BUSH'S ANTI-DRUG APPOINTMENT DRAWS CRITICS

WASHINGTON - President Bush chose John P. Walters, a get-tough figure from
the drug wars of his father's presidency, to lead a renewed narcotics
battle that he promised would be sensitive to the "human tragedy" of drug
addiction.

Bush's announcement Thursday drew immediate objections from several groups
who contend Walters cares little about drug treatment and will return to
lock-'em-up policies of the 1980s.

And that, in turn, annoyed Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy
Thompson, who said Bush fully intends "a total frontal assault against drug
abuse" through a combination of rehabilitation, education and interdiction.

"I'd tell those cynics out there, look at what the president has been
trying to do. Listen to what's said. And just get out of our way if you're
going to be a cynic and let us do our job," Thompson said.

Bush announced his selection of Walters as director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy during a Rose Garden ceremony and said he
would keep the post Cabinet-level. In a tacit rebuke of his predecessor,
Bill Clinton, the president said too little had been done lately to curb
the drug use that had been declining among high school students in the
1980s and early 1990s.

"We had made tremendous strides in cutting drug use. This cannot be said
today," Bush said. "We must do, and will do, a better job."Walters pledged
to protect children, help drug addicts and "shield our communities from the
terrible human toll taken by illegal drugs."Advocacy groups were deeply
suspicious. They noted that the drug policy office oversees more than $19
billion in anti-drug programs, working with dozens of agencies, while
Bush's budget proposal for fiscal 2002 seeks $1.6 billion for treatment
programs.

"Everything about John Walters' past record suggests that he believes drug
policy has nothing to do with science or public health. It's all about
punishing people for their sins," said Ethan Nadelmann, director of the
Lindesmith Center, a New York-based drug policy research institute.

Walters was the drug policy office's deputy director for supply reduction
when it was headed by William Bennett during the administration of former
President Bush.

Walters has stressed the importance of criminal penalties for drug users
and opposed the use of marijuana for medical purposes. He also has favored
the drug certification program, in which nations are judged by their
anti-drug efforts, a sore point in U.S.-Mexican relations.

Walters is president of the Philanthropy Roundtable, a national donors
group. He co-authored a book with Bennett and John DiIulio Jr., "Body
Count: Moral Poverty and How to Win America's War Against Crime and
Drugs."Bill Zimmerman, director of the Campaign for New Drug Policies,
called Walters' appointment "a thumb in the eye" to voters in 17 states
who, during the past year, favored issues ranging from medical use of
marijuana to using seized drug proceeds for drug treatment, rather than law
enforcement.

Bush defended Walters during a visit later Thursday to an anti-drug
community program in a Washington suburb, saying he "understands the need
to reduce demand" through treatment.

"The most effective way to reduce the supply of drugs in America is to
reduce the demand for drugs in America," Bush said. "Therefore, this
administration will focus unprecedented attention on the demand side of
this problem."Besides Walters, Bush announced a series of Cabinet reviews
to determine the effectiveness of current federal anti-drug efforts. He
categorically rejected the idea of legalizing drugs as "a social
catastrophe" that would undermine efforts to teach children that drug use
is wrong.

Also, the White House revealed that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney
were among 650 new White House employees who took required drug tests in
January. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said 127 White House staffers
have been randomly tested since the initial round of examinations, "and
there are no problems that have been brought to anybody's attention."Bush
directed DiIulio, who heads the White House Office of Community and
Faith-Based Initiatives, to review existing federal partnerships with local
organizations that do anti-drug work. He asked Thompson to do a
state-by-state evaluation of current treatment needs and Attorney General
John Ashcroft to look into making prisons drug-free, including expanded
drug testing of those on parole or probation.

Nadelmann said he anticipates Bush would take some sort of moderate action
to counteract opposition to Walters, such as proposing changes to mandatory
minimum sentences for drug crimes. Fleischer told reporters Thursday that
mandatory minimum sentences would be an aspect of Ashcroft's review.