ANTITERROR SECURITY ALSO HELPS CURB DRUG TRADE

PLANT CITY - The war on terrorism is having a positive impact on another
war, Florida's drug czar said.

As security tightens at airports and ports, the noose also tightens around
the drug trade, said James McDonough, director of the state's Office of
Drug Control.

"We have seen a tremendous drop in the movement of drugs in recent weeks,"
McDonough said in a speech Wednesday to the Greater Plant City Chamber of
Commerce.

McDonough, keynote speaker at the chamber's monthly breakfast meeting, is a
retired Army colonel who was appointed drug czar by Gov. Jeb Bush in 1999.
McDonough, the author of three books, was invited to speak as part of the
annual Red Ribbon Week antidrug campaign.

Restricting the flow of drugs not only helps clean up the streets but also
helps fight terrorism, which receives at least part of its financing
through narcotics trafficking, he said.

But he warned that despite some advances, the war on drugs is far from over.

"We all know we have a tremendous problem with drugs here in this state.
That's why I have a job," he said.

Drug abuse among Florida students is down for the most part, although
marijuana use in middle school age students is up, he said. Ecstasy, a
stimulant and hallucinogen, is not seeing widespread increases in its
popularity, he added.

The best way to combat drug abuse is for parents to talk to their children
and not to wink at marijuana use, he said. Despite some popular ways of
thinking, parents have more influence than even peer pressure, he said.

"Your kids look up to you," McDonough said.

"Talk to your children. They will listen to you."

Plant City Police Chief Bill McDaniel, who also addressed the chamber
meeting, agreed that parental involvement is a key.

McDaniel said there needs to be a three-pronged effort in the battle on
drugs: Children should be educated about the dangers of drugs; parents
should set a good example by not using illegal drugs; and drug laws should
be aggressively enforced.

Drug abuse leads to other crimes, such as robberies and burglaries as
addicts seek money to fuel their habits.