In his State of the Union address, President Bush singled out a drug treatment program run by Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, La., which says it relies "solely on . . . the Word of God to break the bands of addiction." Today, John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy, unveiled details of President Bush's new three-year, $600 million plan to expand access to drug treatment across America. Under the new initiative, named Recovery Now, drug addicts and alcoholics would receive vouchers from the government to help pay for the treatment of their choice, whether it be from a health clinic, a private physician or a church.

With this twist, religious groups could mix as much prayer and Bible study into their treatment methods as they wish, which, according to legal experts, could present legal issues. Legal experts have suggested that with such direct funding, churches would have to separate their drug rehabilitation efforts from their religious activities. To comply with the Constitution, they would have to ensure that the government-financed programs were secular in content and that their religious activities were privately funded and held at a different time and place.

Although the government asserts there is no constitutional problem because it is the addict choosing religion based treatment and not the government choosing religion, it is likely that the proposed plan will be challenged in court, partly on the grounds that few addicts have a genuine choice.