'Newest' drug crisis hits NY.

Have you heard? The newspapers and television are heralding a new crises. Drugs are back. Teenagers in ever-increasing numbers are trying and using marijuana, heroin, hallucinogens and cocaine.

Where have these reporters been? Is it such a mystery to reporters that drugs are a bigger and better business than ever?

I don't know about you, but the world I live in every day never really saw a reduction in their use. Whether you are in a small rural town, a suburb or the city, drugs and their users never went away. Could it be that either through cynicism, naivety, blindness or capriciousness our government and citizenry have neglected this scourge?

Should we be shocked to discover that the kids of my generation, the 1960s, are using these mind controlling substances? When did the use of drugs ever really decrease? The only thing that happened was that, except for the occasional news story, it hasn't been on the front page recently.

Our collective memory is a short one. Last week I heard an interview on Public Radio with a historian who specializes in the American experience with illegal drugs. One hundred years ago, one out of every 20 Americans used laudanum or smoked opium regularly. That is roughly the same ratio that we have today. It is a case of the more things change the more they stay the same.

Does that mean it is impossible to stop drug use? If you mean the entire elimination of use, the answer is yes. Since pre-historic times man has sought out mind-altering substances, from hallucinogenic mushrooms to the discovery of fermenting grapes into wine. When all is said and done, it feels good getting "high."

But we are not pre-historic man, nor ancient Romans or even our ancestors from a hundred years ago. We know that there is a price to pay for becoming inebriated from everything from alcohol to cocaine to LSD. Our bodies pay the price for this enjoyment; cirrhoses of the liver, addiction, impaired ability and death.

Society also pays a price, such as increased crime, spousal and child abuse, higher taxes, loss of productivity and neighborhoods that are increasingly unlivable. As individuals and as Americans, our quality of life suffers. That yearning for the self-enjoyed high must be paid back somehow through all of the above.

Perhaps this is why drug enforcement and education is so woefully inadequate. Nobody talks about the "Payback Theory." It is quite similar to that law of physics which states that for every action there is a reaction. Life is not a series of free rides for us. An example that we can all understand is rent control. Since we have it in this city there is no new unsubsidized construction of housing units for the middle and lower classes; action of government, reaction of owners.

We don't teach that there are consequences to our actions. Further, when we do say there are, we don't consistently enforce them. Therefore we teach that it's okay to break the rules. However, certain things are not within society's parameters to forgive and annul. If you ingest these poisons, even though they may initially make you feel great, there will be a trade-off with unpleasant things also happening.

Since the effects of using drugs by an individual is so devastating to us collectively, then society has a right to control the use of these substances. Whether you are an alcoholic or a junkie, it will eventually become impossible for you to be a productive member of society. This is the basis for the societal regulation of individual conduct. In short, for all to survive, the right of the individual to act must be curtailed for the good of the whole.

We can argue on which approach to take in battling drug use. Whether it be criminalization or decriminalization; education treatment or incarceration, that is for another column. I just want you to remember that neighborhoods like Washington Heights and the Lower East Side aren't existing in a vacuum. The cars carrying drivers from New Jersey, Long Island and Westchester aren't there for the scenery. It isn't the poor only who are infecting society. It is all of us.

The newest "drug crisis" may be this year's news. We in the real estate industry know better. We've seen what has happened in and around our properties. We've seen honest and hard-working people cower before the drug sellers. We've seen businesses close and nothing take their place. The question is what are we going to do about the problem today, or will we wait another few years until the next crises?

Thomas F. Campenni, CPM, is a real estate consultant advising owners, co-ops and condominiums. Please write with comments to 21 West 46th Street, NY, NY 10036 or call 212-921-8043.