EXPERTS SAY DRUG EFFORT'S FOCUS SHOULD BE PREVENTION

The Legalization Of Marijuana Would Be A 'Disaster'

The federal government in the last decade has increased its focus on
preventing drug use and thereby reducing demand, Tom Hedrick, a founder of
the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, said during a taping of The
Editors television program.

"I hope that we will see more of a change in the focus of resources to
where the rhetoric is," he said.

"Because I clearly believe that this issue comes down to, in the end,
prevention - better understanding by the public in communities around the
country that prevention has worked, [has] produced extraordinary results."

There are 10 million fewer drug users in the United States today than
during the height of the mid-1980s crack epidemic, he said.

"We've already demonstrated as a society an ability to do this," he said.

Calling it a "war on drugs" suggests a beginning and an end propelled by
guns, helicopters, and violence, he said. Instead, prevention means
thinking of where the issue begins, with one child at a time making a
decision about whether to use or not - and what follows from that.

"Our single responsibility here is what can I do with my child, what can I
do in my community, what can I do to support good in-school education?" he
said.

If parents "can help your kids get through their teenage years without
engaging in these behaviors, they're virtually certain not to do so as an
adult," he said. "What a gift we can give our children."

Ohio prevention and treatment officials would like to see a reversal of the
federal trend "of spending more on [drug] interdiction," said Stacey
Frohnapfel, of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.
"We certainly always need more for treatment, but we've seen less spending
for prevention over the last few years."

Ms. Frohnapfel expressed opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment
on the Nov. 5 ballot that would require treatment for nonviolent first and
second-time drug offenders instead of jail time.

She said Ohio judges since 1994 have had the option of ordering treatment,
and that has worked.

The amendment "takes away accountability from the individual and it takes
away any judicial discretion," she said.

She and Mr. Hedrick were questioned by Thomas Walton, vice president-editor
of The Blade.

The Editors will be broadcast at 9 tonight on WGTE-TV, Channel 30, and at
12:30 p.m. Sunday on WBGU-TV, Channel 27.

When adults talk about whether drugs should be legalized, "we've got to
remember the impact that has on the way kids view that behavior," Mr.
Hedrick said. "When we give the impression that it's socially acceptable,
they're more likely to use it. We have to be careful about how we talk
about that drug."

Legalizing marijuana, Ms. Frohnapfel said, "would be a disaster. As it is
now, young people get the majority of their alcohol from mom and dad's
liquor cabinet.

"Unlike a 40-year-old who decides to light up a joint, a 15-year-old's
brain hasn't finished developing yet, and it effectively retards that
development at a teenager's age, depending on how much a young person uses."

Legalizing marijuana for medical use should be left to medical and health
professionals, Mr. Hedrick said, not popular vote. If good medical evidence
supports such use, "absolutely it should be made available to people who
can benefit from it."