CONFERENCE SEEKS NEW APPROACHES TO DRUG PROBLEM

May 10 - BOULDER - Law-enforcement types mingled with treatment providers,
social workers, lawmakers, educators and employers Tuesday at a two-day
conference aimed at developing comprehensive approaches to dealing with the
problems created by drug and alcohol abuse.

The Colorado Summit on Drug and Alcohol Issues, which continues today, is
being presented by the National Alliance for Model State Drug Laws. That
federally funded organization serves as an information clearinghouse for
states looking to broaden their methods for handling substance-abuse issues.

Tuesday, Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, state Attorney General Ken
Salazar and Ari Zavaras, chief of the Colorado Department of Public Safety,
spoke to the more than 300 participants. Each weighed in with support for a
fight against drug and alcohol abuse that encompasses more than just
treatment, and more than just prison.

"We truly can't build ourselves out of this," by building more prisons,
Zavaras said. "We've got to take some drastic measures" to find ways of
dealing with substance abuse, he said.

Participants agreed ahead of time to help contribute to a list of
recommendations, which could range from ideas for changes in state law or
the way state money is spent to new treatments and school programs. After
the conference, the national alliance will compile the recommendations in a
report that will end up on the desks of state legislators, the governor,
law-enforcement officials and representatives of the agencies that
participated, said Sherry Green, executive director of the nonprofit
organization.

The summit drew participants from across the state.

"We're bringing together people who have worked together in the past, people
who don't want to work together, and people who've never heard of each
other," and trying to convince them of the value of at least communicating
with each other, Green said.