Washington ? President Bush set a goal Tuesday of cutting drug abuse by 25 percent in five years through greater efforts toward prevention, treatment of addicts and improved law enforcement.

The administration’s drug-fighting strategy also seeks a 10 percent drop in illegal drug use in two years.

“We’ve got a problem in this country: Too many people use drugs,” he said. “This is an individual tragedy, and as a result it is a social crisis.”

The administration says Bush’s budget proposal for next year would spend 6 percent more for treatment and 10 percent more for drug interdiction. Overall, $19.2 billion would be spent on fighting drugs, a 2 percent increase from the current budget.

Bush said some of the most important anti-drug work will have to come not from the federal government, but from communities, religious groups and families.

He called for “armies of compassion,” to send the message that “We love you. We love you so much we’re going to convince you not to use drugs in the future.”

While the anti-drug strategy includes some new programs, including a $5 million Parents Drug Corps, much of it emphasizes a need to make existing programs more effective.

Among the priorities are identifying people who need treatment but are unlikely to seek it, such as the homeless; helping recovering addicts stay clean; and doing more to disrupt drug traffickers’ financial and distribution networks.