FLORIDA GIRDS FOR BIG DRUG BATTLE

James Mcdonough, The State'S New Drug Czar, Wants To Spend A Half-Billion
Dollars Fighting Addictions.

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's new drug czar is set to unveil an anti-drug plan
with an ambitious goal: The state will cut drug use in half, he vows, in the
next five years.

James McDonough, who worked for White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey before
coming to Florida, wants to spend more than a half-billion in federal and
state dollars next year alone. The bulk of the money -- more than
$358-million -- would come from the state.

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

The state's new Drug Control Strategy isn't due for release until September.
But a draft copy obtained by the St. Petersburg Times shows the Bush
administration wants to attack drug abuse on many levels. The plan focuses
on everything from helping addicted infants to testing a space-age
instrument that can detect drug residue on a prisoner's clothing.

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.

But the bulk of the recommendations deal with the 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.

"'A mother or father talking to their children about drugs does more good
than a library of strategies such as this," the draft plan says.

Shirley Coletti, who runs Pinellas County's Operation PAR drug treatment
centers, calls the strategy "a kinder, friendlier approach."

"It's not a "lock 'em down, lock 'em up' approach," she said.

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

Documents show that the plan would add more than 9,400 drug abuse treatment
beds and earmark $1.4-million to help treat drug-addicted babies. It would
create eight new state attorneys and public defenders, and four new
positions in the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor. The plan would also add
three additional "drug law enforcement units" in Central and South Florida,
and dedicate $330,000 for more "'drug courts" like the one in Hillsborough
County, which steer non-violent offenders toward treatment. It would
dedicate $39-million to Florida's popular youth anti-tobacco campaign.

The Bush administration will have to persuade state lawmakers to fund the
initiative.

"I think it is impressive," said John Daigle, executive director of the
Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, which represents 85 treatment
centers. "'The critical question is whether the state is ready to invest the
resources to do this. A lot of that's going to fall on the governor's
shoulders."

With Florida seen as a national leader in drug smuggling and addiction, most
Florida governors have campaigned against drugs. The last governor to
appoint a drug czar was Bob Martinez. Gov. Lawton Chiles cut the post,
although drug-control efforts were funded in dozens of state agencies.

When he campaigned for governor, Bush promised to make drug-fighting a top
priority. Like most Florida families, the Bushes have been touched by drug
abuse. One of their three children -- they won't say which one -- briefly
battled a drug problem.

And drug use continues to be a question on the political circuit. The
governor's brother, George W. Bush, has said he hasn't used illegal drugs in
25 years. Jeb Bush has said he smoked pot in high school but now says he was
irresponsible.

The new drug strategy is one of Gov. Jeb Bush's key priorities for next year.

"'I think we've got a chance to pull it off," said Tim Moore, commissioner
of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "Look what Mothers Against
Drunk Driving did with drunk driving. Look what the no-smoking campaign did
to tobacco.

"'I've been at this business for a while and it's been hard to get people to
even talk about strategy," Moore added."If we only make a 40 percent or 42
percent reduction, that's a lot better than what we made in the past."

The drug strategy doesn't mention McDonough's plan to test a controversial
fungus that would kill the state outdoor marijuana crops. McDonough said the
state hasn't yet decided to go forward with the idea.

The plan was based on the national drug control strategy and tailored to fit
Florida. McDonough estimates the state has 700,000 people who are addicted
to illegal drugs but only about 20 percent are getting the treatment they
need. He admits that the numbers are hard to pin down.

Of particular concern, McDonough said, are children and teens who need drug
treatment.

"'The statistics show that if you're a kid, you have about a one in four
chance of getting into a government-funded treatment bed," he said.

It's even harder for kids who have drug problems but haven't been arrested
for a crime, said Coletti, who heads Operation PAR in St. Petersburg.

But, she said, the plan doesn't address some pressing needs: more
residential treatment beds for addicted mothers and their kids, and more
coordination between treating people who are addicted and people who are
mentally ill.

"'I think there's a lot that has been left out," she said. "There's an
opportunity for us to flesh it out."

Today, Florida companies that declare themselves a "'Drug-Free Workplace"
can get a cut on the premiums they pay for worker's compensation insurance
if they do drug-testing on employees. The Drug-Free Workplace program also
includes counseling for addicted employees, as well as prevention and education.

The new plan would give even greater cuts to employers who "drug test, on a
random basis, 25 percent of their employees, and a further discount for 50
percent, and so on."

"'Most large companies already do drug-testing," said Howard Simon,
executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. "Do we
have concerns with the government offering incentives to companies that
intrusively search people when there's no evidence that the people are doing
anything wrong? Yes."

The drug czar is also recommending that the Legislature rewrite laws to
require federal rules of evidence in drug trials, saying Florida's rules
give too much power to defense attorneys who fight drug prosecution. Under
state rules, lawyers can call in police officers and others for sworn
depositions, which can drag cases out and give defendants an upper hand in
court. Under federal rules, depositions are rare.

But the state would have to use federal rules on all criminal cases,
including murder trials, said Bob Harper, a Tallahassee lawyer who is a
former chairman of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.

"There are major constitutional issues there," Harper said.