From: [b--r--e] at [rcf.rsmas.miami.edu] (Charlie Byrne) Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs Subject: Drug Czar at ACLU Meeting Date: 25 Oct 1993 12:51:25 GMT "Copyright 1993 by Reposted with permission from the ClariNet Electronic Newspaper newsgroup clari.drugs. For more info on ClariNet, write to [i--o] at [clarinet.com] or phone 1-800-USE-NETS." LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- The nation's new drug czar on Saturday told members of the American Civil Liberties Union that the government will curb drug use by attacking domestic demand rather than international suppliers. Lee Brown, director of the office of National Drug Control Policy, said community-based prevention programs and economic empowerment zones will play a major role in new drug control policies under President Bill Clinton. ``What we've been doing is not getting the job done,'' Brown said. ``We need to continue funding effective programs and drop those that don't work.'' Brown was a guest speaker at a town hall meeting entitled ``The War at Home: Drugs and the Inner Cities'' sponsored by the ACLU to evaluate the nation's drug policies. Brown advocated community-based prevention programs, which call on residents to assist police in eliminating crime and drug use in their neighborhoods. ``We need to work on a manageable scale when dealing with drugs, house by house, block by block,'' he said. The new drug czar said drug use is particularly high in the nation's inner cities, where politicians have been unable to alleviate poverty, hopelessness and economic insecurity that ``encourage the drug culture.'' Brown received loud applause from the audience when he said the Clinton administration no longer would be using the term ``War on Drugs'' in describing its efforts. ``We don't believe a government should declare war against its own people,'' he said. In its efforts to reduce drug use, the administration will target hard core drug users rather than casual users, he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------