Drug Withdrawal

Seated next to the First Lady for a special TV broadcast in September, Ronald Reagan initiated what he called a "national crusade" against drug abuse. Nancy Reagan, one of the most prominent crusaders in the cause, began stepping up her "Just Say No" campaign. It was the hot issue of the season: amid heavy media coverage and enthusiastic public fanfare, Congress provided overwhelming bipartisan support for tough new antidrug legislation. Eight days before the election, the President signed a bill raising federal drug-fighting funding by $1.6 billion, to $3.9 billion, proudly proclaiming that the outlay "reflects the total commitment of the American people and their Government to fight the evils of drugs."

Wars on drugs have swept the nation periodically during this century, but last year's seemed among the most intense. It may also have been the most fickle. As quickly as it became a hot issue, the drug crisis became, in the press and in Washington, last year's trend. In his fiscal-1988 budget plan last week Reagan beat a quiet retreat: he proposed a slash of $913 million, to about $3 billion, in funds for fighting drug abuse. Grants to state and local governments for drug law enforcement would be eliminated, and funding for drug education and treatment would be trimmed. Said Mayor Joseph Riley of Charleston, S.C., who heads the U.S. Conference of Mayors: "To state and local government efforts to fight drugs, this budget just says no."

Worried that the new funding levels might embarrass the President, the Administration prepared a number of elaborate statements to explain the cuts. It argued that massive infusions for capital purchases -- such as helicopters, surveillance equipment and laboratory gear -- need not be repeated each year and that funds for education and treatment should be "stretched out" over two years. The White House pointed out that although proposed funding was being reduced, total spending to fight drugs in 1988 will still be 2 1/2 times as large as in 1981, when it totaled $1.2 billion.

Will the budget slashes affect the war on drugs? "We do not think there will be any effect," said White House Spokesman Larry Speakes. "If you buy the books, the chalk and blackboards and slide show this year, you probably don't need them again next year." Administration officials claim, as the President has emphasized, that the war is best fought primarily with moral rectitude and inspirational leadership, and only secondarily with money.