GOV. BUSH'S DAUGHTER RELEASED FROM DRUG REHAB

ORLANDO - Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter completed a drug rehabilitation
program Friday, when a judge dismissed drug charges against her and
allowed her to go home with her parents.

Noelle Bush, 26, hugged Circuit Judge Reginald Whitehead as the
governor and his wife Columba looked on. The president's niece had
been ordered into treatment after she was arrested in January 2002,
accused of trying to pass a fraudulent prescription at a Tallahassee
pharmacy to obtain the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.

''It has been quite a challenge and I really am grateful,'' Noelle
Bush told the judge during a hearing in Orange County Circuit Court.
``It has been an honor to know you.''

The governor refused comment, but his press office released a
statement expressing his family's happiness.

''Columba and I are pleased that our daughter Noelle has completed
this step, and grateful for the treatment she's received,'' the
statement read. ``She has worked hard to get here. We are proud of her
efforts and love her very much.''

Whitehead twice sent Noelle Bush to jail for violating the rules in
drug rehab. She was jailed for three days in July 2002 after being
caught with prescription pills and served 10 days in October after
being accused of having a small rock of crack cocaine in her shoe.

''This is your day today,'' Whitehead said. ``I'm not here to
recognize your family members or anything. They're here because
they're proud of you and care about what you've done.''

Noelle Bush was sent to the drug court program because she was a
first-time offender. If she had gone through the regular criminal
justice system, she could have faced a maximum penalty of five years
in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The drug rehab program is divided into three phases involving group
therapy sessions, Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous sessions
and individual counseling sessions. Periodic urine tests also are conducted.

Before her arrest, the Bush family had acknowledged that one of their
children had a drug problem, and Columba Bush has been active in anti-
drug programs.

Offenders in the pre-trial intervention program that Noelle Bush was
in are required to spend a minimum of a year in drug rehab, said Terry
Turner, drug court administrator for the Ninth Judicial Circuit in
Orlando.

Nationwide, the average length of an offender's participation in drug
court is 15-18 months, according to the Drug Court Clearinghouse at
American University.

Each person takes different amount of time to finish drug rehab, said
Karen Freeman-Wilson, executive director of the National Association
of Drug Court Professionals outside Washington.