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.