QUESTIONING THE AUTHORITY: FEDERAL DRUG CHIEF VISITS SCHOOL

PALM COAST -- It's not every day that a Cabinet-level official comes to
Flagler County.

It's definitely not every day one opens himself up to questions and
criticism from a roomful of Flagler Palm Coast High School students.
Federal drug czar John Walters came to town Monday and did exactly that.

"You're going to decide what happens here," he told the crowd in the
sparsely-filled Flagler Auditorium. "We're not going to decide whether your
friend uses drugs. You're going to."

Walters, who heads the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
and coordinates federal anti-drug efforts, said he was in Palm Coast to
work on convincing teenagers to abstain from drugs.

He said all the federal spending he could get would not be worthwhile
unless it helps teens like those in the room to make the "unpopular"
decision to abstain from drug use.

"It makes people reckless. It makes people violent under heavy use. It
makes people unable to study," he said of marijuana.

When his speech ended, the question-and-answer session began with senior
Gabe Clifton who asked numerous questions trying to shake Walters'
anti-marijuana position.

"What are the real motivations behind the illegalization of marijuana?"
Clifton asked.

Walters responded that public health concerns and a fear of mass addiction
are the guide stars of national drug policy.

"The lie of illegal drugs is that it's easy, it's harmless, it's fun and
it's something they can handle," he told the audience.

He said that 62 percent of those in need of drug treatment in the U.S. are
dependent on marijuana and among teens, marijuana addiction is surpassing
alcoholism in numbers of addicts.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Clifton said.

Walters told students he hoped they would look at the facts about drugs,
and not just take his word or the words of others as gospel.

"Don't close your eyes and say because somebody else says it's OK, I'll do
it," Walters said. "If they're right, it can stand up to scrutiny."

During that interchange, and others like it, students on both sides of the
issue applauded when they agreed.

Senior Aja Lewis, who arranged the visit by Walters and U.S. Rep. John
Mica, said she was happy he could come, but disappointed so few of her
schoolmates chose to attend.

Her view that many of her peers use drugs was born out when virtually every
student raised their hand when asked if they knew a drug user. She said
that is partly because Flagler County has too few activities for teens.

"I thought that if our nation's drug czar came here, he would encourage us
not to use drugs," she said.