The United States and three South American cocaine-producing nations agreed Sunday to an "unstoppable assault on narcotics trafficking" - without the U.S. military.
The pact is to be signed Feb. 15 by President Bush and leaders of Bolivia, Colombia and Peru at a drug summit in Cartagena, Colombia. It calls for: Latin American countries to use their own militaries in the fight against drugs. Only Colombia does so now.
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'It's time to come clean'; Chicago school's drug tests 'preventive'; 'Anxious' schools look for solutions
Jan. 18, 1990
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CHICAGO - Twenty-five young winners of the St. Sabina Academy raffle get their prizes today: 4-inch-tall vials.
Instructions are simple: Urinate in the vials and return the samples to be tested for drugs.
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'Anti-drug cartel' born at summit
Feb. 16, 1990
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BARRANQUILLA, Colombia - President Bush's next step in the drug war is to find the "beef" that will make Thursday's summit a success.
Saying he and his fellow presidents "created the first anti-drug cartel," Bush has to:
- Persuade Congress to give him enough money to help Colombia, Peru and Bolivia restructure their economies away from growing the coca leaf used to make cocaine.
- Make significant cuts in drug demand in the USA so that production of cocaine will become less profitable.
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'We do a lot of hugging'; Experts struggle to give crack kids a future; First wave of crack kids hits school
March 9, 1990
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Operation PAR looks like a typical day-care center: splotchy tempera paintings, a knee-high wooden kitchen, baskets of blocks and pegs.
But it's no ordinary nursery:
- Howard, 5, rages at the slightest frustration.
- Nancy, 5, mimics sex.
- Sam, 6, can't count up to his age.
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DEA: Drug war failing to cut supply
March 28, 1990
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An unprecedented attack on cocaine traffickers has failed to cut the drug's availability on USA streets, the DEA says.
"There is no shortage," says Frank Shults of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
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More new hires face drug tests
May 7, 1990
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This year, 47 percent of the USA's largest companies are requiring drug testing for all new employees - a dramatic increase over recent years.
More companies - 25 percent - also test for alcohol, a survey of 500 employers by Michigan State University reports. Both are big increases: - In 1989, 32 percent tested for drugs; 14 percent for alcohol. - In 1988, 27 percent tested for drugs; 9 percent for alcohol.
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1 in 100 addicted to cocaine; USA's hard-core cocaine users
May 10, 1990
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More than twice as many people as previously estimated - 2.2 million - are addicted to cocaine in the USA, says a congressional survey out today.
The new survey, which finds one addict for every 100 people, is considered more accurate than previous federal surveys conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
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Drug czar makes it official: He'll quit; Some question Bennett's timing
Nov. 8, 1990
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Drug czar William Bennett confirmed Wednesday that he will resign later this week as the USA's first drug policy director - leaving behind a controversial legacy.
Bennett's aides denied the departure was the result of drug traffickers' threats, but questions swirled about why the publicity-conscious Bennett announced his decision to leave while national election news dominated the media.
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Overall illicit drug use is down
Dec. 19, 1991
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The public's use of illicit drugs is falling overall, but use among Americans 35 or older went up slightly in 1991, says a federal report out today.
About 12.6 million people are current drug users, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse's annual household survey. That's about 300,000 fewer than last year.
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War on drugs runs up against 4th amendment
Dec. 13, 1991
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J. LeWayne Kelly went to the Austin, Texas, airport two months ago to pick up a friend.
But because he's black, dressed casually and wore expensive cowboy boots, he soon was surrounded by strangers - police who suspected him of being a drug courier.
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Martinez says his strategy stresses prevention
Jan. 28, 1992
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After less than a year as federal drug czar, Bob Martinez says the drug war ultimately won't be won with more prisons and police.
"Prevention is the only answer in the long run," Martinez said Monday, as his national drug strategy was unveiled.
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Drug war strategy set in San Antonio; Leaders don't buy Bush plan
Feb. 28, 1992
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SAN ANTONIO - President Bush and the leaders of Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador failed to agree Thursday on how to fight the war on drugs.
Bush was unable to persuade his fellow leaders to support his primary goals for the drug summit: - To endorse an international air force unit empowered to cross borders for investigations, interdiction and surveillance operations. - To set timetables for reducing the supply of and demand for illegal narcotics.
