LAGUNA PUEBLO CHILDREN FEATURED IN NATIONAL ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN

ALBUQUERQUE-Children from Laguna Pueblo are center stage in a national
anti-drug advertising campaign the nation's drug czar hopes will steer
American Indian youth away from substance abuse.

"This campaign grew out of the recognition that we were not reaching
communities that, and I don't have to tell you, have been enormously hit by
substance abuse," National Drug Control Policy Director John P. Walters said
Thursday at the Albuquerque Indian Center.

Walters visited New Mexico to spotlight the advertising campaign launched by
his office to promote drug prevention in Indian country.

The most recent nationwide drug-use survey by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services found that American Indians and Alaska natives had the
highest rate of illegal drug use of any racial or ethnic group.

The national rate of illegal drug use among Indians was 9.9 percent,
compared with a 7.1 percent rate among Americans 12 years and older.

The department's data on drug-treatment hospitalizations also found that
Indian youths accounted for 1 percent of the nation's population but 3
percent of drug-treatment admissions.

Walter's office called for ad campaigns aimed at all the major racial and
ethnic groups, said Michael Gray, an Albuquerque advertising company that
created the national drug office ad campaign.

"We're not singling anyone out and we're not pointing the finger at
anybody," Gray said. "This is an American problem."

Gray said the campaign featuring Laguna children was designed to focus on
the strength of Indian families, communities and traditions and their role
in preventing drug use.

Preston Chino and Mahsawi Sarracino, 10-year-old cousins, and their smiles
are featured in one ad that has run in more than 70 newspapers and magazines
in recent months.

"I don't do drugs because they're not healthy for me," Chino told the drug
czar Thursday.