HELP FOR NOELLE BUSH

IF NOELLE BUSH were an ordinary citizen, she'd be just one more statistic
in the war against drugs; her unfortunate plunge into addiction would draw
little media attention. But she happens to be the daughter of Florida's
governor and niece of the president. That's why her problems are in the
public eye, and not just a private family matter, as her father, Gov. Jeb
Bush, would like.

In July, Noelle Bush, 25, spent two days in jail for illegal possession of
a prescription drug. Last month, police were called to a center where she
is being treated for addiction after another patient said Ms. Bush had
crack cocaine. She could go to jail if that's true. If her father has his
way, the public will never learn the outcome. Mr. Bush says the drug court
should shield his daughter's case from public and press scrutiny,
notwithstanding the First Amendment. The conflict is between his public
duties as governor and his understandable desire to protect his vulnerable
daughter.

This case should make Mr. Bush think hard about the tough drug policies,
which favor incarceration over treatment, that he has pushed in Florida. As
governor, he cut funds to the very rehab program that now serves his
daughter. Unfortunately, Florida doesn't spend enough to accommodate
everyone needing a treatment bed. Fortunately, she knew someone with pull.

Save for the fact that she comes from a wealthy and well-connected family,
Noelle Bush is no different than other drug-users who have been pursued in
the war on drugs for more than two decades. In 1980, about 40,000 Americans
were behind bars for drug possession. By 1999, the number had risen to more
than 450,000, thanks in part to national hysteria, aggressive law
enforcement and convictions of African-Americans for possessing even small
amounts of crack. That's why blacks make up a disproportionate share of
people behind bars for possessing crack, even though studies show that the
majority of users of all forms of cocaine are white.

Extended jail time was the wrong answer for poor blacks, just as it would
be the wrong solution for Noelle Bush. Better to keep her in a treatment
bed and help her make her way up the long, rocky slope of recovery.

Her case should serve as a cautionary tale for politicians -- including her
father. Treatment, not get-tough, three-strikes medicine, is the way to
help addicts kick their habit.