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, epsecially 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.