Pubdate: Tue, 23 Jan 2001
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
Feedback: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Richard D. Bonnette
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n098/a09.html

FIGHTING DRUG USE -- AND WINNING

George Will and Donald Rumsfeld are absolutely correct when they say 
America's drug problem is overwhelmingly one of demand ["The Real Enemy in 
the Drug War," op-ed, Jan. 18]. While largely unrecognized, remarkable 
progress has been made in this area.

Despite lower prices and widespread availability, the number of users of 
illegal drugs in America has dropped by 8.5 million since 1985 -- a drop of 
36 percent. The number of regular cocaine users is down by 4 million. 
Further, teen drug use in America is down significantly since 1997, and 
greatly improved teenage anti-drug attitudes suggest the possibility of 
even greater declines to come in drug use.

If we're going to improve on our efforts to deal with the drug problem, 
common sense suggests we should focus on what has gone right so that we may 
learn from our success.

Richard D. Bonnette, President and CEO, Partnership for a Drug-Free 
America, New York
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