OFFICIAL: U.S. HAS NOT LOST WAR AGAINST DRUGS

DURHAM -- Tad Davis of the National Drug Control Policy Office says
America has not lost the war on drugs.

"Forty-six percent of our overall drug policy budget goes towards
treatment,'" Davis said. "Our strategy has evolved."

He spoke Friday to parents at a conference at N.C. Central University.

Other countries spend more on treatment, Davis said. But the federal
government's acknowledgment of drug addiction as a disease has shifted
the focus of the national drug control strategy to a three-pronged
attack: prevention, treatment and reduction.

Davis, acting deputy director for demand control, said marijuana is
the top substance being used by children and adolescents in the state.
Too many children buy into the "myths" of the drug, he said.

"The kids kind of get the sense that what they see on TV and in the
media -- they're not clear that there's something wrong with smoking
marijuana," he said.

But it's 30 percent more potent now than two decades ago, he added.

The agency also is concerned about the abuse of prescription drugs,
the rise of methamphetamine use and inhalants, in addition to drugs
such as heroin and cocaine, he said.

Davis said the national drug control policy launched two efforts to
curb child and adolescent drug use: drug testing of students and TV
commercials.

While the ACLU and other groups question random drug testing of high
school athletes and students involved in other extra-curricular
activities, Davis said the $2 million pilot program in 78 schools has
been effective.

The agency has requested another $23 million from Congress to expand
the testing.