MEESE'S AMBITIOUS WAR AGAINST U.S. DRUG ABUSE IS FALTERING AS COCAINE USE CONTINUES TO SPREAD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP98-01394R000200090017-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 25, 2013
• Sequence Number: 17
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/07/25: CIA-RDP98-01394R000200090017-1
Meese A mbitiours War Against U.S. Drug Abuse
4 t J
Is Faltering as Cocaine Use Continues to Spread
A
BY "DI PASZT?11
' Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL,
WASHINGTON?Above everything else,
Attorney General Edwin Meese wants to.
be remembered for leading_the first all-
Out, successful drive against drug abuse,
saIrs FBI Director William Webster.
If he can 'succeed in this fight, "that
could be his ? greatest legacy," Says the
chief of the Federal,
Bureau of Investiga-
tion.
'But recent evi
dence stiggesti that':
ambitious.: goal is
quickly slipping Out .
of reach. ;Many',,
' critics, local drug-
enforcement ? ?
cials and even
Justice ? Depirt-'
ment's Otvn studies
indicate' :that the ,
Reagan admlnistra Edwzn /geese.
tion is loting'erOund , .
Steadily in its battle against cocain; and
Other dangerous drugs. Despite record, ar-
rests and seizures, a Drug Enforcement
Administration report warned only, a few
weeks ago that more cocaine is being
smuggled into this country than ever be-
fore, while street prices either remain
steady or have dropped.
Meanwhile, the U.S. appetite for co-
caine seems insatiable, according to DEA
.officials, who see sharply increased use
among young professionals, students and
many other groups. Government experts
estimate that about one out of 10 Ameri-
cans already has experimented with the
drug; and they forecast that by the end of
this year, 20% of all high school students
will have tried cocaine at least once.
The latest data also suggest that such
setbacks are likely to hamper the Justice
,Department's overall campaign against
other drugs, regardless of changing 'fed-
eral policies or Mr. Meese's optimistic as-
sertions of "encouraging progress." The
DEA says "marijuana consumption trends
. (in the U.S.) aren't expected to change in
the near term,'.' and increased imports of
heroin "are projected from Southwest
Asia" in the next few years.
Hubert Williams, former police director
of Newark, N.J., and head of the nonparti-
san Police Foundation, claims the federal
crackdown is "merely changing the mix
and the distribution methods" used for ille-
U.S., hichistry Urged to Spend $5 Billion
On Technologies for Reducing Acid Rain
? By ROBERT E. Tama
And PEGGY BERKOWITZ
Staff Reporters of THE WALL.. STREET JOURNAL
' Special U.S. and Canadian envoys pro-
posed that the U.S. government and indus-
try spend $5 billion over five years to re-
dfice acid rain by finding cleaner technolo-
gies for burning coal: ? .
?*: The proposal, which didn't include'spe-
&fie targets forreducing emissions of
sulfur dioxide, drew complaints from envi-
ronmentalists, Reagan administration offi-
dal& and lawmakers. ?
7 When presidential envoy .Drew.:I4wis
Miller; about.
Administration officials said in Wash-
ington that they hadn't seen the proposal
before it was presented to President Rea-
gan yesterday, and would need time to
study it. But top administration officials
long have opposed major spending to re-
duce sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-
fired power plants, a suspected source cif
acid rain. And relentless pressure to cut
the budget doesn't make this a promising
time, to reconsider.
; Budget officials weren't alone in ques-
tioning the proposed expense for the U.S.
government, which would split the cost
with the coal-burning Industries under Mr.
gal narcotics. "It simply isn't stopping the
stuff from coming into this country," he
argues, because "the amount of money to
be made is so enormous."
Most experts agree that dampening the
"demand side" of the drug equation may
be the most important?but also the most
difficult?task facing the government.
"The bottom-line resolution of our problem
is education and prevention," asserts
Francis Mullen, the recently retired head
of the DEA, who helped draft many of the
programs currently under way. In candid
moments, Mr. Meese acknowledges that
what he is seeking, in fact, amounts to a
fundamental reshaping of social atti:..
tudes.
Responding to questions about the leg=
acy he would like to leave behind, the at-
toniey general talks almost wistfully about ?
creating a climate "in which drug abuse is
considered little more than slow suicide,
rather than the socially 'in' thing to do."
$110 Billion Drug Tab
But today, the results of many surveys
and drug-use reports point in the opposite
direction. Overall, federal officials esti-
'mate U.S. citizens are spending as much
as $110 billion a year to buy illegal nar-
cotics and pills, and the total is climbing
by 10% 'or more annually.
Anticipating congressional resistance to
major budget increases for the war on
drugs, Reagan administration officials are
expecting foreign governments to assume
a larger role. "The shift may be somewhat
subtle, but the new signals to our allies and,
friends are definitely intended to' produce'
action," says a senior Justice Department
official responsible for overseeing drug in-
vestigations. "The excuses and delays of
the past ? won't be acceptable any
longer." ,
Last September, the State Department
put out a report accusing most of the ma-
jor drug-producing countries of reneging
on promises to destroy profitable mari-
juana, coca or opium-poppy crops, prompt-
ing stepped-up congressional demands to
cut off U.S. aid. A few weeks ago, senior
Justice Department officials and Mexico's
attorney general agreed to work together
to develop an "international database" de-
signed to track the movement of large
drug shipments and narcotics rings.
?
Texas-Mexico Border
And just last Friday, President Reagan
and his Mexican counterpart, President
Miguel de la Madrid, reiterated the resolve
of .both countries to jointly pursue ship-
ments of illicit drugs and drug profits
across the Texas-Mexico border.
Meanwhile, the Reagan administration
advocates legislation in the U.S. offering
hefty cash rewards for anyone who pro-
vides information leading to the prosecu-
tion of selected, big-name foreign drug'traffickers. ?
Mr. Meese and some of his top aides
are also talking about getting the United
Nations more involved in anti-drug pro-
grams. In a speech last fall to American
business executives involved in drug reha-
bilitation programs, the attorney general
spelled out the extent of his concern over
what he often refers to as the "scourge" of
drug abuse.
'Babel of Voices'
"No nation can long sustain the casual-
ties we are suffering in terms of lives,
health, productivity, wealth, crime and .
morality," the attorney general warned
the executives, urging them to "sound a
message of reason through the babel of
voices competing" for the attention of
young Americans.
Still, some veteran prosecutors worry
that it's proving more difficult than anyone'
expected to win the. skirmishes, let alone_
the entire war, against smugglers. Ru-
dolph Giuliani, the U.S. attorney in -Man-
hattan who previously, as an associate at-
Higher Taxes Not Needed,
City Leaders-Say in Poll
By a WALL. STREET JOURNAL Staff Reporter
WASHINGTON ? A majority of
elected officials from 371 cities believe
they can maintain or expand municipal
services without increasing taxes this
year, a trade group survey found.
The National League of Cities poll
showed that officials from 62% of the
cities don't think a tax increase will be
necessary despite the threat of further
cuts in federal aid. The municipal lead-
ers, however, rated the loss of federal
aid as their greatest local budget con-
cern this year.
But league staff members cautioned
against misreading the annual survey of
cities' economic conditions. "Federal
aid to cities has been cut in half orbet-
ter over the last few years," Alan Beals,
the group's executive director, said ata
news conference. To compensate,- he
said; "Cities have increased taxes at the'
local level by 50% in the last five
years," and many have, reached taxa-'
tion limits set by the states.
, Mr. Beals also said most cities al-
ready have cut nonessential services..
In addition, the officials said they ex-
pect less;robu.st 6.i-ono/file activOln the
cities this year. They reported signifi-
- cant improvements last year in only two
of 16 economic areas: mortgage condi-
tions and interest rates for local borrow-
ing.
torney general, helped draft the govern-
ment's anti-drug strategy, argues that mil-
lions of middle-class, ."recreational'; co-
caine users "create a runaway, impossi-
ble problem for law enforcement to deal
with."
? ?
When he prosecutes a big cocaine
dealer, Mr. Giuliani says, "I don't fool my?
self into thinking it will have a major
pact on the street."'Rather, he says, such
ry
prosecutions "see to illustrate the. prob-
lem, or keep it in front of the public."
?
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2013/07/25 : CIA-RDP98-01394R000200090017-1