'FEELING BETTER IS SNAKE OIL, NOT MEDICINE'

The Nation's Drug Chief Speaks Out Against Legalizing Drugs And The Medical
Use Of Marijuana.

Portland -- States must treat substance abuse like a disease, expand access
to treatment and prevent its spread among young people, the nation's drug
czar told substance abuse officials in Portland on Monday. "Playing
with drugs when you're young is a disease, not a matter of individual
choice," John Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy, said in an
address to the annual meeting of the National Association of State Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Directors. Walters said the federal government will try to
extend drug treatment to the roughly 100,000 people nationally who do not
have access now.

At the same time, the Bush administration wants to intervene in the cycle
of experimentation and casual drug use by which many young people become
drug dependent, Walters said. The administration favors random drug testing
in schools as a way to help young people steer clear of drugs saying such
efforts have worked in private industry, he said. Maine officials
oppose random drug testing for all students, believing it impinges on the
civil rights of students who are required to attend school.

No Maine public schools test all students, though some have random drug
testing for students involved in extracurricular activities, said Kim
Johnson, director of Maine's Office of Substance Abuse, which is hosting
this week's national conference.

Maine treatment professionals hope the state will be selected to share in a
new federal grant to expand drug treatment options. Walters said the
government is putting up $100 million for a grant program that would allow
people with drug dependency in selected states to get vouchers to pay for
treatment.

The plan, which he hopes can double to $200 million next year, should help
expand drug and alcohol treatment options by coaxing clinics and doctors to
begin offering substance abuse services.

Maine has applied for $6 million in the first year to help obtain services
for the 100 people a month who seek treatment but are turned away. The
government will be awarding grants of up to $15 million. Maine's drug
problems are unusual compared to many states.

The state was one of the first to experience a surge in the addiction to
prescription opiates such as OxyContin. In 2003, 1,623 people were admitted
to drug treatment for marijuana dependence, 1,007 for heroin dependence and
1,500 for dependence on other opiates, including prescription drugs.

Walters was sharply critical of efforts to legalize drugs and asked the
substance abuse officials to help oppose such efforts. "Neighborhoods,
states and communities are better when we push back on this problem," he
said. Treating marijuana like a "soft" drug ignores the fact that most pot
is much more powerful today than it was in the 1970s, he said, and that
twice as many people seek treatment for marijuana abuse as for cocaine.

Walters also criticized the medical use of marijuana, which is legal in
Maine. Just because terminally ill patients and others feel better does not
mean the practice has undergone the rigorous scrutiny necessary to qualify
as a medical treatment, he said. "Feeling better is the standard of
snake oil, not medicine," he said. Walters did praise the prescription
monitoring program in Maine, one of 21 states that have electronic tracking
of prescriptions to make sure patients are not visiting multiple doctors
for extra pain medication or forging prescriptions.

Walters said his office plans to launch an ad campaign in the coming months
to encourage peers and others to intervene if someone they know is using drugs.

He also expects success in the near future in cracking down on Internet
sales of drugs.