-Caveat Lector-
Bush names Walters as drug czar
President vows
renewed vigor
in battle against
abuse, addiction
John Walters pledges to "push back" against drug abuse Thursday at a
Rose Garden ceremony to announce his selection as drug policy
adviser to President Bush.
MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
WASHINGTON, May 10 - Vowing to bring renewed vigor to the war on
drugs, President Bush on Thursday named conservative John Walters as
his drug policy director and pledged to pay "unprecedented
attention" to helping drug-addicted Americans get treatment.
'Our country has made great progress in the past in reducing drug
use, and we will do it again.'
- JOHN WALTERS
Drug policy adviser BUSH NOMINATED WALTERS head of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy in a Rose Garden ceremony
Thursday.
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."
Bush said he would seek additional funding for a wide range
of anti-drug programs. In particular, he said his administration
would target 5 million "hard-core" drug abusers in the United States
who "consume two-thirds of all drugs." More than half of these
abusers receive no treatment, the president added.
Meth's Deadly Buzz
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.
CABINET REVIEW ORDERED
Bush also said he was ordering a Cabinet review of federal
anti-drug efforts in an effort to improve their efficacy.
Bush said he had 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 also said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy
Thompson would conduct a state-by-state evaluation of current
treatment needs while Attorney General John Ashcroft looks into
making prisons drug-free, including expanded drug testing of those
on parole or probation.
Briefing reporters before Bush's news conference, White House
spokesman Ari Fleischer noted that all executive branch staff,
including Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, had taken drug tests
during their first week in office. He did not provide details on
anyone's test results.
KNOWN FOR TOUGH APPROACH
Walters is known for his tough approach on drugs. He was the
office's deputy director for supply reduction when it was headed by
William Bennett during the administration of former President Bush.
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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."
Heroin: America's new epidemic
Two White House officials said 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 Bill
Clinton. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have 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.
� 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
~Amelia~
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