BUSH MAKING PROGRESS IN DRUG WAR

Critics Say Governor Is Inconsistent In Committment To Curbing
Abuse

When Gov. Jeb Bush speaks about curbing drug abuse, he comes across as
a leading advocate. But is he?

"Reducing drug abuse across our state remains one of my top
priorities," Bush said in mid-February, about two weeks after his
24-year-old daughter Noelle was charged with prescription drug fraud.

Noelle Bush is receiving treatment at undisclosed location. She
eventually will be processed through the state's drug court system,
where first-time offenders who qualify are sentenced to treatment
instead of jail time. Meanwhile, some drug-treatment advocates
question Bush's commitment.

"In 1999, Bush vetoed state money for Brevard's drug court," said
Harold Koenig, a Satellite Beach resident who heads H.E.A.R.T., an
organization that lobbies for drug treatment options. "Last year, he
told lawmakers they needed to cut it from the budget and they did. And
now he's urging them to put the money back."

The drug issue could prove significant for Bush, who seeks re-election
in a state with a well-established drug scene and agonizingly tight
budgets.

And it's of particular relevance to Brevard County, where middle and
high school students are the only kids in the state to rank among the
heaviest users of all drugs, including alcohol, surveys show.

People under 18 account for about a third of the Brevard sheriff's
drug-related arrests, yet they account for 22 percent of the population.

A Florida Today examination of Gov. Bush's actions and record reveal a
man who has grown overall state spending on drug control and treatment
while grappling with difficult parenting decisions that could affect
him politically.

Since 1999, Bush's first year in office and years before his
daughter's much publicized arrest, Bush added to some categories of
state spending on drug treatment and enforcement. He also established
new programs and, by some measures, the state appears to be making
progress in the war on drugs. For example:

In 1999, state money to fight drug trafficking and run drug treatment
programs grew 35 percent.

Also in 1999, Bush developed Florida's Office of Drug Control and
persuaded Jim McDonough, then a Washington, D.C., drug-control
strategist, to run the office. Now, more federal money for treatment
and prevention funnels into Florida than before.

The state also ranks third in the nation, behind Utah and Virginia,
when it comes to kids quitting hard drugs, according to the most
recent National Household Survey on drug use. Overall, Florida's
budget for drug enforcement and treatment increased 59 percent in the
three years Bush has been in office.

In Brevard and Indian River counties, like elsewhere in Florida, that
money pays for treatment centers, law enforcement, drug courts and
other programs.

But some of the governor's recommendations for 2002-03 are less than
what lawmakers budgeted in the past. Some of that is due to the
up-front costs of programs Bush initiated in 1999-2000, McDonough
said. Yet growth in some areas is minimal. For example:

Bush recommends spending $188.6 million on treatment and prevention
programs this year. By comparison, those programs received $189.1
million in 1999-2000, but funding leveled off in 2000-01 and again in
2001-02.

Bush recommends spending $58.2 million for treatment and prevention
for parolees and addicts in prison, a large percentage of whom do time
for drug-related offenses. That's up from last year's $47.5 million,
but down from 2000-01, when addicted inmates and parolees received
$61.4 million for treatment and prevention.

Although the number of state-funded residential treatment centers in
Florida increased 27 percent from1994 to 2001, the number of
outpatient facilities - where the bulk of addicts receive treatment
- increased a mere 2 percent. Bush did not veto money for any local
drug treatment and prevention programs last year. However, he did veto
more than $3 million for such expenditures in 2000, along with others
in Florida that lacked statewide impact or that failed to follow his
budgeting rules.

Tight-Lipped Officials

Meanwhile, Bush has played the unenviable role of concerned parent,
calling drug addiction a problem that can touch any family.

His comments about his daughter, Noelle, are brief and few. His
famously loyal staff offers no comment.

Florida Today's calls to the governor seeking comment on the drug
treatment issue were referred to the drug czar. But in other ways,
Bush has demonstrated the drug issue is important to him.

For example, Bush recruited drug czar McDonough from Washington, D. C.
in 1998. There, McDonough was the director of strategy for the Office
of National Drug Control Policy. Addiction-treatment advocates
describe McDonough as a force. In turn, the former strategist is quick
to praise Bush and the governor's commitment to fighting drugs.

"I was absolutely bowled over by his knowledge and his principal
commitment," McDonough said. "He was way out in front of this personal
issue, ensuring we supported drug control."

Yet, precisely measuring Bush's support for more spending is difficult
for two reasons.

First, Bush's budget proposals from one year to the next don't offer
apple-to-apple comparisons of several programs, including drug control
and treatment.

Second, few in Tallahassee want to release information on the subject
now. In the capital, even McDonough has difficulty getting information
to measure Bush's commitment in dollars.

Bush's staff did not produce concise documentation of Bush's past
recommendations for drug control and treatment spending. Instead, it
sent Florida Today full budget proposals with thousands of budget
categories, line items and recommendations.

"There's just so much information for so many priorities and so many
budget issues," said Elizabeth Hirst, Bush's press secretary.

Public-records requests to the Senate and House appropriations
offices, which receive the governor's proposals on behalf of
taxpayers, were refused. Staff members said releasing the information
would be inappropriate.

To respond to Florida Today's inquiries, McDonough's office made more
than one request to Bush's policy makers but never received the
information.

Bush made his final budget recommendations for 2002-03 in
mid-February, additions to the recommendations he drafted late last
year. Lawmakers consider those recommendations when developing the
budget, although Bush holds line-item veto power.

"Without a doubt, it was a policy move not tied to his family,"
McDonough said of Bush's final budget recommendations. "He's been
strong on drug control from the get-go."

Fluctuating Money

A study last year by The National Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse at Columbia University in New York said the potential for crime
reduction greatly increases as drug users are rehabilitated.

Estimates of property and violent crimes committed by active drug
addicts range from 89 to 191 per year per addict.

That same study also said Florida ranks in the middle of states --
27th in per-capita spending -- for substance abuse. It also ranked
27th in spending as a percentage of the overall state budget. But only
California, Texas and New York received more federal grant money.

Yet, Brevard County was forced to withdraw $193,400 from its general
fund last week to keep its drug court running. A promise by lawmakers
to pay for 100 percent of the program was withdrawn last year when the
state stopped all funds for the court.

Lawmakers blamed the decision on Florida's budget shortfall, which led
to deep cuts of several programs, including a 23 percent drop in drug
treatment money for inmates and parolees.

Bush's budget recommendations would restore a lot of the cuts,
including money for drug courts - but not all of them.

Stephen Heath, spokesperson for the Drug Policy Forum of Florida, a
watchdog group, said Bush's spending is inconsistent and
insufficient.

"It leaves some people who need help without it," Heath
said.

Bush recommended cutting treatment funding for criminals by $11.1
million this year and by $2.5 million the year before.

"Individuals in the criminal justice system represent the largest
segment of individuals we serve," Bush wrote in his budget proposal.
"However, our primary responsibility is community-based services for
the individuals and families in the community."

An Early Goal

One of first things Bush did as governor was address substance abuse
spending, McDonough said.

"We came in 1999 and we thought we had a major gap in treatment and
prevention, so the first thing that happened was there were a lot of
start-up costs to close that gap," he said. "But simultaneously, we
worked the federal budget."

Florida now receives $102 million in U.S. money, up from the $66
million in 1999. But about one-fifth of that money comes in the form
of one-time spending.

"That's the scary part, because if we don't get those funds then a lot
of folks and their families won't get the treatment they need," said
John Daigle, executive director of Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Association, a trade group that represents treatment and prevention
agencies.

Although Daigle said there needs to be a significant investment in
state dollars to ensure stability of long-term funding, he's basically
pleased with Bush's efforts thus far.

"The governor has raised the visibility in state government," he said.
"He's also talked about the fact that this is a problem that can touch
any family. He believes treatment works. And Jim McDonough has
provided some good leadership."

More should be done, H.E.A.R.T.'s Koenig said.

Koenig's daughter, a former crack addict, was jailed about a
half-dozen times in the late 1990s on drug-related charges.

"Since Gov. Bush's daughter got nailed, a lot of people call me and
say, 'Harold, aren't you upset she didn't go to jail?' I say, 'No, on
the contrary,' " he said. "I'm delighted that the governor's daughter
escaped jail. I think every non-violent first-time offender who gets
arrested should avoid jail."