White House Drug Czar Outlines Policy, Answers Critics

General Barry R. McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of National Drug Policy, told an invited audience at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) yesterday that although successes have been made in the campaign against drugs, the problem remains great.

McCaffrey, whose tenure as the "national drug czar" began in 1996, focused his speech on the changes in attitude that the country must go through in continuing to combat drugs. He said he was concerned by the oft-used metaphor of a "war on drugs."

"If there's a war, we can win the war. There is an enemy, but in this case the enemy is your mother, your buddy," McCaffrey said.

He said he prefers to compare the problem to a cancer.

"If we think of it as a cancer, we will focus on prevention," McCaffrey explained.

At one point in his speech, McCaffrey rhetorically asked why the drug question should not be ignored, why it can't simply be classified as a minority problem, a poor problem or just someone else's problem. He quickly answered the question himself, saying that even if abusers of illegal drugs make up only 6 percent of US society, drugs account for many of society's troubles.

"If you pick any social malignancy in America, you're going to find that a major factor is drug or alcohol abuse," McCaffrey said.

McCaffrey also spoke about Clinton's report to the Congress on the 1999 National Drug Control Strategy. In recent years, the number of current drug users, as well as murders related to drugs, have dropped in the U.S., he said.

Increases in funding for drug abuse treatment, drug education and drug supply reduction over past years have likely contributed to the reduction in these advances in combating drug use. However, McCaffrey's policies have received substantial criticism from a number of sources.

Earlier this year, four Harvard professors signed their name to a letter that said McCaffrey has made "a series of inaccurate and misleading statements." The letter claimed that McCaffrey ignored scientific evidence in opposing the medical use of marijuana and in the hard-line policies he had adopted toward needle exchange programs.

The professors who signed the letter-were DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis"Skip" Gates Jr., Clinical Professor of PsychiatryAlvin F. Poussaint, Cowles Professor of SociologyOrlando Patterson and Geyser University ProfessorWilliam Julius Wilson.

McCaffrey responded to the letter yesterday,saying that the allegations concerned him.

"It's sad when our critics may be inadequatelyschooled on what we're actually doing," McCaffreysaid.

According to McCaffrey, large amounts offederal money were being allotted to needleexchange programs and money going toward drugabuse prevention has increased by 26 percent inthe past year.

A recent federal Institute of Medicine studyreleased in March reported that marijuana doeshave medical uses.

The report stated that there is no evidencethat the drug acts as a "gateway" to other moredangerous drugs.

McCaffrey, who commissioned the study, said hisstance on the dangers of legalizing smokedmarijuana for medical purposes remains the rightone.

"The report didn't actually say much new,"McCaffrey said.

He said that he continues to believe that asmore evidence comes in there will be a linkage ofmarijuana with harder drugs and that there isstill no indication that marijuana has curativepowers.

McCaffrey said he is following the standardprocedure for the testing of marijuana that wouldbe followed for any new drug

The professors who signed the letter-were DuBois Professor of the Humanities Henry Louis"Skip" Gates Jr., Clinical Professor of PsychiatryAlvin F. Poussaint, Cowles Professor of SociologyOrlando Patterson and Geyser University ProfessorWilliam Julius Wilson.

McCaffrey responded to the letter yesterday,saying that the allegations concerned him.

"It's sad when our critics may be inadequatelyschooled on what we're actually doing," McCaffreysaid.

According to McCaffrey, large amounts offederal money were being allotted to needleexchange programs and money going toward drugabuse prevention has increased by 26 percent inthe past year.

A recent federal Institute of Medicine studyreleased in March reported that marijuana doeshave medical uses.

The report stated that there is no evidencethat the drug acts as a "gateway" to other moredangerous drugs.

McCaffrey, who commissioned the study, said hisstance on the dangers of legalizing smokedmarijuana for medical purposes remains the rightone.

"The report didn't actually say much new,"McCaffrey said.

He said that he continues to believe that asmore evidence comes in there will be a linkage ofmarijuana with harder drugs and that there isstill no indication that marijuana has curativepowers.

McCaffrey said he is following the standardprocedure for the testing of marijuana that wouldbe followed for any new drug