Upper, Downer

IN A MOVE DESIGNED TO BLUNT CHARGES OF INDIFference to the drug plague, the White House made a show of granting Cabinet status to Lee Brown, the President's drug czar. The gesture was deemed hollow by critics, who pointed out that Clinton intends to slash Brown's staff from 150 to 25. Some liberals were disappointed that Clinton did not signal a dramatic policy shift away from failed law-enforcement measures by appointing a specialist in education or treatment. Brown, 55, who holds a Ph.D. in criminology and has run the police departments of Atlanta, Houston and New York City, pledged to support more federal prevention and treatment efforts, as well as jobs programs to cure the despair that fuels the American drug habit.