NEW DRUG CZAR, DEA CHIEF SEEN AS HARD-LINERS

WASHINGTON – President Bush has named two men with law-and-order
reputations to lead his anti-drug efforts, although all three said Thursday
that they will take an "integrated approach" to the problem.

"Today we know more about what works in prevention and education, treatment
and law enforcement," Mr. Bush said in a Rose Garden ceremony introducing
new drug czar John P. Walters, chief of staff to William Bennett when he
was director of National Drug Control Policy.

On Wednesday, Mr. Bush tapped Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., a former U.S.
attorney and one of former President Bill Clinton's impeachment
prosecutors, to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Some critics of the appointments said the actions foreshadow an
overemphasis on law enforcement, but Mr. Walters and Mr. Hutchinson
stressed other aspects of the administration's program.

It includes efforts to reduce what Mr. Bush called the "treatment gap" and
programs to encourage parents and community leaders to talk to children
about the dangers of narcotics.

"When we push back, the drug problem gets smaller," Mr. Walters said. "This
fact is beyond question today, even if it is not always beyond denial."

Critics of the war on drugs said Mr. Walters has taken a "lock-em-up"
approach to drug users and challenged the effectiveness of treatment
programs. They said he favors military-style interdiction programs in other
countries of the sort that led to the recent accidental shooting of a
civilian plane in Peru.

"He talks about the need for longer sentences and more punishment," said
Eric Sterling, president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation. "He
mocks treatment. He thinks our overseas efforts to control supply needs to
be expanded."

Mr. Hutchinson, elected to the House in 1996, said he has also supported
increasing funds for drug education and sentencing reform.

"I will bring that balanced message over to the DEA," Mr. Hutchinson said.

Mr. Bush's plans won praise from other groups.

David C. Lewis, project director for the Physician Leadership on National
Drug Policy, said "Mr. Walters should make good on the president's
commitment to a vigorous expansion of treatment and prevention efforts."

Some groups have said the government should consider making some drugs
legal and regulate both their production and sale.

Mr. Bush – who along with staff members has been drug tested since taking
office – flatly rejected the idea of legalization, saying it would create a
"social catastrophe."

"...Legalizing drugs would completely undermine the message that drug use
is wrong," Mr. Bush said.

Administration officials said they plan to add $1.1 billion to the federal
drug control budget, putting the total at just more than $19 billion. That
includes law enforcement money for new drug courts and prosecutors.

Mr. Bush pledged to "continue to work with nations to eradicate drugs at
their source," particularly Mexico.

"However," Mr. Bush added, "the most effective way to reduce the supply of
drugs in America is to reduce the demand for drugs in America."

Mr. Bush said the Department of Health and Human Services will conduct a
state-by-state inventory of drug treatment centers, seeking to close a
"treatment gap" that leaves too many users without help.