Pubdate: Wed, 20 May 2009 Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL) Copyright: 2009 The Palm Beach Post Contact: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333 Author: Andrew Abramson, Palm Beach Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mccaffrey.htm (McCaffrey, Barry) FORMER DRUG CZAR MCCAFFREY SEES HEROIN RISK TO SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN PALM BEACH GARDENS -- Destroy opium plants, or U.S. soldiers will continue to abuse heroin and terrorism will continue to thrive in Afghanistan. That's the message from former U.S. drug czar, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who was Wednesday's keynote speaker at a conference for the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers at PGA National Resort. McCaffrey, a retired four-star general who served as the nation's drug czar under President Clinton, believes that drug abuse among soldiers has doubled in the last four years. As the United States shifts its war from Iraq to Afghanistan, McCaffrey fears that heroin use will continue to rise. "I know there are 9,000 metric tons of opium raised every year in Afghanistan, and I'd be astonished if we don't see soldiers who find 10 kilograms of heroin and pack it up in a birthday cake and send it home to their mother with a note that says, 'Don't open this package until I'm home,'" McCaffrey said. "That's one thing that's going to happen. "The second thing is (soldiers) are going to stick it up their nose and like it." McCaffrey believes the solution is to eradicate opium plants in Afghanistan. Opium production, he said, is directly linked to the Taliban. "If you don't separate opium production money from the terrorism problem, the warlords, the criminals, you can't build a nation-state in Afghanistan, period," he said. McCaffrey's speech focused on national health care reform, and the need for drug treatment to be a major part of it. "Health care reform is going to happen in the next 24 months," McCaffrey said. "There are 24 million Americans who are chronic substance abusers, but less than 4 million now get treatment. Right here in this state, 1.5 million Floridians lack treatment." McCaffrey said he doesn't support the legalization of marijuana, and he doesn't want to stop funding the war on drugs. However, he said it's crucial to rehabilitate and treat drug users, including those abusers in prison. "What the chamber of commerce will have you have believe is that it's only poor people abusing drugs," McCaffrey said. "Well it's also anesthesiologists, ICU nurses, healthcare providers. "It's the single biggest problem in America." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D