Pubdate: Fri, 15 Jan 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.

NEW YORK MAYOR WANTS ANTI-FEAR, PRO-WORK PILLS

NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, an
anti-drug crusader who last year drew fire for urging an end to methadone
clinics, said this week there are some drugs he could support -- anti-fear
tablets and work-ethic pills.

In his sixth annual State of the City address on Thursday, the mayor said he
would like to "create a pill for people to take in this city that would
remove fears of new ideas and stop them from chilling new ideas before they
have a chance to grow."

Giuliani, considered a possible Republican presidential contender in 2000,
said anti-fear tablets could be just the thing for those who resist his
agenda for reforms.

Giuliani joked that when he suggested doing away with methadone treatment
for heroin addicts last year, he "was almost impeached by the politically
correct."

But rather than back off the fight against illegal drugs, the former U.S.
attorney who once accompanied police on a drug raid said he planned to
expand his anti-drug initiative.

Giuliani's magic pill solution was aimed at children with absentee fathers
or those from broken homes who often drop out of school and fall through
society's cracks.

"I would find a way to give them a pill to give them the work ethic," he
said.

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