WASHINGTON CALLING - WINDS OF CHANGE IN D.C. AND IN DRUG LAWS

WASHINGTON - Incoming Democratic leaders in the House are trying not
to appear vindictive as they return to power after 12 years of
Republican rule by not making too many petty rules or administrative
changes during the transition.

Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi is even considering backing a rules change
that would give staffers of defeated members two months' severance pay
while they look for new jobs - a benefit already extended to Senate
staff.

But that's not to say there won't be changes. One symbolic move in the
offing: banning smoking in the Speaker's Lobby just off the House
floor, one of the last semi-public refuges around Capitol Hill where
lawmakers like Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the new minority leader, are
able to light up.

Perhaps the biggest winners in the November elections will be the
half-million residents of the District of Columbia. Even before the
Democratic takeover of Capitol Hill, a deal was nearly done to give
D.C. a voting representative in the House. As it is now, D.C. Delegate
Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat, can participate in debates but
cannot vote.

Long a pet issue for Democrats - who make up about 95 percent of the
city electorate - the right-to-vote forces scored House GOP support
this year by crafting a deal that would give D.C. a vote in exchange
for also giving Utah - as red a state as any - another congressman,
who would almost certainly be a Republican.

But the sticking point had been the GOP-controlled Senate, where
sentiment was decidedly against the deal. With Democrats in charge of
both chambers come January, it should be smooth sailing for the
measure. While President Bush has said he would "study" the issue,
insiders say the White House has no major objections.

Legal prescription-drug imports from Canada and other countries are
likely to get a renewed push in the new Congress by Democrats who
think manufacturers are gouging U.S. customers. But changing federal
law to allow shipments for individual use still isn't on the top 10
list for the new leaders. They're more likely to focus on negotiating
lower drug prices for Medicare patients enrolled in the new
prescription-drug plan. Either change is strongly opposed by the drug
industry and may face a veto from President Bush.

Ironically, a change in rules for over-the-counter drugs is prompting
a surge in illegal drug imports.

New rules that require pharmacies to put many cold medicines and
antihistamines behind the counter to stymie those who use some of
their ingredients to manufacture methamphetamine have caused a
dramatic decrease in domestic production of the illegal and highly
addictive drug, according to the National Drug Intelligence Center's
new "drug threat assessment."

But, into the void have stepped Mexican drug-trafficking
organizations, which make the meth in Mexico, then smuggle it across
the border. The Justice Department says these Mexico-based outfits are
experienced and well-organized, and are taking over meth distribution
in heartland communities in the Midwest and East. They're also using
the opportunity to introduce Mexican black tar and brown-powder heroin
into these markets, the drug intel center says.