Bush tours VA, praises dRug program

President Bush yesterday praised a joint University-Veterans Administration drug addiction treatment program for making a key contribution to his "war on drugs." "In the end, we can win the drug war only by winning the wars that rage within the hearts of those who abuse drugs," Bush said. "Here in this center, you show us that drug treatment can work." The VA Medical Center, including the Substance Abuse Research Unit, is directly linked to the University. The VA shares several faculty with the Medical School. Bush was joined in his three-hour West Philadelphia visit by Rep. Lawrence Coughlin (R-Pa.), Office of National Drug Policy Director Bob Martinez -- the so-called "Drug Czar"-- and VA Secretary Edward Derwinski. During the visit, he toured the VA's drug treatment facilities and met with several University faculty. Bush said National Institute on Drug Abuse studies show that drug use fell 11 percent over an 18-month reporting period, but improved treatment is needed "to help save those who have been overcome by their addiction." Bush credited the center for cutting patients' drug use 70 percent. "Day in and day out, drug treatment professionals like you fight this war for human life and dignity," he said. "You win the battles one soul at a time." His visit began at the VA Substance Abuse Treatment Unit, located at the hospital, after his 40-car motorcade picked him up from the University's Murphy Field. He went on to a private briefing in the hospital's main building where he spoke to 400 staff members from the VA Substance Abuse research team and both local and national media. In his initial meeting at the treatment center, Bush met with two University professors, Psychiatry Department Vice-Chairman Charles O'Brien and Clinical Psychiatry Professor George Woody. During the 20-minute meeting, Bush was escorted on a brief tour of the facility and watched a drug treatment session. The patient was treated with Naltrexone, an opiate antagonist which blocks a drug-induced "high." Bush also spoke to David Metzger, a member of the Psychiatry Department and director of the Opiate/AIDS Research Division of the Penn-VA Center for Studies of Addiction. Metzger talked to Bush about the risk of being infected by the HIV virus. "Bush observed treatment in action," Assistant Psychiatry Professor Joseph Volpicelli, who met Bush during the briefing session, said last night. In a private briefing, O'Brien told Bush about his research on several methods of drug treatment. O'Brien also introduced Bush to six of his patients who are in various stages in the treatment process. Bush ended his visit with a speech at the hospital, stressing that there was still a significant amount of work to do to win the war on drugs and lending his support to the substance abuse research scientists. The addiction research center is recognized worldwide as one of the leaders in substance abuse research and treatment. Its programs have been adopted by clinics around the world. "They're pioneers in setting up programs based on the most cost-effective way to treat addicts, which are used all over the country," Volpicelli said.

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