DRUG-USE ISSUE REACHES R.I.'S SENATE RACE

Warwick Mayor Lincoln Chafee, The Sole Candidate For The Gop
Nomination For The U.s. Senate, Says He Used Marijuana And
Cocaine While A Student At Brown.

(Warwick) -- Republican Mayor Lincoln Chafee, the party's only contender
for the 2000 Senate race, acknowledged during a television interview
yesterday that he experimented with drugs during his days at Brown
University in the mid-1970s.

Yes, he inhaled -- both marijuana and cocaine.

Chafee, 46, seeks to succeed his father, Sen. John H. Chafee, on
Capitol Hill.

His statements on Channel 10 News Conference , a Sunday morning talk
show, also prompted questions yesterday about whether the Democratic
front-runners -- U.S. Rep. Robert A. Weygand and former Lt. Governor
Richard Licht -- had used drugs.

The show's hosts, Gene Valicenti and Jim Taricani, wasted little time
bringing up the issue of drug use.

A few minutes into the half-hour segment, they noted that Texas Gov.
George W. Bush, the front-runner for the Republican presidential
nomination, has been criticized recently for dodging questions about
possible cocaine use use.

``I'll just be the idiot and ask the question then,'' Taricani said to
Chafee. ``Have you ever used drugs?''

Chafee's answer was quick and direct: ``Yes I have.'' He later
acknowledged that one of those drugs was cocaine.

``I graduated from Brown in 1975, and those were very tumultuous
times,'' Chafee explained. ``I was captain of the wrestling team, so I
knew where my priorities were. . . . And, also, I stopped because it
was unhealthy . . . I'm not proud of it.''

He added that his drug use also didn't affect his studies, noting that
when he graduated, the university's Classics Department presented him
with an award for academics and leadership.

Chafee's time on College Hill coincided with President Richard Nixon's
resignation amid the turmoil of Watergate, the nation's struggle with
the aftermath of the Vietnam War and the beginning of the disco era.

Inside the Van Wickle gates, the university was adjusting to being a
coed institution (Brown merged with the Pembroke women's college in
1972) and following its new curriculum (adopted in 1969).

Chafee yesterday said that he had anticipated being asked about his
past, due to all the attention the media has focused on Governor Bush
and the question of drug use.

``Of course I struggled with what's the politically correct answer,''
he said. ``But in the end, honesty is the best policy. It was part of
the culture, and that's important to know.''

John Goodman, the mayor's campaign manager, said Chafee wanted to
address his past early in the campaign ``so that we can move on to
discuss the most important questions like health care, Social
Security, and education.''

Because it's so far in the past, Chafee told Channel 10, he doesn't
think voters will judge him too harshly for trying drugs.

``I think people are tolerant and understanding,'' he
said.

So was his father, who knew about his son's drug use before
yesterday's broadcast. His office issued a statement yesterday
praising the mayor's honesty.

``The senator commends Mayor Chafee for conducting his campaign in an
honest, upright and candid manner,'' said spokesman Nicholas Graham.
``The senator found the mayor's comments to be forthright and
refreshing.''

But was he angry?

``Like many parents, I think Senator Chafee and Mrs. Chafee might not
always understand or approve of the actions their children take,''
Graham said. ``But I think, like good parents, they judge them by how
they learn from these actions in the future.''

Weygand, 51, also acknowledged yesterday that he experimented with
marijuana while attending the University of Rhode Island.

``But I've never used cocaine, and I've never used heroin,'' the 1971
graduate said.

Licht, 51, said he has never used any illegal drugs. A 1968 graduate
of Harvard University, he said that he ``intends to campaign on public
issues, not personal issues.''

Radio talk-show host Arlene Violet, who announced last week that she
was forming a committee to explore a Senate run as an independent,
could not be reached for comment.

The media sometimes focus too much on candidates' past experiences,
Weygand said, but some questions about their backgrounds are
appropriate, including drug use.

``If you're forthright and honest with the public, and you've got
nothing to hide, I don't see why it's such a big story,'' he said.
``If you try to cover it up, it becomes a problem.''