Texans in Washington

CHILDREN'S SAFETY DRIVES DEA CHIEF

Despite a Push in the U.S. for Legal Marijuana, Tandy Wants to Rid
Nation of Pot, Other Drugs

WASHINGTON - Like most mothers with teenage daughters, Karen Tandy
worries about her children's possible exposure to illicit narcotics.

But the Hurst native and Texas Tech University law school grad is
uniquely positioned to do something about those concerns as the head
of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

"It is every parent's worst nightmare," she said of the prospect of drug abuse.

"I have two teenaged daughters and I'm no different than any other
parent - I worry about my kids. They are great kids, but peer
pressure can be a big issue."

Her use of maternal instinct may partly explain why during her 32
months as DEA chief, Tandy has been an unapologetic advocate for
tough enforcement of laws against marijuana, a substance critics say
is less destructive than heroin or cocaine.

"We have more teens in (counseling) for marijuana than for all other
drugs combined, including alcohol," she said recently in her office
in the agency's northern Virginia headquarters.

Her attitude has angered cannabis advocates and others, who accuse
Tandy of over-zealousness in dealing with issues such as medical marijuana use.

She drew fire last year from pro-pot groups and others for her
handling of the prosecution of Marc Emery, a Canadian who has been
charged with selling marijuana seeds across the border into the
Pacific Northwest.

Accused of Interference

Joel Connelly, a columnist with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
needled Tandy for what he said was a clumsy interference that made
Emery a minor martyr in Canada, where pot laws are more lenient.

"She came here and big-footed the local prosecutors in the worst
sense of that term," Connelly said in a telephone interview.

Tandy, 52, shrugged off the criticism.

"I think you'd have to look at the amount of seeds he is charged with
supplying to the U.S. that were grown and abused," she said of Emery.
"What is of greatest concern to me is the havoc wreaked when kids who
have been smoking marijuana get behind the wheel."

Regardless of the occasional critic's shot, Tandy retains her passion
for running the government's largest anti-drug bureaucracy - the kind
of job that can be stressful and emotionally exhausting.

"This job is a calling, not just for me but for all of the 11,000
people in this agency. I have the best job on Earth," she said.

Compassionate Leadership

Tandy talks about the agency as a large, extended family. And some
within the DEA world say that is more than just rhetoric.

Dallas resident Rita Tramel's son, DEA agent Doug Tramel, was hit and
killed by a vehicle while jogging near his home in Forney in 2000.
She said Tandy has helped the agent's family deal with the loss.

"Mrs. Tandy calls me every year on the anniversary of my son's
death," Tramel said. "I've gotten to know her, and have come to
consider her family. It makes a tremendous difference that the DEA in
Dallas and Washington have taken care of Doug's children and family so well."

The quality of inspiring people was evident in Tandy from an early
age, former associates said.

Walter Huffman, dean of the Texas Tech law school, was a classmate of
Tandy's when both attended the law school in 1977.

"She was president of the student bar association," he said. "That
reflected the respect and confidence that the rest of us had in
Karen, and her willingness to step up and be a leader."

Tandy landed a job as a federal prosecutor soon afterward.

Going After Pushers' Cash

After working as an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia and Seattle,
Tandy took a job at the Justice Department national office in
Washington in 1990.

In the Justice Department, Tandy was a pioneer in the enforcement of
asset forfeiture law - a government tactic used to deprive drug
merchants of material gain by seizing planes, boats, ranches and more
exotic possessions such as strip clubs and golf courses bought with drug cash.

By 1993, she was running the narcotics office at Justice, which put
her on the path to being appointed by President Bush to head the DEA in 2003.

With her background in asset forfeiture, Tandy has focused on going
after the money of drug pushers.

"When I came through the door, I made money the No. 1 priority," she said.

The amount of money the DEA seized each year has more than
quadrupled, to $1.9 billion last year, making the DEA the rare
federal agency that nearly pays for itself, she joked.

Tandy also has grappled with an explosion of opium poppy growth in
Afghanistan in the years since the Taliban's ejection.

Possible New Job?

Texas Tech has begun the search for a new chancellor, and Tandy is
rumored to be among those considered.

"I would not be surprised by that," Huffman said.

"She has exhibited outstanding leadership at high levels of
government service. She has proven she can lead and manage a complex
organization and she is a collegial person."

Tandy said it was an honor to be mentioned, but "I'm very focused on
what I'm doing right now."

As for what life after the DEA will bring, Tandy said simply, "I love
Texas. It is home."