FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS SHIFTS FOCUS

PROVO -- The U.S. government knows how to reduce America's reliance on
drugs, says the country's drug czar, John Walters. "We've done it before.
We've just had problems with follow-through."

To prove his point, Walters, who visited Salt Lake City and Provo on
Wednesday, recited a litany of statistics from previous decades. The data
demonstrate drug usage dropping as a result of various federal initiatives.

But since his appointment three years ago, Walters has tried to
re-prioritize the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

He wants to blanket the masses with a positive-message advertising
campaign, to target young adults and parents, and to better use the news
media to educate the public about the dangers of drugs. He also wants to
encourage what he admits is "controversial": voluntary student drug testing.

And, with a shift of focus and resources, he believes the war on drugs will
now be more effective than ever.

Of the office's roughly $12.5 billion budget, 55 percent goes to stopping
drugs at their source -- attacking where illegal drugs are manufactured and
where their transportation into the United States begins. The remaining 45
percent is allocated for domestic programs, such as intervention programs
to prevent abuse, Walters said.

Before Walters' appointment, a larger percentage went toward foreign drug
interdiction and less on dealing with the consequences.

Now, Walters must decide how to focus advertising messages to convey this
new direction. A first step could be the launch on Monday of a nationwide
media blitz against teen marijuana abuse.

That's where Brigham Young University enters the picture.

Walters went to the Provo-based school Wednesday to praise a group of
students who created the multimillion-dollar "Scan Me" campaign as a
homework assignment that BYU professor Douglas McKinlay gave them in 2003.

The ads -- written, designed and produced by the students at no cost to
taxpayers -- will begin airing Monday on 1,300 radio and TV outlets across
America.

BYU is the first college to craft a national anti-drug campaign for the
federal government, Walters said.

Campaign creator and former BYU student Michael Richardson told a crowd
gathered at the Harris Fine Arts Center for Walters' visit that he learned
one important lesson from that classroom project: "Do your homework," he
quipped.

Before leaving Salt Lake City for the Provo event, Walters offered a more
subtle example of how he intends to use the media to spread the anti-drug
message: Encourage reporters to write about scientists' conclusions
regarding the effects drugs have on brain chemistry.

In the past, the federal government's ad campaign would simply say, "Just
say no." Now, Walters wants to base messages on scientific evidence, such
as a 1997 article in the journal Science that reported "smoking marijuana
leads to changes in the brain similar to those caused by the use of cocaine
and heroin."

Data show that education programs aimed at teens and children not only have
higher success rates, they also greatly decrease the likelihood those
children will develop a substance-abuse problem, Walters said.

Washington officials also support expanding controversial voluntary student
drug testing programs. They say testing has yielded positive results
wherever it has been used. Walters' office has requested $25 million for
2005 to help communities who want to implement such programs.

"Like other medical tests, the results of drug tests would be used to help
the student get better," Walters said.