TOP ANTI-DRUG OFFICIAL OPPOSES STATE ISSUE ONE

The nation's top anti-drug official opposes state Issue One, the proposed
constitutional amendment that would require treating certain drug offenders
instead of jailing them.

John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy, on Wednesday called Issue One a bad idea.

"It will weaken the tools that the institutions have to get people into
treatment," said Walters, who coordinates all federal drug programs and
spending.

But Ed Orlett, director of the group backing the issue, said new tools are
needed in America's war on drugs.

"It's not going to answer all the problems, but it's better to light one
candle than curse the darkness," Orlett said.

Walters said Ohio has done a good job linking the criminal justice system
with treatment, noting that judges in the state already have the power to
sentence drug users to treatment instead of jail. The amendment would make
treatment mandatory.

Walters said denial is a problem with drug addicts and the threat of
incarceration is needed so people won't deny their addiction.

"We should not expunge people's need to recollect this problem and get
help," he said.

Also, in a bad budget environment, it is not wise to add a constitutional
amendment that requires funding, he said. Issue One mandates $247 million
over a seven-year period.

Orlett retorted that in America, political power is in the hands of the
people, and that 780,000 Ohioans signed petitions to get Issue One on the
ballot.