DRUG CZAR HERE FOR PREVENTION CONFERENCE

As President Bush wages war on Saddam Hussein half a world away, his "drug
czar," John Walters, will bring the war on drugs to Pittsburgh today and
tomorrow.

Walters, director of the National Drug Control Policy, will be the keynote
speaker today at the PRIDE 2003 World Drug Prevention Conference at the
David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. It is expected to draw more
than 3,500 young people.

Billed as "the world's largest youth drug prevention conference," the 26th
annual gathering is sponsored by Michigan-based PRIDE Youth Programs, a
nonprofit organization that provides violence, alcohol and drug prevention
training for young people.

The four-day event, which began yesterday with registration, orientation
and a dance, runs through Saturday with such events as workshops,
motivational speakers, exhibits and competitions in drama, dance and public
speaking.

Also during his two-day trip, Walters will meet with 40 Pennsylvania school
district superintendents, leaders of the Islamic Anti-Drug Community
Coalition and Monroeville Mayor James J. Lomeo. He also will be available
to discuss the current status of anti-drug efforts in the area as well as
the recent federal crackdown on drug paraphernalia.

"Local prevention efforts are our first line of defense against illegal
drug use," Walters said in a news release. "Community drug prevention
programs, such as the ones that are in place and working in the Pittsburgh
area, are invaluable in educating young people about the dangers of drug use."

Walters was sworn into office in December 2001 and as drug czar coordinates
all aspects of federal drug programs and spending. After releasing the
National Drug Control Strategy with Bush in February 2002, Walters launched
the television advertisements linking drug trafficking with terrorism.

His office notes that the annual survey by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse showed that teenage drug use dropped in 2002 to the lowest levels
recorded since the early 1990s.