Copyright: 1996-1999 Reuters Limited.

BUSH SAYS NO DRUG USE IN PAST SEVEN YEARS AT LEAST

DALLAS (Reuters) - Texas Gov. George W. Bush, dogged by criticism for
refusing to say whether he has used illegal drugs, answered part of the
question by saying he had not done so in the past seven years, the Dallas
Morning News reported Wednesday in its online edition.

The newspaper said his answer came in response to a query about whether, as
president, he would insist that appointees answer drug-use questions
contained in the standard FBI background check.

``As I understand it, the current form asks the question, Did somebody use
drugs within the last seven years?' and I will be glad to answer that
question, and the answer is No,''' Bush told the News.

Bush, the current front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination,
would not elaborate beyond the seven-year time frame, the paper said. He
also said that if elected he would make no change to the federal policy
that requires high-level presidential appointees to answer questions about
drug use.

``It's important that the president be assured that people are not using
drugs on the White House staff,'' Bush said. ''It's a legitimate question
to ask to make sure there are no drug users on the White House staff.''

Bush, the 53-year-old son of former President George Bush, has previously
acknowledged behaving ``young and irresponsibly,'' but refused to say
whether he used illegal drugs.

The issue took center stage Wednesday when he again would not answer the
question at press conferences in Austin, Texas, and in New Orleans and
angrily chastised a reporter for asking about it.

``Somebody floats a rumor and it causes you to ask a question, and that's
the game in American politics and I refuse to play it,'' he snapped. ``That
is a game. You just fell for the trap. I refuse to play.''

He blamed unnamed adversaries for planting the drug rumors.

``I think they are being planted. I know they are being planted and they
are ridiculous and they're absurd and the people of America are sick and
tired of this kind of politics and I'm not participating.''

He turned away to answer a question on a different subject when a reporter
asked if he was denying drug use by calling the rumors ``absurd.''

Later, in a news conference during a campaign trip to New Orleans, Bush
dismissed the drug talk as ``trash-mouth politics'' and defiantly stood by
his non-responsiveness.

``If the voters don't like that answer, if the voters want me to inventory
something I did 25 or 30 years ago, then they can vote for somebody else,''
he said.

But, in response to a reporter's question, he acknowledged that voters
should consider a candidate's past. ``I think it's very reasonable and I
think it's important for people to trust the person for whom they're
voting,'' Bush said.

The issue of Bush's possible use of illegal drugs goes back to the days
when he was, by his own admission, a heavy-drinking bachelor in Houston and
Midland, Texas.

The issue became more pronounced after the New York Daily News recently
asked 12 presidential hopefuls if they had ever used cocaine. Bush was the
only candidate who refused to answer the question.

Vice President Al Gore, running for the Democratic presidential nomination,
has admitted smoking marijuana.