Chuck Grassley: “the drug czar released the national drug control strategy recently, as he is required to do. The President held a press…”

“the drug czar released the national drug control strategy recently, as he is required to do. The President held a press conference to announce the strategy and his budget for fiscal 1998 to combat drug use in this country. This strategy now includes a request for almost $16 billion. That is about a 5.4-percent increase, which is just about average for recent drug budgets. While I welcome the strategy and the increase, I am concerned that it does not live up to the requirements set out in the law. I am even more concerned that the strategy seems to walk away from the war on drugs. This strategy would seem to have us believe that we can combat the problem of rising teenage drug abuse by simply treating the wounded. It is walking away from a war on drugs to talking about fighting a cancer. I have heard Mr. McCaffrey on this issue before. The view seems to be that a 'war' is the wrong metaphor for our efforts. It seems that we must act as if our problem is more akin to therapy. We must treat the problem of illegal drugs and not combat it. In this view, it is time to trade in our old car for a sleek new model. I appreciate the drug czar's sensitivities on this issue, but quite frankly, this trade-in is going to buy us a lemon. This walking away from years of efforts to combat drug abuse and instead substituting 'phrases about treating a condition' is simply waving a white flag.”