DRUG CZAR ASKS IOWANS TO HELP FIGHT ADDICTION

Cedar Rapids, Ia. - President Bush's drug policy chief Monday urged
Iowans to help lift their fellow citizens from drug addiction with
financial and emotional support.

John Walters, White House director of National Drug Control Policy,
spoke to about two dozen people at the Heart of Iowa Women's Center.

He said the country's battle with illegal drugs can improve if more
Americans join the fight.

"We're trying to step up to help," Walters said, adding that the
federal government remains committed to treatment programs in Iowa.

"We all know - and you know - that it's about getting communities to
step up. We need people in the community to provide resources, provide
their time and provide their own hands."

He said the president's new, three-year, $600 million drug treatment
initiative will provide vouchers aimed at those with substance-abuse
needs who have not otherwise received treatment.

States will compete for money based on need and their plans to meet
those needs, Walters said.

"We will reward those that are found to be most compelling," he
said.

Walters toured the center, a treatment facility for pregnant women and
mothers and their children.

He met with some of the women in the program and then listened to
Jennifer Ellis describe her struggle to overcome addiction.

The 36-year-old Cedar Rapids native said methamphetamine pulled her
into a life of misery.

The treatment she received at the facility, she said, has helped her
stay drug-free for five years.

"Life became very rough," Ellis said. "We started living life from
room to room, car to car, house to house."

Walters then took the podium.

"No one gets well from the disease of addiction on their own," he
said.

"Part of the horrible part of this addiction is it collapses human
beings into an existence of being enslaved to drugs."

Walters said treatment programs and the help of the community can ease
the burden drug use has placed on the country.

Dedric Doolin, deputy director of the Area Substance Abuse Council,
which operates the Cedar Rapids center, was encouraged by Walters'
commitment to treatment programs.

"Substance abuse affects everything in our communities," Doolin
said.

"If we're going to have a solution, we need the support."

Doolin said Iowans who want to help should volunteer time, provide
money for treatment programs and encourage those with drug addictions
to seek assistance.