Pubdate: Mon, 27 Apr, 1998 Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) Contact: http://www.gatewayva.com/pages/tdmain.htm Author: Mark Johnson, Media General News Service DRUG CZAR TO BE ASKED TO TACKLE ALCOHOL, TOO? WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Janet Reno is looking into whether the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the drug czar's office, needs to set its sights on alcohol, too. The inquiry was prompted by a Justice Department seminar on alcohol and crime this month. George Hacker, one of a group of alcohol abuse experts in the audience, asked Reno to urge retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the drug czar, and his office to devote some of its new money and resources to alcohol, "given that it's clearly the most used and most devastating drug among young people.'' Hacker is director of the alcohol policies project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Reno said she would take the idea to McCaffrey. Both hold the same rank as Cabinet members, although McCaffrey's office only coordinates policy and has no enforcement powers. The idea of putting alcohol in the same camp with heroin and cocaine highlights how all of them frequently are abused by lawbreakers, but it also emphasizes how differently the federal government currently approaches beer, wine and liquor. Reno's response should come as no surprise to tobacco and alcohol industry executives who have made predictions of the federal government regulating everything down to the caffeine in coffee. "There's always been a concern on our part that alcohol could become a focal point for the office of the drug czar,'' said Jeff Becker, vice president of alcohol issues for The Beer Institute. A Justice Department study completed for the symposium attended by Reno found that 40 percent of violent crimes and fatal car accidents involve alcohol. "We know that the data is showing alcohol is more closely associated with crime than any other substance,'' said Marlene Beckman, a Justice Department lawyer who helped organize the conference. Hacker's question followed his complaint that the drug czar's office will receive $195 million each year for the next five years for an anti-drug advertising campaign and has not included anti-alcohol ads. The question is logical, given that youngsters are taught in grade school that alcohol is a drug. The drug czar's office "has been very reticent to do anything serious about alcohol,'' Hacker said. A spokesman for the drug control policy office said that agency already is tackling underage alcohol and tobacco use, since both are illegal. The No. 1 item on the office's list of "goals and objectives'' is to educate communities to help youths "reject illegal drugs and underage alcohol and tobacco use.'' Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., however, has noted that the legislation creating the drug czar's office is unclear about the office's jurisdiction over alcohol. He is attempting to ensure that underage drinking is included in the drug policy office's charter. The spokesman for McCaffrey's office cited the drug czar's speeches and the planned media campaign as examples of the office's emphasis on alcohol. Yet among the first ten McCaffrey speeches posted on the office's Website, only two mention the word 'alcohol' for a total of four references. As for the media campaign, McCaffrey's office suggested calling Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, a non-profit group helping with the campaign. A coalitions spokeswoman said the campaign does not address alcohol. Unlike street narcotics, alcohol is a legal commodity when used responsibly by adults. It's also a $106 billion-a-year industry. Federal oversight of alcohol is politically dicey. While cigarette companies historically have fought efforts to regulate tobacco or declare nicotine a drug, the alcohol industry has taken a conciliatory stance and, among other steps, helped fund anti-drunk driving campaigns. It is an industry that holds considerable sway on Capitol Hill. Government authority over alcohol is scattered over different agencies. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms handles federal excise taxes and product integrity -- whether the formulas are safe and meet federal regulations for ingredients. The Department of Health and Human Services, the Surgeon General and other sub-agencies address alcohol use and abuse. With Congress and the Clinton administration already embroiled in a struggle with cigarette makers over legislation that would, among other provisions, increase the federal regulation of tobacco, it's unclear whether either branch of government has the stomach to push for tougher scrutiny of the alcohol industry. © 1998, Richmond Newspapers Inc.