COALITION CRITICIZES DRUG CZAR NOMINEE URGES CLOSE SCRUTINY OF 'HARD-LINER
AMONGST HARD-LINERS ON THE WAR ON DRUGS'

A coalition of civil liberties and public health groups has called for
close scrutiny of drug czar nominee John Walters when he goes before the
Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

The Coalition for Compassionate Leadership on Drug Policy criticizes
Walters for dismissing sentencing disparities among racial groups as
''urban myths'' and for advocating the use of courts to force drug users
into treatment programs.

The coalition, which says it does not endorse or oppose nominees, included
its complaints in a report issued Thursday.

The report heats up an already simmering debate over Walters, a former
deputy in the first Bush administration's Office on National Drug Control
Policy (ONDCP).

''Mr. Walters' record isn't generally in sync with the more balanced
approach that is gaining ground in Congress and with the public,'' said
David Carle, spokesman for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick
Leahy, D-Vt.

Leahy and the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah,
have sponsored a bill that would devote more federal funds to prevention
and treatment. The coalition, which includes the NAACP and the American
Civil Liberties Union, supports the type of approach proposed by Leahy and
Hatch.

''Mr. Walters is a hard-liner amongst hard-liners on the war on drugs,''
said coalition member Vincent Schiraldi, president of the Justice Policy
Institute.

''He remains a cheerleader for the curative virtues of the prison cell over
treatment programs,'' he said. ''He's not only out of step with America on
this one, he's even out of step with other conservatives.''

The Bush administration said it stands behind its nominee.

''The president has a balanced approach to the problem of drug abuse in
America that emphasizes both treatment and prevention,'' White House
spokeswoman Anne Womack said. ''We're confident that John Walters will do
an excellent job of implementing the president's vision.''

A spokesman for Walters said he would have no comment before his hearing.

Walters worked at the drug czar's office from January 1989 until February
1993 under drug czar William Bennett, first as chief of staff and later as
deputy director for supply reduction.

In a statement to the Judiciary Committee, Walters emphasized his
commitment to prevention and treatment during his tenure at the drug czar's
office.

''In all of my work at the ONDCP, I was a steadfast advocate for a balanced
anti-drug effort,'' Walters said in the questionnaire. ''If anything, my
tenure at the office marked a rebalancing of federal resources with greater
funding direct to prevention and treatment.''

However, coalition members cite an article published in March in The Weekly
Standard, a conservative magazine, in which Walters wrote: ''What really
drives the battle against law enforcement and punishment, however is not a
commitment to treatment, but the widely held view that (1) we are
imprisoning too many people for merely possessing illegal drugs, (2) drug
and other criminal sentences are too long and harsh, and (3) the criminal
justice system is unjustly punishing young black men. These are among the
great urban myths of our time.''

The coalition disagrees with Walters's remarks.

''Jail is not in the best interest of the American people,'' says coalition
member Mohammad Akhter of the American Public Health Association.
''Treatment is.''