FEDERAL DRUG CZAR, GOVERNOR HELP UNVEIL ADDICTION EXHIBIT

PHOENIX - Federal drug czar John Walters and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano
helped open an exhibit on addiction at the Arizona Science Museum yesterday.

The $300,000 exhibit showcases the latest research on the brain through
interactive displays, a simulated brain scanner, video of brain science
labs and six first-person stories of young addicts in recovery.

"Giving young people access to the latest scientific information is an
important way to help them make healthy decisions about drug use," Walters
said.

If it proves successful as an educational tool, the Office of National Drug
Control Policy, which Walters heads, would consider sponsoring another 10
similar exhibits nationwide.

Of the 15.9 million drug users in America, 23 percent are teenagers and the
majority use marijuana - more so than ever before, Walters said.

A recent survey shows nearly half of Arizona's eighth-graders, high school
juniors and seniors have used alcohol in the past month.

Walters has been an outspoken critic of initiatives passed in Arizona to
allow for the medical use of marijuana.

In addition to opening the exhibit, Walters and Napolitano fielded
questions from about 100 eighth-graders who were getting their first look
at the exhibit.

Hillcrest Middle School student Jessica Turner said drugs at her school are
not as much of a problem as drug use after school.

"Outside of school, it can get bad. And then you can see the side effects
in people during class," she said.

Walters has repeatedly criticized previous antidrug ad campaigns, saying
teenagers were ignoring them.

"Drug use is not a harmless rite of passage for youth," he said.

New ads sponsored by his office have taken a more direct, biting tone in
their antidrug messages. Recent campaigns launched by Walters include a
series of ads linking drugs to terrorism.

Yesterday, Walters encouraged kids to speak out to their drug-using peers.

"We need you not to be a passive observer," he told the students.

Napolitano, who has acknowledged experimenting with marijuana in college,
said that the drug problem will be eradicated only by reducing the demand
for drugs through treatment.