AGENCY TO END ADS THAT LINK DRUGS, TERROR

The White House office in charge of combating illegal drug use plans to end
a controversial ad campaign linking drug purchases to terrorism, a
spokesman said yesterday.

The move comes as the office seeks renewed congressional authorization for
its media activities and prepares to revamp the way it tracks the
effectiveness of its anti-drug messages.

The ads will end in June, after the run of three new ads in the series that
begins this week, said Tom Riley, spokesman for the White House's Office of
National Drug Control Policy.

Riley said the ads had been a success and the decision to end them was
unrelated to any criticisms, which include charges the ads are misleading
or ineffective.

But he said, "We've hit a plateau in terms of the message." So the office's
campaigns will seek a new emphasis, including an effort to portray the
dangers of marijuana use and, later, a campaign urging drug users to seek
treatment.

The campaign, which began running during the 2002 Super Bowl, has featured
ads suggesting people who bought illegal drugs were funding terror networks
that helped distribute them.