REPORT: BUSH'S DRUG OFFICE LACKED BROADER FOCUS

The White House office responsible for fighting illegal drug use has
focused for nearly a decade on youths smoking marijuana instead of a
broader strategy that would sufficiently target adult drug users,
according to a new study.

The nonprofit National Academy of Public Administration says the $1.2
million study, which it planned to release Thursday, found that the
Office of National Drug Control Policy under President George W. Bush
relied on selected data to show progress in combating illegal drug
use by youth.

The office did not highlight less positive results among adults or
pursue a comprehensive anti-drug strategy across age and demographic
groups, the report found.

"Such an approach to strategy neither addresses the depth and breadth
of illicit drug use and its consequences nor lays the fundamental
basis for making enduring national resource commitments," the report stated.

Under congressional pressure, the office began to expand its focus
last year but still lacks an overall strategy based on broad data
sources, the report said.

It also suggested a politicized environment in the drug office,
saying intern applicants were asked about their voting histories and
participation in recent elections.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the study in advance of its
publication.

Bush's former drug-policy director, John Walters, denounced the
report as erroneous and biased by the Senate committee that
commissioned it. The report described a frosty relationship between
lawmakers and the drug office. Walters said the new report overlooked
such accomplishments as expanding drug treatment, workplace drug
testing and launching prevention programs in mainstream doctor settings.

"To have this kind of poor-quality evaluation masquerading as an
outside expert efficiency review, pointing out changes that will
weaken the office, is wrong," he said.

Walters denied any political criteria for his staff and said he did
not recall the intern applications.

The anti-drug office is known to most people for its public-service
advertisements, such as the "Above the Influence" and "Parents, the
Anti-drug" spots. Its latest ad features teen actors describing their
achievements after taking drugs: "I stole from my little sister," a
boy says. Another teen says, "I got straight D's."

Until President Barack Obama names a new director of drug policy,
informally known as the drug czar, White House officials say they are
not discussing anti-drug plans. The president is widely expected to
appoint Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to the post.

Obama is the first president to acknowledge that he used marijuana in
high school and college and that he tried cocaine, an admission he
has said can help young people understand that they can make mistakes
and still recover.

Policy and advocacy groups are watching for shifts in Obama's drug
policies. Already the administration's new economic stimulus package
includes $2 billion for a grant program that has supported drug task
forces, prisoner rehabilitation and after-school programs but was
slashed during the Bush administration.

The White House drug office was created through 1988 legislation
largely crafted by then-Sen. Joe Biden, now the vice president.

Obama will have a chance to repair sour relations between the drug
office and Congress, which has complained about a lack of information
and consultation by the drug czar.

"It was hard to determine whether we were making progress in our
efforts to address the drug problem because the measuring tools did
not seem to be very consistent," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.,
chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Drug Policy.

The report said the drug czar has had one supervisor for every two
employees but lacked key subject matter experts in areas like
toxicology, public health and social services. The academy panel said
the office has not sufficiently used available data, other agencies'
expertise or advisory panels.

The drug office is down to 86 employees because a quarter of its
106-member staff were political appointees who left when Obama took office.

Associated Press writer Philip Elliott in Washington contributed to
this story.