Nation In Brief : TEXAS : Rival Says Richards Was Cocaine User

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Mattox accused rival Ann Richards of being treated for cocaine addiction 10 years ago, the latest in a series of drug-use accusations. “I’m saying that she used cocaine at the age of 46 and marijuana, and she used other drugs,” Mattox said in the Houston interview broadcast on CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation.” Richards phoned the program to deny she had ever sought treatment for cocaine use, but declined to appear on the show. Richards has answered questions about illegal drug use by saying she has not used a mood-altering drug in 10 years. In 1980, she was treated at a Minnesota clinic for alcoholism.