Everyone has been giving lip service to the drug problem in this country, but no one has been willing to take those crucial first steps. The big mental block to overcome is to avoid thinking about the issue as a trivial crisis, but rather as a war we must fight and win.

The drug problem is everyone's problem and one of the biggest ones facing us today. According to a CBS News/New York Times May 1988 poll, 16 percent of the people surveyed said drugs were the nation's number one problem. In contrast, only 8 percent said the federal deficit and unemployment were the biggest problems.

However, to deal with this problem I oppose any form of legalization / decriminalization recently proposed by public officials.

Decriminalization is the elimination or reduction of legal penalties for the use and sale of drugs while retaining some form of legal disapproval. Legalization would make the possession / distribution of drugs legal, thereby eliminating all criminal penalties.

Proponents Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke, San Jose Police Chief Joseph McNamara and Princeton Professor Ethan Nadelmann are among numerous public officials calling for legalization / decriminalization. They have four major arguments in favor of this proposal.

First is cost. They say some of the $8 billion spent on interdiction and enforcement could be used for education and treatment, which receive less than $500 million a year.

Second, the legalization of drugs would remove the main source of funds for drug dealers. Cocaine and marijuana sales bring them in excess of $20 billion each year.

Third, it would aid in re-establishing a strong foreign policy. Our drug habit generates $2 billion for Latin American dealers. By instituting a crackdown policy, we would put a strain on relations with these countries.

Finally, some officials argue legalization / decriminalization has revenue-producing possibilities. For example, treatment programs could be financed by taxes on drugs, in the same way that alcohol and tobacco are taxed.

The opponents of legalization / decriminalization are led by Mitchell Rosenthal, president of Phoenix House -- a well renowned drug rehabilitation program -- in New York City, U.S. Congressman Charles Rangel, also from New York and John Lawn, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. They also have four arguments against legalization / decriminalization.

They claim, first, that the exposure of cheap, available drugs would increase addiction. Compared to only 10 percent of alcoholics who become addicted, it is estimated that up to 75 percent could become drug addicts if drugs are legalized, Time magazine reported.

Second, legalization could lead to the sale of synthetic drugs or derivatives such as crack without any understanding of their effects.

Third, legalization would result in increased medical costs. Statisticians estimate health costs of drug abuse at $60 billion annually.

Finally, opponents argue that removing legal strictures would make drug usage socially acceptable.

I find it ludicrous that so-called intellectuals actually sit around discussing these as options. America already is considered by many to be an overdrugged society. Therefore, why would you want to make more drugs accessible to the people, especially drugs which are physically and psychologically addictive and dangerous.

I have come up with some sound and plausible solutions to the drug problem.

First, our government should cut off all aid to countries involved in drug trafficking. The American people should support a bill opposing foreign aid because our tax dollars are spent supporting Panama and Colombia, countries allegedly involved in drug smuggling activities. One of the alleged chief culprits is the ruler of Panama, General Manuel Antonio Noriega. He has been indicted by U.S. Attorney Robert Merkle (Time Feb. 15, 1988), with conspiracy to import and distribute in excess of one million pounds of marijuana in the U.S. In addition, he was charged with accepting $4.6 million in payoffs.

Our tax money then is returned to us in the form of cocaine which is used to kill not only young adults but children as well.

I find it a little disgusting to know that our tax dollars are spent supporting these countries when we have countless homeless people right here in America.

First, you should write your congressman or senator and demand that he or she introduce a bill against sending your hard earned money to these countries.

Second, we should demand that our government put more money into this drug "war". According to U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani, the federal government spends less than five hundred million dollars a year in treatment and education which he says ". . . is nowhere near what needs to be spent." I think the government needs to spend at least $15 to $20 billion, which is enough to cover everything.

Third, we have to have harsher sentences for the possession and distribution of illegal drugs. The amount of drugs a person possesses at the time of arrest should determine the length of their sentence. For example, one gram of cocaine would mean a mandatory sentence of three years. Heroin would be two years and marijuana would mean six months.

Fourth, ban all drugs not prescribed by a doctor, including alcohol and tobacco. It does not make sense to ban marijuana, crack, cocaine and heroin yet allow the usage of alcohol and tobacco which have been proven in numerous studies to have similar if not more harmful physical and psychological effects.

Finally, it is time to bring the military into the fight. I don't just believe in cutting off just the demand. In order to really stop the flow of drugs into America, I propose the use of the military in a two-pronged attack.

The first part would involve the Coast Guard which would stop and search all vessels suspected of carrying drug contraband. If they find any, the ship would be confiscated and all passengers would be arrested and would stand trial in an American court. If they are convicted, they would serve time in an American prison. None of this extradition stuff.

The second part of this military attack would hit at the heart of the problem. Since our government knows where drugs are produced, I propose putting those overpriced, underused military aircrafts to work and bombing the fields in those countries. Just to play fair and keep innocent civilians from being murdered, we would call the governments of the respective countries two hours before the first plane arrives and tell them our intentions.