JOHN P. WALTERS 'TAKES FIVE'

Random drug testing as public health tool

John P. Walters, director of national drug control policy and President
Bush's "drug czar," was in Milwaukee Thursday to address members of the
National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

Walters' strategy for fighting the war on drugs involves reducing both
supply of and demand for illegal substances. He discussed that strategy and
drug addiction issues with Journal Sentinel reporter Gina Barton.

Q. You support random student drug testing, and are visiting a school in
Pewaukee where such testing is done. Why is random testing of students a
good thing?

A. Random student drug testing allows us to use the knowledge that we have
that substance abuse is a disease of the brain and to apply public health
measures such as screening and testing that have been used to reduce other
diseases in our society.. . . It's important to emphasize that random
student drug testing may not be used to punish. Under the law, it must be
confidential, and it may only be used as a way to get help for the young
person who may test positive for controlled substances.. . . Once we
recognize that addiction is a disease and a disease that we catch in
childhood, we begin to understand why it is so valuable to use better
screening.

Q. What do you say to those critics who believe random student drug testing
is a violation of civil rights and the right to privacy?

A. That concern is based on a misunderstanding. It's not about punishment.
It's about keeping people healthy.. . . Drug abuse in the United States is a
pediatric-onset disease. Why not use a public health tool - screening - as
we do with so many other childhood diseases, and prevent the onset before
they go down the path of destruction?

Q. What is the philosophy behind drug courts?

A. Drug treatment courts are another powerful tool that allows us to apply
the knowledge that addiction is a disease.. . . It takes people who are
non-violent drug offenders and puts them into a judicial process that
directs them toward treatment and gives them the incentive to complete
treatment and get into recovery. . . . This is a way to keep them off the
path that in too many cases ends in a jail cell.

Q. Tell me about your office's marijuana initiative.

A. Marijuana is the single biggest area of ignorance that we have to
correct. Today's marijuana is many times more potent.. . . We've had a
doubling of emergency room cases involving marijuana, either people seeking
treatment for addiction or as the result of accidents. Sixty percent of the
estimated 7 million people we have to treat for addiction are dependent on
marijuana. Nationally, more teens seek treatment for marijuana than for all
other drugs combined.

Q. What do you say to those who believe marijuana is a "soft drug" that
should be legalized?

A. The belief that marijuana is a soft drug is a myth. Marijuana is the
single biggest treatment need.. . . We are living in the past if we believe
marijuana is not a serious drug of abuse.. . . The ignorance about it has
led to its use and has led young people into trouble. For those who think
it's a soft drug and it should be legalized, it's time to look at the facts.