LOCAL VOICE HEARD IN DRUG FIGHT

Washington - Debra Walcott of Dix Hills admitted to being a little nervous
as she described her battle with drug addiction to the Senate Judiciary
Committee yesterday.

In an even, confident voice, Walcott, 23, told the senators how she started
to use marijuana and alcohol at 15 to "block out" troubles stemming from
her parents' divorce. At 17, she moved on to cocaine and club drugs, such
as ecstasy, and eventually heroin. Her drug use led to crime, which led to
punishment. After testing positive for cocaine while on probation, Walcott
said, she was given the choice of jail or drug treatment.

"I was 30 pounds underweight, I was addicted to cocaine and I was on
probation for grand larceny and computer tampering," Walcott said. "It was
the lowest point of my life, and sadly, I didn't even know it."

Nearly at the end of an 18-month treatment program in Lake Ronkonkoma,
Walcott joined a panel of experts assembled before the committee to address
the issues of drug treatment, education and prevention. Legislation
proposed by committee chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Vermont's Sen.
Patrick Leahy, the committee's ranking Democrat, would channel resources
toward drug courts, treatment centers and prevention programs in schools.

The Drug Abuse Education, Prevention and Treatment Act of 2001 represents a
shift in focus toward the demand side of the war on drugs.

Hatch said that according to a Columbia University report, states spent
$81.3 billion-13.1 percent of total spending-on drug abuse and addiction in
1998. Of that, only $3 billion was for prevention and treatment; the rest
was for enforcement.

"The report urges us, as policy makers, to re-examine our priorities and
shift our attention to drug prevention and treatment," Hatch said. The
proposed legislation will do that, he said, "without undermining in any way
our commitment to supply reduction."

Hatch has indicated that the legislation has support from the White House.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said yesterday in
testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee: "Nationwide,
approximately 2.9 million people with serious substance abuse problems are
not receiving the treatment they desperately need. To help close this
treatment gap, we propose to increase funding for substance abuse treatment
by $100 million."

DEA Administrator Donnie Marshall told the Judiciary Committee that
America's drug problem "cannot be overcome without a holistic approach."

Walcott said she thinks more money should go to treatment programs and drug
courts, which force addicts to choose between going to jail or getting
clean. "It has to be hand-in-hand-the legal system and treatment together,"
she said after the hearing. "That's how it worked for me."

Now working at the Phoenix House treatment facility where she began her
recovery, Walcott plans to start at a college or trade school in January.

"It is scary for me to picture where I would be right now if I did not go
to Phoenix House," she said. "I know I would be in jail or living on the
streets."