The Nation - News from Aug. 26, 1986

Law enforcement officials told the nation’s governors that federal efforts to stop drug importation have failed, while a congressman said the Reagan Administration’s focus on drug users neglected the smuggling problem. The Administration has not given high priority or enough money to efforts to thwart smuggling, said Rep. Glenn English (D-Okla.) to a panel at the National Governors’ Assn. conference in Hilton Head Island, S.C. But Francis C. Hall, commander of narcotics for the New York City Police Department, labeled federal efforts to halt drug importation a “complete failure,” saying that use of cocaine had hit epidemic proportions in New York City.