STATE'S DRUG CZAR SAYS HIS BUDGET WILL REBOUND FROM LAWMAKERS' CUTBACKS

WEST PALM BEACH -- While Florida lawmakers slash nearly $1 billion in
social services this weekend, the state's drug czar Saturday reassured Palm
Beach County's rehab community that his budget will remain virtually unscathed.

Director of the Florida Office of Drug Control James McDonough told
supporters of the Comprehensive Alcoholism Rehabilitation Program that he's
expecting a $6 million, or 2 percent, cut this weekend. But the good news,
he said, is that the $6 million shortfall will immediately be replaced with
money from a state trust fund.

McDonough was the keynote speaker at CARP's holiday gala, which also
honored Palm Beach County Drug Court Judge Nelson Bailey, Riviera Beach
City Council Chairman Edward Rodgers and state substance abuse director
Kenneth A. DeCerchio.

"I don't want to sound overly optimistic until the final vote," McDonough
said of the special budget session, "but we're actually coming out of this
in pretty good shape."

CARP supporters clapped at the news.

"If that's all it is, we'd be grateful," said CARP Executive Director
Robert Bozzone. CARP, one of two treatment centers in Palm Beach County
used by the state, had already lowered its budget by 10 percent in
anticipation of the state cuts.

CARP provides care to more than 6,500 alcoholics and drug addicts
throughout Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties each year. In January,
it'll open two new buildings to expand its yearly treatment to 8,000.

Gov. Jeb Bush has vowed to cut the amount of drug use by 50 percent by
2005. McDonough said the 2-year-old drug control office is ahead of
schedule, lowering the statewide drug use about 16 percent in its first year.

Rodgers praised the CARP and its supporters.

"We're talking about chemical terrorism in the news," Rodgers said, "I see
chemical terrorism every day on the street corner. This is just as
dangerous as the foreign terrorism. This fight is just as important."