ADDICTION TO BUREAUCRACY

Gov.-elect Rick Scott has trimmed a cuticle on the body of Florida's
state government. But judging by the reaction it has received, you
would think he had hacked off an arm.

Before Christmas, Scott announced he would abolish the Office of Drug
Control and fold its duties into the departments of Health and Law
Enforcement. The loss to Florida: four staffers and $500,000.

Given the fact that the state is facing a budget shortfall of nearly
$3 billion in 2011, the savings are minuscule. But critics say the
impact on drug abuse will be enormously negative.

"We've got a heck of a problem in this state with drugs. And it's
not going to be over any time soon," Office Director Bruce Grant told
the Miami Herald. "What you're saying by getting rid of this office
is that's not a priority. And that's a mistake. Because it is a
priority."

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said the office was
critical to his efforts to get a prescription drug monitoring bill
passed.

"This state must have an entity that does nothing but focus on solving
this crisis," he told the Herald.

The St. Petersburg Times featured a mother whose 26-year-old son was
severely addicted to Vicodin and Oxycontin. Five years ago, he
overdosed twice, went to jail and came out clean a year later. Since
then Lynn Locascio has worked with other parents, drug abuse agencies
and the Office of Drug Control to bring awareness to the prescription
drug problem.

"We are the pill capital of the U.S., and this jerk comes in and snaps
his fingers and dumps the program we need?" said Locascio, who said
she voted for Scott.

The reactions show the challenges elected officials at the state and
federal levels face in pruning back government in the face of massive
budget deficits. Every government program, no matter how small, has a
constituency that will attest to its necessity. Every proposed cut
will elicit shrieks of doom and despair.

The Office of Drug Control, created in 1999 by then-Gov. Jeb Bush,
surveys Florida school children on their drug and alcohol habits,
provides guidance on drug policy, coordinates work among state
agencies to address substance abuse issues and advises the governor on
seaport security as it relates to drug smuggling.

Those responsibilities won't vanish. They are simply being farmed
out to other agencies. But because there won't be a bureaucracy
specifically entitled to address a problem, it shows the state
doesn't "care" or take it "seriously."

Is it any wonder that government grows like Topsy?

Does Sen. Fasano really need a bureaucratic agency to help him pass
legislation? Does Ms. Locascio really need an office in Tallahassee to
help her do her admirable work of warning of the dangers of addiction?
Does the public really need government to "raise awareness" of issues?

The Office of Drug Control is a vestige of the failed War on Drugs.
Florida would be wise to do more than just end a bureaucracy. It
should change its laws to decriminalize certain drugs and shift the
emphasis from interdicting supply to reducing demand. Addiction should
be a medical concern, not a law-enforcement issue. Nor should it be an
excuse to prop up a government office.