Pubdate: Fri, 11 May 2001
Source: Prince George's Journal (MD)
Copyright: 2001 The Journal Newspapers
Contact:  http://cold.jrnl.com/cfdocs/new/pg/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/707
Author: Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press

WALTERS NAMED DRUG POLICY CHIEF

WASHINGTON - Trying to bring renewed vigor to the war on drugs, President 
Bush on Thursday named veteran anti-drug activist John P. Walters as his 
drug policy director and pledged to pay "unprecedented attention" to 
helping addicted Americans get treatment.

Bush announced his selection of Walters to head the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy in a Rose Garden ceremony, and said he would keep the post 
Cabinet-level. He also announced a series of Cabinet reviews to determine 
the effectiveness of current federal anti-drug efforts, and categorically 
rejected the idea of legalizing drugs.

"The only human and compassionate response to drug use is a moral refusal 
to accept it," Bush said. "Drug legalization would be a social catastrophe. 
... [It] would completely undermine the message that drug use is wrong."

Walters, known for his tough approach on drugs, said he hopes to "shield 
our communities from the terrible human toll taken by drug use," starting 
by focusing on the problem of addiction.

"Our country has made great progress in the past in reducing drug use, and 
we will do it again," Walters said.

Bush directed John DiIulio Jr., who spearheads the White House effort to 
open federal programs to religious community groups, to review existing 
federal partnerships with local organizations that do anti-drug work. He 
asked Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy 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.

"The president believes to do the job right it has to be multifaceted, it 
has to focus on both supply and demand," said White House spokesman Ari 
Fleischer.

Fleischer said 650 White House employees, including Bush and Vice President 
Dick Cheney, were drug-tested in the first week after inauguration as a 
condition of employment. Since then, 127 White House staffers have been 
randomly tested and "there are no problems," Fleischer said. A senior 
administration official said no one has failed.

Any drug use discovered would be handled on a case-by-case basis to 
determine if it's "some type of casual usage or more serious problem," 
Fleischer said. Users could be fired or simply given a letter of reprimand 
and allowed to continue to work in the White House, he said.

The spokesman said Bush relied on "the power of faith" when he quit 
drinking and might refer to that experience when he talks about drug 
addiction in the future.

Walters was the 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. The program has been a sore point in U.S.-Mexican relations.

Walters is president of the Philanthropy Roundtable, a national donors 
group. He also is a co-author with Bennett and DiIulio of the book "Body 
Count: Moral Poverty and How to Win America's War Against Crime and Drugs." 
DiIulio is now the head of the White House Office of Community and 
Faith-Based Initiatives.

Bush plans to make the drug policy director's position a Cabinet-level 
post, as it had been while Barry McCaffrey headed the office under former 
President Clinton. Democratic and Republican lawmakers had urged Bush to 
keep it in the Cabinet.

The office has been without a permanent director since McCaffrey resigned 
in January.

The drug policy office oversees more than $19 billion in anti-drug 
programs, working with dozens of agencies.

Fleischer said Wednesday that there are 5 million "hard-core" drug abusers 
in the United States.

"The president is committed to fighting the war on drugs," Fleischer said.
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