
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 16, 1990                   TAG: 9004160328
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: MARGIE FISHER RICHMOND BUREAU
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

'TRENCH' WARFARE PLEDGED

Gov. Douglas Wilder told law enforcement officials today that he was ready to join them "in the trenches" to fight "the oppressive drug empire," but warned that state funding for such an effort may be limited.

In a speech delivered today at the start of a two-day "summit" he called to discuss illegal drug problems facing Virginia, Wilder said he wants to hear innovative ideas for fighting drugs.

After the speech, Wilder also vowed to personally visit neighborhoods especially hard hit by the drug problem. Noting that his Richmond law office is located in one such neighborhood, he said he wanted to emphasize that most residents of such areas want illegal drugs wiped out.

While more money to combat drugs and crime would be "ideal," he said in his speech, "it is imperative that we remain realistic about the fiscal condition of the commonwealth and about the burdens already being shouldered by the citizens and businesses of this state. Virginians must live within their means; we must likewise fight drugs and crime within our means."

Thus, the governor said, law enforcement officials should look for ways to fight illegal drugs more effectively with existing resources and funding.

Wilder described this two-day meeting for law enforcement officials as just the beginning of his administration's fight against drugs; he said he does not expect to lay out a comprehensive strategy until the first of next year. Wilder said he also plans to convene conferences on drug education, prevention and treatment.

Wilder said he was determined to prove that the state can win a war on drugs. While some have charged that past administrations' efforts were ineffective, he stressed that, "This is a new day. What's passed is passed. And as in all other issues, I will not allow my administration to wallow in - or to be bogged down by - the past."

But to begin developing an effective strategy, Wilder said participants at the conference "are going to have to do far more than ask for more money. Indeed, asking for more money - while failing to develop specific initiatives - would be utterly futile." Wilder said he does not believe that he or any other single individual holds the "so-called answer" to drug problems. But he said unity and pluralism will be keys to success "and that spirit must include our elected leaders, our law enforcement professionals, our parents, our schools, our churches, members of the community at large and individuals within the press corps - just to mention a few.

"The cynics can say what they will," Wilder said. "But those of us who are truly committed to the task before us . . . will not surrender, nor will we be disillusioned because success does not occur immediately."

Wilder told conference participants to turn a deaf ear to the "ever-vocal naysayers who'll claim that we're wasting our time," including those who say the only solution is to surrender and legalize drugs.

Law enforcement officials know by experience that "preposterous theories about legalization are fatally flawed for an endless array of reasons," the governor said.

"While time constraints prohibit me from going into the many arguments against legalization, one argument silences any and all other debate. Simply: It's morally wrong - not to mention cowardly - to give up the fight before it's even begun. For drugs themselves are morally wrong," Wilder said.

by CNB