COMMUNITIES: PUBLIC WELCIME TO ATTEND DRUG-USE FORUM

A community forum about drug use in Lane County, titled "Drugs in Our Back
Yard: Methamphetamine and Heroin in Lane County," will be held at 6 p.m.
Thursday at Hamlin Middle School in Springfield.

The session is intended for young people, parents and professionals.
It will be held in the school's cafeteria at 326 Centennial Blvd.

The forum will include information on where to get help for people
using illegal drugs and how to get involved in drug prevention activities.

The meeting will feature local and national authorities, including
Omar Aleman from the Florida Drug Enforcement Agency, who will talk
about ways people can work together to handle drug-related problems.

Brinda Narayan-Wold, coordinator of the Lane County Prevention
Coalition, said people attending the forum will have an opportunity to
express their concerns about the effects of drugs and find out about
prevention, interdiction and treatment options.

As a follow-up to Thursday's forum, a workshop on heroin and
methamphetamine issues is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at
the Eugene Hilton, 66 E. Sixth Ave. The free workshop for
policymakers, criminal justice professionals, health care workers and
educators is also open to any interested community member.

Both events are sponsored by the Lane County Prevention Coalition,
Eugene Police Department, Narcotics Awareness and Recognition
Committee and the county's Commission on Children and Families and
Health and Human Services Department.

The meetings are partially funded by the federal Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Drug-Free Communities Act funds.

For additional information about either event, call Narayan-Wold at
682-3817.