FLORIDA FIRST LADY: FAMILIES KEY TO PREVENTING DRUG USE

MIAMI - Florida first lady Columba Bush is taking to the airwaves, asking
families to work to raise drug-free children.

Bush and state drug prevention officials joined Monday to unveil two public
service announcements urging families to spend more time together
discussing the dangers of drugs.

"Tell your families to do everything you can with your children, especially
eat dinner with them," Bush said. "Just talk about their problems. That's
how you find out what is going on with their lives."

State officials pointed to a 1999 Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
survey that said teen-agers from families that almost never eat dinner
together are 72 percent more likely to use illegal drugs, cigarettes and
alcohol than the average teen-ager.

The report found that families that almost always eat dinner together are
31 percent less likely to take drugs than the average teen.

"It brought us back to what our mothers used to tell us. If you have dinner
with the family, the family does well," said Jim McDonough, director of the
Florida Office of Drug Control.

Bush tends to shy away from the spotlight, but has been active in educating
families about drug abuse.

In one commercial, she tells viewers to learn more about their children's
lives so they can help steer them away from drug use.

In the second spot, Bush remains silent for a few seconds and then tells
viewers: "Silence can be uncomfortable. Especially to children and their
parents. Please talk to them about drugs. It is your voice that they want
to hear."

The commercials were filmed in English and Spanish.

Bush, who was born in Mexico, helped greet Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, national
security adviser to Mexican President Vicente Fox, and Dr. Guido Belsasso
of Mexico's anti-drug addiction office.

The Mexican officials planned to tour the Miami River with McDonough to
learn more about Florida's "Operation Riverwalk." The operation was
developed to prevent drug trafficking along the river.

The state has embarked on a strategy to reduce illegal drug abuse in the
state by 50 percent by 2005.