DRUG WATCH : What’s Her Crime?

Most Americans oppose legalizing street drugs, despite some experts’ belief that such a change could reduce crime and other drug-related problems. We side with the majority--but also think U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is getting way too much criticism for merely suggesting that the provocative idea deserves study. Why silence her?

Elders is no master of diplomacy, of course. She arrived in Washington from Arkansas’ public health department with a reputation for outspokenness. President Clinton surely must have expected her to generate controversy before long. Nor is she the first surgeon general to find the post an ideal bully pulpit on health issues--a forum to provoke public debate. Ronald Reagan’s splendid surgeon general, C. Everett Koop, did that in the mid-1980s concerning the AIDS epidemic.

Administration officials rushed to disown Elders’ comments, with Vice President Al Gore calling the notion of legalization “terrible.” Perhaps, but some smart people, conservatives and liberals alike, also have suggested it. What better way to evaluate the idea than through serious studies--which is all that Elders is suggesting?

Clinton has shown an admirable willingness to consider other once-”radical” solutions to the drug abuse problem, like emphasizing education and treatment rather than law enforcement. He must now be careful not to overreact to the political flak from Elders’ critics. The admittedly controversial question she has raised deserves consideration, and she deserves respect for raising it.