CRITICISM OF FLORIDA OFF THE MARK

Clarence Page uses the tragic case of Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter to push his
view that Florida's balanced and effective drug policies should be replaced
with those guided by the decriminalization ideology of the pro-drug
alliance financed by George Soros and executed by Ethan Nadelmann. He
believes Florida has not prioritized treatment as a major response to drug
addiction. But we have, and to a great degree.

And what of the ballot initiative, the so-called Right to Treatment
amendment, that Page holds up as an alternative? The facts are that the
entire treatment community in Florida rejected it -- both their statewide
association and each individual provider. So did law- enforcement officers,
prosecutors, drug-prevention coalitions, drug- court judges and every other
professional group concerned about getting help to addicts. Even public
defenders, who one would think might seize on a free pass for their
drug-crime defendants, declined to endorse it. All prefer to sustain the
strong increases in treatment efforts the governor has initiated.

In part, the decriminalization effort failed because Floridians are seeing
the positive results of our strategy. Our children are bucking the national
trends, going down in every drug-use category for the third consecutive
year, even while national surveys show youth use going up.

None of this is an accident. It derives from intelligent, balanced policies
that combine elements of prevention, treatment and, yes, law enforcement.

Sadly, Page concludes his misperceptions by implying that a double standard
exists for the governor's daughter. Hardly. She has elected the same route
thousands of others within the criminal-justice system have taken, and she
has submitted herself to the same consequences for failure, an outcome I --
and many others -- hope and pray will not occur. She struggles on like so
many others fighting the pull of addiction, the only difference in her case
being the intruding light of those who would seek to push their ideological
- -- as opposed to factual -- viewpoints at her expense.

Jim McDonough, Director, Florida Office of Drug Control, Tallahassee