LOCAL EFFORT KEY IN ANTI-DRUG WAR

Campaign Renewed

Citing a lack of creativity in combating the drug problem among area
children, Mobile Mayor Mike Dow announced Wednesday the city's new
alliance with the Partnership For a Drug-Free America.

With police officers fighting drugs by arresting users and dealers, it
is time for the city to push prevention, Dow said during his weekly
news conference.

The best way to fight drug use is at the local level, said Michael
Townsend, the national partnership's executive vice president.

"Nobody is going to wave a magical wand from Washington and make it go
away," Townsend said.

Billboards, newspaper advertisements and television - the medium most
popular with children - will be used to convey the drug-prevention
message, he said.

More than 400 advertising agencies nationwide have volunteered their
time since the program began in 1987. Media organizations also have
donated $3 billion in broadcasting time and print space, he said.

The Mobile partnership already has contacted area TV stations and is
working to attract local businesses. Every child in the Mobile area
should be exposed to the media-relayed message at least four times a
week, Dow said.

The partnership is one way to fight the fluctuating war on drugs,
Townsend said. Illegal drug use nationwide, for example, has decreased
45 percent since 1985. But in 1992, drug use among children started
doubling.

"Drug use is like fighting a forest fire," he said. "You get one
section tamed down, and flames come up over here."

Other drug trends include the emergence of a form of heroin that no
longer needs to be injected. Heroin now can be either snorted or
smoked, he said, leading users to falsely assume that the drug is less
dangerous.

So-called date rape drugs, such as ketamine, or "Special K," and Gamma
Butrolactone, or "GBL," are another drug problem ravaging today's youths.

"And you don't have to be a willing participant," Townsend said. "If slipped
into your soda, you're out in 30 minutes and date rapers can do their work."

A display of charts outlining the effects of GBL when digested covered
a corner at the rear of the mayor's press conference.

On one table sat a small container of GBL and a bottle of Mountain Dew
and Windex, two ways to conceal the drug, said Sgt. Chris Berra,
supervisor of the Mobile Police Department's narcotics and vice unit.

When mixed with the Mountain Dew, a dose of the drug can't be
detected, Berra said.

And placing the light blue liquid drug in an empty Windex bottle is
one way of disguising it from police, he added.

"If mixed with alcohol," Berra said of GBL, "it doubles the effect and
can put you into a deep state of sleep or comatose state."

The newly formed Partnership for a Drug-Free Mobile, however, is one
step toward preventing the continued use of drugs such as GBL, he said.

"Although I don't see it having any effect tomorrow," Berra said.
"It'll take a while to educate everyone."

Also mentioned at the mayor's news conference:

On Aug. 1 at 6:30 p.m., the Mobile Police Department, along with
Regions Bank, SouthTrust Bank and AmSouth Bank, is holding a crime
prevention 5K run through downtown Mobile.

Awards will be presented to the top runners in each category and age
group. Registration on the day of the race will take place at
Bienville Square from 5 to 6 p.m.

The mayor also recognized Matt McCall, a senior at Mary G. Montgomery
High School, for finishing first in the business communications
category at the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership
Conference at Long Beach, Calif., earlier this month.