Point No. 1: Jeb Bush says "No!" to providing treatment for 10,000 Floridians with drug problems. They belong in jail, not drug rehab, dammit!
Point No. 2: Jeb Bush, acknowledging that 24-year-old daughter Noelle has a serious drug problem, asks for privacy for his own daughter after she is arrested on drug charges.
The full story:
By Sue Anne Pressley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 1, 2002; Page A06
MIAMI, Jan. 31 -- Advocates of reforming Florida's drug laws say it is understandable that Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is asking for compassion and privacy for his daughter, arrested this week on prescription fraud charges. But they also think he should reconsider his tough "drug warrior" approach to the state's other nonviolent drug offenders.
"The question is, are you going to treat other kids in trouble the way you'd want your kid treated? That is where people in Florida have fallen short, with the drug policy there -- they're all willing to be tough and hard and lock everybody up," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a national organization working for drug law reform.
Bush's middle child and only daughter, Noelle, 24, was arrested Tuesday in Tallahassee on charges of impersonating a doctor as she tried to fill a fake prescription for Xanax, a popular anti-anxiety drug. The Bush family released a statement acknowledging that Noelle has a "serious" substance abuse problem. They asked "the public and the media to respect our family's privacy during this difficult time so that we can help our daughter."
During his three years in office, however, Bush has cut drug treatment and drug court budgets, Nadelmann said, while also attacking a ballot initiative that will likely go to voters in November to provide treatment to an estimated 10,000 nonviolent offenders in Florida each year who otherwise would be incarcerated.
During a brief news conference today, Bush said that his daughter's arrest will not affect his drug policies. Although he admitted some budget cuts were necessary because of a shortfall due to costs incurred after the Sept. 11 attacks, he stressed that "we've made a long-term commitment long ago for long-term strategies to increase drug treatment and increase prevention, and we've done just that."
David Rasmussen, an economics professor at Florida State University who studies drug policies, characterized Florida's stance toward drug treatment as "a drug warrior policy, criminalizing drugs and probably incarcerating too many people."
He said admissions of drug offenders to the state prison system rose nearly 19 percent between 1998 and 1999, and 13 percent the following year.
The proposed ballot initiative that Nadelmann's group supports would require judges to grant treatment to first-time and second-time offenders charged with simple possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia. But Bush has opposed the proposal, saying that "to suggest there should be no penalties for continued drug use is to stick our heads in the sand."
Nadelmann said Florida officials are putting out a message "that people need to get arrested before they get drug treatment. We're saying, don't have a double standard here -- the Bushes want to treat this as a private family matter and well they should, but other people should have the opportunity, too."
Special correspondent Catharine Skipp contributed to this report.
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