OFFICE DOESN'T NEED EX-POL

I recently read that former U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum wants to apply to
be drug czar in the Bush administration. He says, "I'm interested in
it because I really care about the subject."

We have had drug czars going as far back as President Carter's
administration when he appointed the first drug policy chief, Peter
Bourne. He had been chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at St.
George University Medical School in Grenada. Mr. Bourne was followed
by czars such as William Bennett, an educator, then by former Florida
Gov. Bob Martinez, then ex-New York City Police Commissioner Lee
Brown, and, most recently, retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey.

What's missing from the credentials of all these past drug czars is
any experience in dealing with the disease of addiction. I am a
retired law-enforcement officer and former member of the Advisory
Committee to the New York State Senate Subcommittee on Alcohol and
Drug Abuse, now working in substance-abuse treatment. I know the
dangers police face as they fight our war against drugs and can
attest to the fact that the police do the best they can but will
never rid our nation of the scourge of drug abuse.

What is needed is more money spent on treatment and prevention
programs. Out of Gen. McCaffrey's last of budget of $19.5 billion,
less than $3 billion was for treatment.

It's time that our new president considers appointing someone to the
position of drug czar with experience in drug treatment. Unless the
next czar has knowledge of addiction and what effects it has on the
abuser and his or her family, the problem will only escalate. The
next drug czar needs to understand that drug addiction is a disease
and should be treated as such.

PHILIP V. BULONE

Boynton Beach