GOV. BUSH SPEAKS OUT ON DAUGHTER'S DRUG CASE

TALLAHASSEE - Breaking from his request for privacy following his
daughter's arrest on prescription drug charges last month, Gov. Jeb Bush
told a state substance-abuse panel Monday that his family's experience
mirrors that of many others in Florida.

'The more I'm outside of Tallahassee talking to everyday people, an hour
doesn't go by where somebody doesn't quietly come up to me and say, `I know
what you're going through,' '' Bush said.

''These are doctors and lawyers and accountants and people in all walks of
life,'' he said. ``This is not something you can isolate in one part of our
society. This is a huge issue underneath the surface of our state that eats
away at our soul in many ways.''

Bush's comments to the state Drug Policy Advisory Council, a panel of state
officials created to recommend policies to the governor on reducing drug
use, and subsequent remarks to reporters following the meeting marked his
most public discussion of daughter Noelle's problems since her arrest Jan. 29.

Noelle Bush was arrested in a late-night bust at a 24-hour pharmacy
drive-through trying to buy the anti-anxiety drug Xanax with a fraudulent
prescription.

The 24-year-old Bush has since entered a drug-treatment program.

Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs said if Noelle Bush successfully
completes treatment, then she is likely to enter drug court, where a judge
tracks drug offenders through frequent court visits, which can include
random urinalysis.

If a person successfully graduates from drug court, criminal charges are
dismissed and the defendant is left without a record.

`MUST CONFRONT IT'

Gov. Bush, who had asked for privacy about his daughter since her arrest,
told reporters following the meeting that drug court could serve his
daughter well because it will force her to confront her troubles.

''She's got to confront it now,'' he said.

Only one other time since the arrest has the governor alluded to his
daughter's problems publicly. That came during a campaign speech to
Pinellas County Republican activists earlier this month as he spoke about
his drug policy record and then added, ``I can tell you personally, as you
all know, about the heartache that comes from this issue.''

Bush said Monday his decision to speak about the situation had more to do
with the knowledge that reporters might ask him about it. But he said it is
difficult to avoid the issue if he wants to tout his administration's drug
policy record as he did during Monday's meeting.

''To not talk about it kind of would be, maybe, a little strange,'' he said.

Even before his daughter's arrest, Bush had made drug-use treatment and
prevention top priorities. He has set as a goal reducing drug use by 50
percent by 2005.

As he runs for reelection this year, Bush has spoken often of his record to
date of increasing spending on drug programs. Columba Bush, Florida's first
lady, has also made drug-use prevention her focus, touring schools and
youth programs.

According to the governor's office, the drug court system has doubled since
Bush took control in 1999. He has requested a 5.6 percent increase in
spending on drug prevention programs over the current year's spending.

BUDGET CONCERNS

Bush's frank talk Monday comes just weeks after the Department of
Corrections approved a budget cut that would eliminate the bulk of drug
treatment among inmates and greatly reduce the state's program to help drug
addicts outside the prison system.

Prison officials said last month they were so concerned about the potential
effects of the budget cuts that they asked Bush to restore $5 million of
the $7.5 million for next year's budget. The cuts were ordered in
mid-January as part of an effort to trim $1 billion from the current
budget. They take effect Nov. 1.

Nearly one in four prisoners in Florida is treated for substance abuse.
After the cuts, only such informal efforts as Alcoholics Anonymous and
Narcotics Anonymous will remain in 51 of the state's major prisons.
Although the governor is once again making drug policy a centerpiece of his
campaign, a spokeswoman for his campaign said Noelle Bush's arrest would
not be a topic on the campaign trail.

Political advisors say Noelle's troubles have not come up as a topic during
regular strategy sessions.

The governor has come under fire from one national drug policy group that
is behind a proposed constitutional amendment in Florida that would place
many drug offenders in treatment programs rather than incarceration. Bush
has opposed the proposed amendment.

But advisors to the governor have said his daughter's arrest would not
change his administration's positions on issues.

After Monday's meeting, Bush said that his family's recent troubles have
made him more sensitive as governor in dealing with drug policy. Hundreds
of e-mails have poured into his office in the weeks following the arrest.

''I know the anguish,'' he said. ''I can see people in crowds, and I can
see the look when we talk about these things,'' he said. ``I can look at
people's eyes and tell that they've been through something.''