A NEW LOOK AT THE DRUG WAR

WHILE THE appointment is still not official, White House officials
have said President Obama has chosen as his drug czar the police
chief of Seattle, a city with enlightened policies on drug-law
enforcement. Gil Kerlikowske did not originate those policies, but he
has maintained them and seen their benefits during his nine years as
chief. He should be an effective advocate for Obama's own less
punitive positions.

After his Senate confirmation, Kerlikowske should get to work putting
flesh on Obama's campaign promise to "focus more on a public-health
approach" to drug abuse. Step one will be to get Congress to lift the
ban on federal spending for needle-exchange programs, a proven method
of limiting the spread of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and
hepatitis C. Candidate Obama said he favored lifting the ban.

The United States has a chance to make clear at the United Nations
summit on drugs in Vienna in March that it now favors needle
exchanges. Other "harm reduction" strategies that emphasize drug
treatment and intervention also deserve attention.

Candidate Obama also said he would end federal police raids on
providers of marijuana in the 13 states that have legalized medical
use of the drug. As a senator, he backed a bill that would end the
racial disparities in sentencing for cocaine convictions.

"The war on drugs has been an utter failure," Obama said during the
campaign. A gauge of its failure is that drug abuse persists at high
levels even though the United States, with less than 5 percent of the
world's population, incarcerates almost 25 percent of the world's
inmate population, many in prison for drug offenses. A shift in drug
policy from jail to treatment and rehabilitation could be one of
Obama's most meaningful achievements.