Pubdate: Thu, 25 Oct 2007
Source: Des Moines Register (IA)
Copyright: 2007 The Des Moines Register.
Contact:  http://desmoinesregister.com/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/123
Author: Gunnar Olson, Register Staff Writer

FORUM ON DRUG WAR BRINGS SUGGESTIONS

Troops who are fighting the war on drugs across Iowa gathered 
Wednesday night for a round-table discussion with the state's drug czar.

About 20 people turned out at Ankeny City Hall to talk with Gary 
Kendall, director of the Governor's Office of Drug-Control Policy. 
The meeting was billed as the first in a series of sessions for 
sharing information and comparing strategies in the pursuit of 
cleansing Iowa of drug and alcohol abuse.

"Many of you are in the trenches, dealing with people," said Peter 
Komendowski, president of the Partnership for a Drug-Free Iowa, a 
co-sponsor of the event. "It's very important to hear what you have to say."

The nearly two-hour meeting was short on definitive answers but long 
on ideas, among them:

- - Kendall told the audience his office was considering asking the 
Legislature for an increased beer tax to fund drug treatment and 
prevention programs. He said federal grant money available in Iowa 
for treatment and prevention programs has dropped by 50 percent since 2003.

- - One audience member recommended that bartenders be required to 
receive training in the civil penalties for serving to a minor. Such 
classes are available now but are taken voluntarily.

Ankeny Mayor Steve Van Oort opened the meeting with a brief speech in 
which he cited the difficulty of talking openly about a subject as 
pervasive and close to home as substance abuse.

"That is probably one of the most difficult things I had to talk to 
my daughters about," he said. "Why is that?"

Audience member Dave Wright, a 64-year-old prevention specialist from 
Urbandale, suggested a "simple way for us to do something." He said 
Iowans should speak out at the many campaign events that presidential 
candidates hold here every four years.

"Ask them a question directly," he said.

Mary Sloan, 58, a prevention specialist from Milford, lamented that 
much of substance-abuse programs focus on the problems at hand and 
not the big picture.

"What does a healthy community look like?" Sloan posed.  "And how can 
we rally our troops to get it?"

Additional meetings are tentatively scheduled for Wednesday in 
Dubuque and Nov. 19 in Waterloo. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake