CITY AIMS TO REDUCE DRUG USE EDUCATION, TREATMENT, ENFORCEMENT KEY.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Encouraged by the White House to reduce drug use in Los Angeles by 25 percent over the next five years, local officials said Tuesday that they want to broaden drug education for youths, beef up treatment resources and increase law enforcement in ``high drug use'' areas.

John Walters, President George W. Bush's ``drug czar,'' met with Los Angeles leaders as part of the White House's 25-Cities Initiative to reduce drug use in America's largest urban areas. Walters said he expects Congress to approve about $100 million for the nationwide program.

``Los Angeles has suffered, perhaps more than any other American city, with the problem of drugs. The focus is it as the distribution point of the nation, as well as the terrible carnage done to citizens and families here,'' said Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy.

At a news conference at the county Hall of Administration, Los Angeles city and county leaders unveiled their initiatives aimed at teaching kids not to use drugs, treating drug users and disrupting the market for illegal drugs.

``We think if we can dovetail these three initiatives with the goals of the federal administration that we will continue to see a decrease in the use of alcohol and drugs and other harmful substances among our youth,'' Superior Court Judge Ana Maria Luna said. ``It's a trend that has begun and a trend we want to see continue.''

Last month, Walters' office released a national survey that found an 11 percent decline in drug use by eighth-, 10th- and 12th-grade students over the past two years. The use of any illicit drugs among students dropped from 19.4 percent to 17.3 percent in that time, a decade low.

But in Los Angeles, drug arrests rose from 23,059 in 2001 to 24,621 last year. The survey showed that more Los Angeles youths smoked marijuana in the previous month, 22.5 percent, than smoked cigarettes, 14.5 percent.

County Supervisor Don Knabe said the most successful drug addiction program in the county is the drug courts. Of the 6,000 people who have gone through the drug courts since 1994, more than 2,500 have successfully completed and graduated from the programs.

``Los Angeles County is ready and willing to join with President Bush to reduce drug use here in the United States and Los Angeles County,'' Knabe said.

Studies have found that the drug courts have reduced repeat arrests of drug offenders, increased employment, reduced drug use, increased reunification of families, increased births of drug-free babies and reduced the costs for the criminal justice prosecution of drug-related offenses.

``This is a very serious problem we are facing and if we don't try to do something at the early intervention point, we are going to end up with a continuing adult population that will fill our jails, commit a substantial amount of crime, wreak havoc in the homes they live in and involve themselves in a tremendous amount of domestic violence,'' Sheriff Lee Baca said.

District Attorney Steve Cooley said the illegal use and trafficking of drugs in the county continues to be a major problem facing law enforcement. Cooley said his office files more than 25,000 felony drug charges against people annually, representing 40 percent of the charges his office files.

``The numbers do not include the tens of thousands of additional felony and misdemeanor offenses committed by drug-addicted offenders or violent offenses committed by people while under the influence of dangerous drugs,'' Cooley said.

Troy Anderson, [phone]

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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STUDENTS' DRUG USE IN L.A.

SOURCE: Office of National Drug Control Policy 

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