The War on Drugs at the State Level (1989)

The Valerie Gallop [sp?] family is among some 200 Soviet Jews expected to resettle in Milwaukee. As part of the push against drugs, Governor Thompson Wednesday declared North Division High School in Milwaukee a drug-free zone, the declaration highlighting a new state law hiking penalties for schoolyard drug dealers. The event came on the heels of President Bush's speech Tuesday night calling for an $8 billion War on Drugs, with most of the funds going toward law enforcement. Wisconsin's share of the artillery in its battle would equal nearly $4 million; again, the bulk for enforcement. The governor also wants to expand prisons with the money to house convicts he hopes the new measures will produce. With a statewide view of the renewed War on Drugs, here's Dave. So now, the War on Drugs comes to Wisconsin. The question, of course, is what will that $3.9 million really, what will that really accomplish? Joining me to assess that, Donna Bestor, sometimes known as the state's drug czar, a title she hates. Officially, the coordinator for the Alliance for a Drug-Free Wisconsin. And in Milwaukee, Don Dalton, who is the proverbial man in the trenches, a drug and alcohol abuse coordinator for the Burlington area schools.

Mr. Dalton, let me ask you this first. The President earlier this week said that this was something that was sapping the strength of the nation. And he talked about it in those kinds of urgent terms. Do you share that assessment? - Well, I really do. I really believe it's sapping the strength of education. It's affecting our teenagers across the country in the role of education. And we really definitely need his support and much more support than that if we're ever going to make a difference with teenage America. - You saw those signs at North Division High School on our news summary a moment ago, the governor declaring North Division High School drug-free zone. Is that significant or is it just so much show business? - Well, I hope it's not show business. I kind of feel that those types of things are the types of things that we need to create some awareness within our communities. And attention brought to the problems that we're having with people selling drugs on the streets, in our schools. Donna Bestor, you're the one who has to keep a statewide perspective on all of this. Is the drug problem in Wisconsin all that serious?

- There's no question that it is serious. And it ranges not only from the crack in the inner cities, which is now spreading to a more rural areas, to alcohol abuse in what we would consider probably areas that do not have a problem. I think the Brown County incident points that out very vividly. - Yeah, we began the program with that. And you know, there's so much attention about cocaine right now, but I suppose we have to remember that in our state, alcohol has got to be considered the number one problem. - There's no question that Wisconsin does have a big problem, not only with illegal drugs, but the drug of choice is alcohol. - Are you worried that we're going to forget about that, with all this attention on cocaine and all of this war rhetoric and everything else? Are you worried that we're really going to not focus on what the most pressing problem in our state happens to be? - I think at first, many people are drawn into this because of the fear of crack. But when they sit down and really look at their communities' problems and if they have a plan in mind, very often they will find that the drug in the community is alcohol.

Don Dalton, what are you seeing in Burlington? It's not exactly the big city, inner city kind of problem. - No, it sure isn't. And I think some of the things that we've done in Burlington in the last four years is really kind of neat. The fact is that Burlington, Wisconsin has just as big a problem as downtown Milwaukee or Madison, Wisconsin or Brown Deer or whatever community you go in. And I believe that's one of the things that we have to overcome. People in Burlington four years ago and some today still don't believe that there's a problem in Burlington. - Tell me exactly what you're doing. The state is kind of looking to you and your program as a kind of model as I understand it. What are the results? What's the success story in Burlington? - Well, I think the big result is the fact that schools can't take the problem on alone. Parents can't take the problem on alone. And as a result, what we've done in Burlington some four years ago is form a task force of community, parents and of school people trying to solve the problem for students. - Now you want to take that statewide, Donna Bestor, and sort of get at it in that kind of coordinated fashion, correct?

- Exactly. The 21st of September we will unveil what the Alliance for a Drug-Free Wisconsin is going to mean to local area communities. Mr. Dalton's Burlington model is one of the finest in the Midwest. And as he said, schools and parents can't do it alone and neither can law enforcement. So they have a total community involvement that empowers citizens that are really worried about this, sitting home thinking, what can I possibly do? - What interests me is that both of you are talking about a community approach, a neighborhood approach, coordination between social services, schools and so forth. And yet the President's emphasis seems to be on getting tough penalizing both users and suppliers, more emphasis. That's where the money's going, law enforcement. Does that put you at odds with what the President is trying to do? Not at all, because all of those together is what's going to make a difference. If we all have the same focus, we'll probably not get the job done. But if we use some of our efforts in the prevention, some in treatment, some in law enforcement, if we have a well-rounded approach, I think that's what's going to make a big difference.

- Are you seeing progress, Don Dalton? Go ahead. - Donna, I believe, I believe education. We can't forget education. And when we talk of education, we can't talk just educating students. - Exactly. - I believe we really have to educate the people that got the problem here, and that's our adults. And we have to come up with the solution. - And what do you want to tell them tonight? - What do we want to tell them? We want to let them know that there is a problem out there, and that we're here to work together to solve that problem. That we no longer want the finger pointed at the police. We don't want to point it at the school. We don't want to blame any one person. But together, we think we can solve teenage America's problems. It's going to take us a few years through education, but the number one people that have to make a difference are going to be our parents and our adults in our communities. - It means a changing of attitudes, and not just looking at, as Mr. Dalton said, at our children. It has to be, we have to look at our own self as role models. So it's a comprehensive approach that is going to make a difference in the long run.

- Donna Bestor and Don Dalton in Milwaukee, thanks very much for joining us. A major component of this new war on drugs is law enforcement, with more on that, Joe. More money for enforcement is one of the cornerstones of the Bush strategy. And police departments across the state would probably agree they could use more people and more equipment. Joining me to talk about this aspect of the fight against drugs, Milwaukee Police Lieutenant Edward Stenzel and Chief of Police in Beloit, Christopher Ebert. Welcome both of you. Let me start with you first of all, Lieutenant. How effective is law enforcement in reducing the drug problem? - Well, right now, I think we're taking some very effective steps. However, with drugs on the rise, we're going to have to attempt to keep up with it the best way we can. - Are you pleased with President Bush's plan to nearly double the amount of money that will be coming into the state to help fight the problem? - Yes, I am, and I'm hoping that we can get some more money in the future so we can get added equipment and possibly additional personnel for our department. - Chief Ebert, you don't necessarily agree that enforcement is the number one priority. - No, I don't. I think it's something that we have to continue and strengthen, and I'm happy to see President Bush addressing that.

I think it's a stopgap measure. It may buy us a little time, but we're going to have to really look at this problem for more of a 30-year planning perspective in that we have a whole generation of people that are very involved in drug addiction and it's going to take us the time that our children are now going up and coming into adult age to educate them to really deal with the problem. - So, education is number one in your priority? - Education and then treatment and enforcement third. - That seems a little strange coming from a chief of police. - Well, I think we've shown that prisons and the threat of enforcement don't really stop people from being involved with drugs. It's a much more complex issue than that. And we're going to have to deal with more of the root causes and primarily that's attitudes, values, and things that you instill in people from childhood. And we've missed that. - Lieutenant Stenzel, can you agree with that? Would you rather see more money going for education and treatment and then the last priority being enforcement?

- Well, I have to agree with Chief Ebert. I think education is very important because I think it's almost equal, because our biggest asset in this country is our children and with the drug problem now we're going to lose that in the future if we don't do something from early on.