DEA CHIEF PUSHING EDUCATION

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration said Thursday he favors
more drug prevention education and broader treatment options for addicts.

"That's something we're pushing nationally," said Asa Hutchinson, standing
outside the DEA's northeast Tallahassee office. "I really believe that
Florida is representing itself across the nation as a model of drug
prevention."

Hutchinson was in Florida to attend the "Prevention First" conference in
Orlando, where he delivered the keynote address. Afterward, he traveled to
the state's capital to meet with Gov. Jeb Bush to discuss Florida's drug
policy.

Bush has long been a proponent of balancing law enforcement response to the
drug problem with public health solutions. Since becoming governor, he's
launched a four-pillar strategy - education, prevention, treatment and
enforcement - aimed at lowering Florida's number of drug users from 8
percent of the population to 4 percent.

His approach exemplifies a major shift in drug control, away from the
so-called "war on drugs" that was marked through the '80s and early '90s by
heavy police action and stiff penalties for drug users and dealers. Bush,
along with key law enforcement leaders across the country, acknowledged
that simply trying to police the drug problem out of existence wasn't working.

In Tallahassee, Police Chief Walt McNeil began plans for a community court
that would funnel drug offenders into treatment and job training programs,
rather than jail. McNeil and top police brass planned to pay for the
program with a federal grant from the Department of Health and Human
Services, but didn't receive approval this year.

Hutchinson, a former U.S. attorney and Arkansas congressman, took over the
DEA in August and has been struggling with an agency strained for resources
since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He's the first DEA chief to visit the
Tallahassee office.

He said Thursday that he and Bush discussed the emerging threat of
synthetic drugs such as Ecstasy and prescription painkillers such as
Oxycontin. He said state and federal leaders were slow to educate the
public about the dangers of these drugs, which have been linked to brain
damage and even death in abusers.

He also had praise for Florida's system of drug courts, similar to McNeil's
planned community court, that offer treatment alternatives for addicts.
Like his younger brother, President Bush has made both education and
treatment programs key elements of his drug control plan, Hutchinson said.

"We need to move quicker on the education front," he said. "And treatment
is a very important part of the equation."

That's why Tallahassee police still are looking for a way to finance the
community court, said TPD chief planner Greg Frost.

"I still think this is something this community would be very well served
by," he said. "We're not going to give up.

"For the typical street-level drug user, we need to make sure we combine
treatment with criminal justice sanctions, or the revolving door continues.
And that's pretty much what we've got now."