NEW CHIEF AIMS TO CUT DRUG USE IN HALF

TALLAHASSEE - Florida's new drug czar wants to cut drug use in half
over five years in a program estimated to cost a half billion dollars
with most of the money coming from the state.

``We are doing a lot more than `Just Say No,' '' said James McDonough.
``Our plan is not to fill up prisons with drug users. Our plan is to
get treatment to the ... non-violent offender.''

The Drug Control Strategy, due for release in September, indicates
Gov. Jeb Bush's administration wants to attack drug abuse on varied
levels, according to a draft obtained by the St. Petersburg Times.

The plan ranges from helping addicted infants to testing a space-age
instrument that detects drug residue on a prisoner's clothing, the
Times reported Saturday.

Some of McDonough's recommendations would need approval from the
Legislature and could prove controversial.

One proposal would have the state encourage random employee
drug-testing by offering financial breaks to companies. Another would
strip away a defendant's right to depose law enforcement officers in
drug cases.

Most of the recommendations deal with root causes of drug abuse: low
self-esteem, fractured families and peer pressure. The prevention
portion of the strategy would target all drugs - including legal
drugs, such as alcohol and cigarettes.

McDonough's office estimated it would spend about 60 percent of its
budget on treatment and about 40 percent on law enforcement and
prosecution.