The Nation - News from July 16, 1989

The national anti-drug strategy due out this fall must look beyond the big cities and address the rapid spread of the cocaine derivative crack to rural areas, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen said in Washington. Bentsen said he is asking White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director William J. Bennett, who is drawing up the anti-drug blueprint, to include “measures to combat the serious and growing problem of drug abuse in smaller towns and the rural countryside.” In one rural Texas area, authorities report an 80% increase in crack cases in just one year, Bentsen said. Bentsen said he was concerned about a recent Drug Enforcement Administration memorandum that said crack dealers in smaller communities “do not merit full federal investigative efforts” since they typically limit their sales to small quantities.