ANTI-DRUG PROGRAMS IN FLA. TO GET $9 MILLION

TALLAHASSEE-- Gov. Jeb Bush's office plans to use $9 million in an
attempt to keep teens from trying drugs.

Toward that end, the state Department of Children and Families will
award 22 federal drug-prevention grants to schools and local
organizations.

"In the long run, prevention is the key to reducing drug abuse in our
state," Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan said during a news conference Wednesday.

"Preventing drug use among our young people now will save us a myriad
of costs later -- social, economic, and, of course, human," he said.

Bush has said he wants to cut drug use in half by 2004.

The grants are being distributed to various anti-drug programs around
the state.

Ella Bryan, who runs the House Next Door in Volusia County, said
prevention means not only talking to teens, but to parents, as well.

The University of Miami's Comprehensive Drug Research Center will
judge the effectiveness of the local projects and then make
recommendations on how the state should manage drug prevention programs.

Office of Drug Control Director James McDonough said the prevention
programs are aimed particularly at seventh- and eighth-grade students,
because they are the most susceptible to peer pressure.

According to McDonough's office, 15.78 percent of Florida teenagers
aged 12 to 19 have used drugs within the past 30 days.