Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jun 2003
Source: Press of Atlantic City, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2003 South Jersey Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/29
Author: Bridget Murphy

'DRUG CZAR' PUSHES BUSH PLAN DURING A.C. VISIT

ATLANTIC CITY - It's not every day you meet a czar. Especially one who 
takes orders from the nation's commander-in-chief.

Covenant House officials got that chance Tuesday, when John Walters, the 
nation's top drug policy official, or "drug czar," stopped by the Atlantic 
Avenue facility.

In town for a state police chiefs and national D.A.R.E., or Drug Abuse 
Resistance Education, event, Walters toured the youth shelter as part of a 
trip across America promoting President Bush's drug policy goals, including 
a $600 million drug-treatment plan dubbed "Access to Recovery."

Wearing a gray suit, white shirt and maroon tie, and flanked by two Secret 
Service agents, Walters walked through Covenant House with Executive 
Director James White, shaking staff members' hands before addressing the media.

A former university professor who co-wrote a book on America's drug war and 
worked for the U.S. Department of Education, along with the White House 
office he now leads and other private groups, Walters seemed at home at the 
drug-treatment facility, chuckling when reference was made to his "drug 
czar" title.

The Bush administration drug-treatment plan is aimed at helping 300,000 
more Americans fight addiction in the next three years by changing the way 
services are doled out and including faith-based organizations such as 
Covenant House in the process.

People without insurance would get vouchers to pay for a state-recommended 
treatment program of their choice. State officials would track outcomes and 
program costs, making changes in provider options based on agency success 
rates and cost-effectiveness.

With congressional approvals, the program could begin in early 2004. 
Walters previously said that the plan isn't popular among all 
substance-abuse experts, but that White House officials believe it has 
bipartisan support.

While touching on the plan's goals Tuesday, he also talked about preventing 
drug abuse in communities such as Atlantic City, saying he briefly visited 
some areas of the city affected by illegal drugs.

Walters suggested that adults volunteer time teaching teens about character 
and the dangers of drug use to improve the community.

"The character of this problem depends on the character of people in the 
community and how well they do their jobs," Walters said. "The single 
biggest enemy is cynicism."

To decrease the number of addicts, both the drug supply and demand must be 
reduced in communities, he said, adding that part of the federal 
government's efforts to that end have been aimed at bringing about a 
recession in the Columbian cocaine market.

"We want to make it a depressed market," Walters said, adding of America's 
appetite for illegal drugs: "We have to follow through. We want it to be 
pushed down and stay down."

Covenant House client Steven Pierson - one of about 25,000 youths the 
agency's two New Jersey facilities shelters in a year - listened near the 
back of the crowd as Walters spoke Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Egg Harbor City native has been staying at Covenant House 
for a month, trying to avoid the temptation of drugs on the street as he 
awaits admittance into a drug-treatment program.

"I hope all his plans are real and he's not telling people what they want 
to hear," Pierson said. "I've had enough of that."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens