GOV. BUSH ATTENDS DRUG SUMMIT, CRIES OVER DAUGHTER'S
ARREST

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush cried briefly during a drug summit Tuesday
as he thanked attendees for their prayers and support following his
daughter's arrest on drug charges.

"I want to thank you on behalf of my wife for your prayers and for
your quiet counseling in the last few months about our daughter
Noelle," Bush said before pausing, putting his hand over his face and
choking back a sob.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and his wife Columba arrive at the Fourth Annual
Statewide Drug Summit, Tuesday, in Tallahassee. Bush cried briefly as
he thanked attendees for their prayers and support following his
daughter's arrest on drug charges. Bush, addressing drug treatment and
prevention professionals as well as law enforcement officers, talked
about the state's goal of reducing adult drug use from 8 percent to 4
percent. Phil Coale/AP

"I knew I was going to do this," Bush whispered, as he quickly
recovered. "Anyway, thank you."

Bush was addressing drug treatment and prevention professionals as
well as law enforcement officers at the summit. He talked about the
state's goal of reducing adult drug use from 8 percent to 4 percent.

"It's been tough personally, but it doesn't change my resolve for
making this an incredibly high priority," Bush said. "Bush men always
cry, I apologize. It's a little genetic problem I got from my dad,"
former President George Bush.

Bush's 24-year-old daughter Noelle has been undergoing treatment since
her Jan. 29 arrest on charges of trying to buy Xanax with a fraudulent
prescription.

Prescription drug abuse is one of the areas the state needs to focus
on, the governor said.

"These are powerful substances and they can be abused and ... when the
demon gets inside of you and you're addicted to drugs, you get really
creative in how you use and abuse these drugs to the detriment of
yourself and your family," Bush said.

Florida drug czar Jim McDonough said drug use has gone down over the
past two years, from 8 percent of Floridians to 5.5 percent. He cited
two initiatives, Operation Heat Rave and Operation Riverwalk, as being
effective.

The first focused on club drugs like Ecstasy and the second was aimed
at stopping cocaine shipments along the Miami River.

"We can reduce drug and alcohol abuse by 50 percent, I'm absolutely
convinced of it," Bush said. "We're on the right track."

Afterward, the governor talked about his show of emotion.

"I get emotional sometimes," he said. "It's not easy to always be
worried ... As a dad I love her very much. I want her to be able to
live a healthy fulfilled life and we've been struggling with this for
a long time. I don't even know why I brought it up because I knew I
was going to cry. It was stupid of me to even talk about it."