NATION'S TOP ANTI-DRUG OFFICIAL TO GIVE KEYNOTE AT CONFERENCE

Asa Hutchinson, the country's top drug-enforcement official, will be the
keynote speaker at a conference May 10 sponsored by the Ohio Supreme Court,
the Ohio Judicial Conference, the Ohio Association of Drug Court
Professionals and the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addicition Services.

Hutchinson, appointed administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration in August by President Bush, will speak at the third annual
statewide drug conference at the Concourse Hotel in Columbus.

More than 300 people -- including judges, court administrators, treatment
professionals and law-enforcement officials -- are expected to attend the
two-day conference titled "Drug Courts: Partnering for the Future."

Supreme Court officials said there are 50 drug courts in Ohio. The
programs' goal is to provide treatment and supervision as a more effective
alternative to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders.