Pubdate: Fri, 11 May 2001
Source: Daily News of Los Angeles (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Daily News of Los Angeles
Contact: http://www.DailyNews.com/contact/letters.asp
Website: http://www.DailyNews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/246
Author: Sonya Ross, Associated Press

BUSH DEFENDS CHOICE FOR DRUG FIGHT CHIEF

WASHINGTON (AP) President Bush chose John P. Walters, a get-tough figure 
from the drug wars of his father's presidency, to lead a renewed narcotics 
battle that he promised would be sensitive to the "human tragedy" of drug 
addiction. Bush's announcement Thursday drew immediate objections from 
several groups who contended Walters cares little about drug treatment and 
will return to lock-'em-up policies of the 1980s.

And that, in turn, annoyed Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy 
Thompson, who said Bush fully intends "a total frontal assault against drug 
abuse" through a combination of rehabilitation, education and interdiction.

"I'd tell those cynics out there, look at what the president has been 
trying to do. Listen to what's said. And just get out of our way if you're 
going to be a cynic, and let us do our job," Thompson said.

Bush announced his selection of Walters as director of the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy during a Rose Garden ceremony, and said he 
would keep the post Cabinet-level. In a tacit rebuke of his predecessor, 
Bill Clinton, the president said too little had been done lately to curb 
the drug use that had been declining among high school students in the 
1980s and early 1990s.

"We had made tremendous strides in cutting drug use. This cannot be said 
today," Bush said. "We must do, and will do, a better job."

Walters pledged to protect children, help drug addicts and "shield our 
communities from the terrible human toll taken by illegal drugs."

Advocacy groups were deeply suspicious. They noted that the drug policy 
office oversees more than $19 billion in anti-drug programs, working with 
dozens of agencies, while Bush's budget proposal for fiscal 2002 seeks $1.6 
billion for treatment programs.

President Bush is applauded as he named conservative John P. Walters, not 
shown, as his drug policy director Thursday (Ron Edmonds / A.P. 
Photographer) "Everything about John Walters' past record suggests that he 
believes drug policy has nothing to do with science or public health. It's 
all about punishing people for their sins," said Ethan Nadelmann, director 
of the Lindesmith Center, a New York-based drug policy research institute.

Walters was the drug policy office's deputy director for supply reduction 
when it was headed by William Bennett during the administration of former 
President Bush.

Walters has stressed the importance of criminal penalties for drug users 
and opposed the use of marijuana for medical purposes. He also has favored 
the drug certification program, in which nations are judged by their 
anti-drug efforts, a sore point in U.S.-Mexican relations.

Walters is president of the Philanthropy Roundtable, a national donors 
group. He co-authored a book with Bennett and John DiIulio Jr., "Body 
Count: Moral Poverty and How to Win America's War Against Crime and Drugs."

Bill Zimmerman, director of the Campaign for New Drug Policies, called 
Walters' appointment "a thumb in the eye" to voters in 17 states who, over 
the past year, favored issues ranging from medical use of marijuana to 
using seized drug proceeds for drug treatment, rather than law enforcement.

Bush defended Walters during a visit later Thursday to an anti-drug 
community program in a Washington suburb, saying he "understands the need 
to reduce demand" through treatment.

"The most effective way to reduce the supply of drugs in America is to 
reduce the demand for drugs in America," Bush said. "Therefore, this 
administration will focus unprecedented attention on the demand side of 
this problem."

Besides Walters, Bush announced a series of Cabinet reviews to determine 
the effectiveness of current federal anti-drug efforts. He categorically 
rejected the idea of legalizing drugs as "a social catastrophe" that would 
undermine efforts to teach children that drug use is wrong.

Also, the White House revealed that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney 
were among 650 new White House employees who took required drug tests in 
January. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said 127 White House staffers 
have been randomly tested since the initial round of examinations, "and 
there are no problems that have been brought to anybody's attention."

Bush directed DiIulio, who heads the White House Office of Community and 
Faith-Based Initiatives, to review existing federal partnerships with local 
organizations that do anti-drug work. He asked Thompson to do a 
state-by-state evaluation of current treatment needs, and Attorney General 
John Ashcroft to look into making prisons drug-free, including expanded 
drug testing of those on parole or probation.

Nadelmann said he anticipates that Bush would take some sort of moderate 
action to counteract opposition to Walters, such as proposing changes to 
mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes. Fleischer told reporters 
Thursday that mandatory minimum sentences would be an aspect of Ashcroft's 
review.
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