MCCAFFREY, STILL SMOKING

Big Brother is not just a TV show.

If U.S. drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffrey has his way, it will be all of
Hollywood.

Speaking before a congressional committee on Tuesday, he outlined plans to
sneak government anti-drug messages into motion pictures. That follows three
years of slipping similar suggestions into TV shows.

Under federal law, broadcasters must sell air time for government anti-drug
ads at half price. McCaffrey created a windfall for the networks -- and got
Washington into the programming business -- by freeing TV stations of this
obligation.

All they had to do was feature "accurate portrayals of drug-use issues" in
their shows.

Now McCaffrey proposes federally funded publicity for films that meet
Washington's approval.

Advertising in entertainment in nothing new. The WB's new teen drama, "Young
Americans," is the latest case in point, with stars grabbing for cans of
Coca-Cola at every poignant moment.

But with product placement, viewers can see an ad for what it is, and
competitors are free to promote their product by bidding for the spots.

The government, on the other hand, has no competitors, and with the
regulatory and spending powers at its disposal, it could chill dissenting
viewpoints in entertainment.

Under McCaffrey's plan, would a movie that featured a cancer patient using
medicinal marijuana, which McCaffrey opposes, be deemed "accurate"? What if
the film were anti-drug but also rude or offensive?

"Accurate" really means government-sanctioned, and when Big Brother starts
to direct its money and regulations at Hollywood, only government-sanctioned
messages will find their way to the big screen.

Drugs are bad, but so is censorship.

Keep the media and state separate.