IN NO-WIN WAR ON NARCOTICS, A CALL FOR SOME LEGALIZATION

Failures of Prohibition Put Focus on New Steps

Every 18 seconds, on average, someone in the United States is arrested
for a drug crime. The nation's jails and prisons are teeming with drug
offenders.

Despite a drug war that costs taxpayers billions of dollars every
year, drug abuse continues to be a serious problem.

That is why some people -- including some former cops -- believe that
the nation needs to take a serious look at legalizing certain drugs.

"Prohibition of drugs isn't working," said Peter J. Christ, a retired
Town of Tonawanda police captain who is one of the founders of Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition, an organization of ex-cops who
advocate legalizing drugs.

"You're not going to stop people from using drugs," Christ said. "The
best thing you can do is regulate it, and try to make it as safe as
possible."

Others say legalization would only open up the floodgates for more
drug abuse. They would rather see the war against drugs fought on
another front -- realistic treatment programs for drug addiction to
reduce demand.

And the best way to start is by working with young people, the future
customers of drug dealers.

"There's been an epidemic in the last year with these opiates, and it
is particularly hitting adolescents and young adults ages 14 through
25," said Dick Gallagher, executive director of Alcohol and Drug
Dependency Services, which runs nine addiction-treatment programs.

Sixty-three percent of teenagers, he said, get their first taste of
narcotic prescription drugs from the family medicine cabinet. Many
eventually end up hooked on heroin, which is cheaper and easily accessible.

But no matter where you stand on the issue of drug abuse, there is a
consensus that putting drug dealers out of business through lengthy
police investigations does not work as well as anyone would like.

"Over and Over Again'

Christ said he was not surprised to hear that drug problems continue
in Buffalo's Lovejoy section, despite the crackdown that sent Frank
"Fat Frank" Battaglia, the biggest pusher there, and many of his
associates to prison.

"This goes on over and over again in neighborhoods and cities all over
the country," Christ said. "Police say they're putting a dent in drug
traffic, but they know the dealers they arrest will be replaced by
others, right away."

According to Christ's organization, more than 1.7 million people were
arrested on drug charges in 2008; more than 44 percent of those
arrests were for marijuana possession. The figures came from an FBI
study. Statistics for 2009 drug arrests are not yet available.

Three in four Americans believe that the war on drugs is being lost,
according to a survey conducted by the Zogby polling organization
during the last presidential election. And a Gallup poll taken last
October found that 4 in 10 Americans now favor legalization of at
least one drug -- marijuana.

But other people -- including some who work with addicts and have seen
how addiction can shatter families -- doubt that legalization would
solve the problem of drug abuse.

Legalizing drugs such as crack cocaine and methamphetamine is not
going to stop them from destroying individuals and families, said
Gallagher and Erie County Sheriff's Capt. Gregory J. Savage. "I just
don't think it is a good idea," Savage said. "You're sort of
surrendering to the problem."

The war on drugs is expensive and frustrating, Gallagher acknowledged,
but it must be fought. Giving people the green light to use heavily
addictive drugs would make it easier for drugs to destroy "thousands,
if not millions," of families, Gallagher said.

Two men who strongly oppose legalization are Steve Bevilacqua, an
information analyst with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and
Sal Valvo, a Buffalo narcotics detective who works on a DEA task
force. Both were involved in the investigation that got Battaglia off
the streets.

They said people in Lovejoy applauded police in 2006 when they saw
them arresting Battaglia and his cohorts.

"We did make an impact in the neighborhood. I wish it lasted longer,"
Valvo said. "We're not naive enough to think that somebody won't come
along to take [Battaglia's] place. But eventually, we'll get that guy,
too."

Drug dealers are involved in a variety of crimes, many of them
violent, said Charles H. Tomaszewski, resident agent in charge of
Buffalo's DEA office. "The guys who are selling drugs now -- if you
legalize drugs, they aren't going to start an improve-our-neighborhood
committee," he said. "They're going into other areas of crime."

Community Approach

Many people interviewed for this article made comments similar to
those of Lovejoy Common Council Member Richard A. Fontana. Hard drugs
should stay illegal, he said, but he would like to see more study of
the proposal of legalizing marijuana. He also feels that more
drug-treatment programs are needed in the region.

"Sometimes, I think legalizing marijuana might be OK," said Linda J.
Hastreiter, a lifelong resident of Lovejoy and president of the Iron
Island Preservation Society. "Maybe if the police didn't have to worry
about marijuana anymore, they could concentrate on cases involving
harder drugs, and other crime problems."

Those involved in the prevention and treatment of drug abuse believe
that crackdowns are necessary but could be more effective with a
communitywide approach.

For starters, the lure of making fast money needs to be eliminated,
and for that to happen, the appetite for illegal drugs needs to be
suppressed, according to treatment experts.

The assault on drugs must begin on the home front, whether it is in
the inner city or the suburbs, experts say.

Parents and grandparents need to do a better job of protecting their
teenagers from prescription medications -- OxyContin, Hydrocodone and
Lortab -- that may be sitting in the family medicine cabinet.

"What needs to be done is: Parents, grandparents, relatives and
neighbors need to lock up their prescription drugs so they are not
available to their children," Gallagher said, pointing out that adults
often lock up their jewelry but leave drugs within reach of curious
teens.

Forums for Parents

It is hard to believe that America, with so many advantages other
countries lack, is the world's biggest consumer of illegal drugs, he
said, and that young people in unprecedented numbers are destroying
themselves and often their families.

When it comes to providing drug treatment that works, Gallagher said,
the health insurance industry needs to surrender its penny-wise and
pound-foolish approach.

"For many alcoholics and drug addicts, they need a minimum of two or
three months in residential treatment. The standard is about 30 days,
and that standard dates back 40 years," Gallagher said. "Insurers
today are very reluctant to provide in-patient rehabilitation
treatment. They might do it for three or five days. They are a major
part of the problem."

Another way to reduce the customer base for drug dealers is to set
community standards.

"One of those ways is through mandated parent forums. This is for
parents with kids in middle school or high school. At the sessions,
the school official talks about trends or the consequences for having
or using drugs," said Andrea J. Wanat, executive director of the Erie
County Council for the Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse.

A bit of gentle arm-twisting goes into getting parents to attend the
sessions.

School districts that participate bar students from attending school
dances and other social functions until the parents participate in the
forums.

Neighborhoods need to set up coalitions, said Jennifer M. Zambito,
coordinator of the Western New York Prevention Resource Center.

"A community coalition in this situation works together on a common
goal to lower drug and alcohol use and abuse," Zambito said.

"It ties together all the different resources in the community, the
businesses, law enforcement, the school and faith-based. You have
everyone from that neighborhood working together."

She says her group plans to start approaching various neighborhoods in
Buffalo to train individuals in how to establish coalitions, adding:
"There is definitely a need."