
thrill of smoking. That is why legislation, such as the bill sponsored by
Senator Warren Tolman, a Watertown Democrat, requiring clear labeling of
what is actually in a cigarette is important to the educational process.

It is obvious that this nation cannot stop the heavy flow of drugs into
this country by use of force. But it can reduce this flow by reducing the
demand for drugs on our streets and in our neighborhoods.

If marijuana is legalized for certain medical purposes, and if an intensive
education effort is launched to discourage the use of drugs for all other
purposes, we will have begun to win the real war on drugs the war between
the drug cartel and the nation's families over the hearts, minds, and souls
of our young people.

Robert A. Jordan is a Globe columnist.

This story ran on page d4 of the Boston Globe on 03/16/97.