BUSH BACKS A PROMOTION FOR FLORIDA'S DRUG CZAR

The Governor Presses His Brother To Make Jim McDonough The Nation's Drug Czar.

WASHINGTON -- Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is touting his drug czar, Jim
McDonough, to lead the nation in its battle against illegal drugs.

On McDonough's behalf, the governor has called his brother, President
George W. Bush, and Vice President Dick Cheney "several" times, a
spokeswoman said. During the series of recent calls, Jeb Bush stressed
McDonough's record in combatting drugs in Florida and his previous
experience in the federal government's National Office of Drug Control Policy.

"We are working actively for (Director McDonough) on our end," said Bush's
communication director, Katie Baur.

McDonough, 54, was in Washington on Wednesday speaking to a panel of
senators about the dangers of ecstasy and Florida's efforts to curb
designer drug use. Afterward, he spoke about his aspiration to direct U.S.
drug policy.

"I've thought about what I would do if I (were given) such an honor,"
McDonough said. "I've tried to think about how I would address the issue."

McDonough said he has not spoken to President Bush and declined to comment
when asked whether he had conversations with Gov. Bush about the drug czar
position.

Before being tapped by Gov. Jeb Bush in 1999 to head Florida's Office of
Drug Control, McDonough served under President Bill Clinton's drug czar,
Barry MaCaffrey.

In Florida, McDonough is known for ambitious proposals to halt drug use. He
recommended that the state offer financial incentives to companies that
randomly test employees for drugs. He also suggested unleashing a killer
fungus on illegal marijuana crops. But state officials who worried that the
fungus might mutate and kill other plants never followed through on the idea.

Besides McDonough, those mentioned as candidates to be director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy include ex-U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum
and Maricopa County, Ariz., prosecutor Rick Romley.

President Bush rarely mentioned the war on drugs on the campaign trail, and
some in the White House favor dropping the drug czar job from the Cabinet.
But McDonough believes the government must keep a high profile and
aggressively attempt to eradicate drugs.

"I actually do not think all is lost and the sky is falling," he said. "My
view is when you work the issue in a sustained and balanced way, you bring
drug use down. When you walk away and surrender, forget it, drugs go
through the roof."

One drug that has been skyrocketing recently is ecstasy. Manufactured
primarily in the Netherlands, the drug is particularly prevalent among
teenagers and young adults who use it at all-night parties called raves.

McDonough said 60 ecstasy-related deaths occurred in the state of Florida
during the last half of 2000. Between 1997 and 1999 Florida had 174
ecstasy-related deaths, and McDonough said the increase is proof of the
drug's growing popularity and its fatal consequences.

"We've had parents say to us: You would rather have your child on the most
dangerous street in Florida rather than inside a rave club," he said.