Pubdate: Tue, 11 Jul 2000
Source: Commercial Appeal (TN)
Copyright: 2000 The Commercial Appeal
Contact:  Box 334, Memphis, TN 38101
Fax: (901)529-6445
Website: http://www.gomemphis.com/
Author: Lance Gay

DRUG CZAR WANTS TO REOPEN THE 'COOKIE' JAR

WASHINGTON - White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey said Tuesday he wants to 
turn his office's Internet "cookie" machine back on to find out what turns 
on kids about drugs.

But lawmakers warned McCaffrey that continuing controversies over White 
House drug office snooping on Internet users, and paying Hollywood 
scriptwriters to put anti-drug messages in TV sitcoms, are undermining 
public confidence in the government's $1 billion, five-year anti-drug campaign.

"We can't afford to have kids thinking that every anti-drug message 
portrayed on TV was planted by the government. Likewise, we cannot afford 
to have their parents fearing that they are being spied upon every time 
they visit a government Web site for information or help," said Rep. John 
Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Government Reform criminal justice 
subcommittee.

McCaffrey insisted that payments to Hollywood scriptwriters, and tracking 
of Internet use of drug sites, are key parts of his advertising campaign to 
persuade youth about the dangers of drugs, and to reduce drug use in the 
United States. The retired Army general pleaded with Congress to give him 
two years more to show his anti-drug efforts can curb youthful drug use.

Mica questioned the effectiveness of the program. He noted that the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention's annual drug survey shows teenage drug 
use increased over the last decade, with 26.7 percent of students reporting 
they had used marijuana in the previous year in a 1999 survey, almost 
double the 14.7 percent in 1991. Cocaine also increased over the same period.

McCaffrey told reporters after the session he's planning to expand the use 
of financial incentives for TV networks and scriptwriters who broadcast 
anti-drug themes in sitcoms and dramas to include Hollywood's movies.

Over the last two years, the drug office has paid scriptwriters and 
networks about $22 million for "programming content" - placing anti-drug 
messages in TV shows. Networks also received credits for airing anti-drug 
messages in their shows, allowing them to run commercial advertisements in 
place of government-sponsored anti-drug ads.

McCaffrey said the program has been altered this year, and he will no 
longer review scripts in advance, or give payments for writers to insert 
anti-drug themes in scripts. Instead, payments will reward writers and 
producers who send the anti-drug message only after the movies or TV shows 
are released.

McCaffrey said up-front payments might interfere in the "creative process" 
of making a film, but post-release rewards would not.

"I'm not going to inject a message in a film,'' he insisted.

McCaffrey also said he wants to overturn a directive issued by White House 
chief of staff John Podesta last month, ordering the drug czar to turn off 
computer-tracking cookies that White House computers were dropping in the 
personal computers of visitors to anti-drug Internet sites operated by 
McCaffrey's office.

Cookies are software programs used primarily by advertising firms to track 
users as they visit Internet sites. Scripps Howard News Service last month 
reported that cookies used by the White House drug office were connected to 
the New York advertising firm Doubleclick, which admits it is compiling 
databases on the Internet surfing habits of some 40 million Americans. When 
used with other database programs, cookies can be used to identify people 
by name.

McCaffrey said the monitoring project has been "temporarily put on hold" 
and the sites have stopped using cookies. "This is a real concern," 
McCaffrey said, explaining he wants to turn them back on so he can monitor 
what kids are doing on the anti-drug sites.

"No personal information at all is collected," he said.

While applauding McCaffrey for his zeal over reducing youthful drug abuse, 
lawmakers questioned his methods. "I'm always concerned about Big Brother 
looking over your shoulder," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said entertainment producers should be 
voluntarily putting anti-drug messages in scripts, without government 
payments. "We are all uncomfortable that this is tied to money,'' he said. 
"This is something they ought to be doing on their own."

(Lance Gay is a reporter for Scripps Howard News Service.)
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