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U.S. drug czar touts new treatment plans
NEW YORK, New York (CNN) -- The federal anti-drug plan for 2003 includes new initiatives to help drug addicts seek treatment, partnerships with faith-based programs and an aggressive battle against drug dealers, White House anti-drug czar John Walters said Wednesday. Walters, the head of the National Office of National Drug Control Policy, unveiled the government's anti-drug strategy at a drug treatment center in Brooklyn on Wednesday. He said federal efforts would focus first on stopping drug use before it starts, then on healing America's drug users and finally, on disrupting the drug market. The plan cites prevention efforts as "our first line of defense against illegal drug use." Walters highlighted the fact that 23 percent of the estimated 4.7 million Americans who need drug treatment are children and vowed to aggressively target children for anti-drug campaigns and treatment. One proposal recommended in the plan is supporting random school-based drug testing for all students. According to the plan, this would serve not only to guide users into counseling or treatment but also as a preventative tool, giving students an easy way to say "no" at an early age. A large part of the second core priority is a three-year, $600 million program President Bush proposed in his State of the Union address to help addicts receive treatment. The program would use vouchers that gives addicts a way to pay for treatment services. Walters said it would ensure better quality treatment because reimbursement of these vouchers would be based on successful treatment. The voucher system is expected to start sometime in the next fiscal year. Walters praised faith-based organizations for their work with drug addicts and said the new strategy would support funding for many faith based programs. "You cannot do my job and visit people in the field and not see that faith is at the heart of what many find an important support in their recovery," Walters said. "No one is trying to use government funds to fund religion inappropriately, but we are not going to turn our back on programs and dimensions of programs that are obviously saving lives." Walters also stressed the issue of supply and demand as he explained the need for more aggressive efforts by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat drug traffickers. "We need to do a better job at going after the large structures that provide marketing," Walters said. At the beginning of his term, President Bush set goals of reducing drug use by 10 percent over two years and 25 percent over five years. Data from a recent survey by the University of Michigan show the first significant downturn in youth drug use in almost a decade. Walters said this new strategy will build help reduce the downturn and ultimately realize the president's goal.
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