Crack Down

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Drug-free schools. This fall, declared Reagan, "everyone should be made aware from Day 1 that drugs on campus used or sold by anyone are a thing of the past." He instructed Education Secretary William Bennett to develop proposals that would enlist school administrators, PTAs, college presidents and student organizations in cracking down on drug use.

Public health protection. Though the President spoke of improved prevention, treatment and testing, a White House official asked to elaborate on this goal simply noted that half the intravenous drug users in New York City are suspected carriers of the AIDS virus. Federal funds for drug prevention and treatment, which have declined during the Reagan Administration from $404 million in 1981 to $279 million this year, would presumably be boosted, but Reagan did not say by how much.

International cooperation. In September, Reagan will recall U.S. ambassadors to the major drug-producing countries for "special consultations." The President aims to reassure foreign governments that have so far been notably reluctant to act against local drug producers without stronger indications that the U.S. will do something to stem the burgeoning demand of its drug users. The Administration intends as well to provide military support, like the troops and helicopters sent to Bolivia last month. "Operation Blast Furnace" was ridiculed for failing to catch any drug producers, but last week U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia Edward Rowell claimed that the raids achieved a "dramatic impact" on Bolivian cocaine production by shutting down six major labs with a combined production capacity of five tons a week.

Stronger enforcement. Reagan wants to step up efforts by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the military and domestic law-enforcement agencies to prosecute drug traffickers and interdict supplies. Despite much heralded busts, like one last week in Pennsylvania that broke up a drug ring charged with smuggling more than seven tons of cocaine into the U.S., the DEA has only about 2,500 agents, the same number as in 1975. It remains unclear whether Reagan plans to send them substantial reinforcements.

Expanded public awareness. This is the heart of Reagan's program, and his personal involvement is the first step. "We must make drug use the top item in the national dialogue," Reagan told a convention of drug-prevention activists last week in Virginia. It was his third antidrug speech in six days.

Reagan insisted to skeptical reporters at the White House that his program "isn't just rhetoric alone. We know that there's going to be a cost, and we're going to have to find that money." White House officials are boosting this year's $2.1 billion total antidrug budget by about $500 million next year.