DRUG HELP GOES BEGGING IN ROCHESTER, PROVIDER SAYS

Supply greatly exceeds demand for adolescent drug treatment facilities in
the Rochester area, a leading drug treatment expert said Thursday.

"There is a gross underutilization of treatment for 16- to 22-year-old
victims," said Robert Lebman, vice president of DePaul Huther Doyle, a
local treatment organization.

Getting more youths into treatment should be more of a priority, he said --
or the youths will eventually wind up in the criminal justice system or dead.

Lebman was one of several speakers who discussed drug-fighting strategies
during a news conference Thursday at the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building
downtown. The news conference was held to update the community on ideas
from a December summit to curb the illegal drug problem here.

Rochester Police Chief Robert Duffy convened the summit to get the
so-called "War on Drugs" focused more on treatment, education and
prevention. Typically, the drug problem has been handled as a law
enforcement matter.

But that approach hasn't worked, Duffy said, and attitudes are changing.

"We are never going to arrest our way out of this problem," Duffy said. "We
are never going to incarcerate our way out of it. We would like to see a
whole different focus, with law enforcement, treatment, education and
prevention working as a team, standing shoulder to shoulder."

Summit participants formed six committees, most of which discussed their
findings and plans Thursday. Members hope to achieve specific goals -- such
as shutting down drug houses and reducing drug-related violence -- by the
end of the year.

Also Thursday:

* Lebman said that making "a ton" of prevention and treatment agencies
available to help City School District students is complicated by the
independence of the schools within the district.

"There is a Herculean task involved in going from building to building," he
said, urging a more unified approach. "We need a fireball leader in the
City School District to do that."

* Duffy said that virtually every drug dealer Rochester police arrest is a
high school dropout. He has contacted Superintendent Clifford Janey about
getting a list of dropouts and finding a way for summit participants to
work with them and keep them away from drugs.

* It was reported that youths who most need treatment are not covered by
health insurance.

Duffy discussed other plans during a meeting with the Democrat and
Chronicle editorial board Wednesday, including having residents patrol
drug-infested neighborhoods with police and sending letters to residents
whose vehicles are spotted in areas of drug trafficking.

Craig Johnson, director of substance abuse programs at the Monroe
Correctional Facility, said: "There has been a 20-year approach to
criminalize addiction... . This is a counter-trend. The pendulum is
swinging back."