REGION UNITES TO FIGHT SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Guest Commentary

On March 29, 2000, parents, students, health care and prevention
experts, clergy, educators, business leaders, public officials and
anyone who is interested from Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties will
meet at the Genesis Convention Center in downtown Gary to participate
in the first ever regionwide summit on substance abuse.

It is appropriate as we enter a new millennium that we develop new
strategies to fight the scourge of drugs that ravage our country. The
genesis of the idea of this conference came about as a result of the
Lake County summit, "Partners Developing Drug Free Communities," which
the Partnership For A Drug Free Lake County sponsored last October at
the Radisson Hotel.

Gary Mayor Scott King, who participated along with then Attorney
General Jeffery Modisett, came away from this event with such a
positive reaction that he began to think about expanding it. He
realized that if we could bring together such diverse groups from
north and south Lake County, why not the whole region?

King, who is co-chairman of the Drug Policy task Force of the U.S.
Conference of Mayors and an advisor to President Clinton about drug
control issues, recently took the opportunity while in Washington to
discuss what's going on in Northwest Indiana with Gen. Barry
McCaffrey, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The
result is that McCaffrey will not only speak but also participate in a
Q-and-A session with the audience.

Other speakers and participants in this event include: Dr. Nelba
Chavez, administrator of SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration), and our new Indiana attorney general, Karen
Freeman-Wilson. The summit is not just about listening to speakers all
day; the audience will participate in plenary and breakout sessions to
work on solutions and will have the opportunity to view and critique
new commercials from the ONDCP'S National Media Campaign.

Traditionally, there have been two separate ways of dealing with
substance abuse: cutting off the supply and reducing the demand. Law
enforcement addresses the supply issues, what has come to be known as
the war on drugs. This involves interdiction at the borders, search
warrants, arrests, prosecution and incarceration. The other approach
is to deal with demand. This is achieved through education, prevention
and treatment.

One of the goals of this summit is to recognize the importance of
treating substance abuse as a public health issue. Medical experts
will be presenting evidence showing the physical damage that occurs in
the body and brain as a result of addiction.

We need to look at substance abuse as a problem that goes beyond
borders or jurisdictions. It is a problem for everyone, for north Lake
County as well as south Lake County. The insidious effects of drug
abuse are felt in Porter and LaPorte counties as well. We need to take
the steps today that will lead to the solutions of tomorrow.

I urge anyone in the region who is interested in making a difference
to attend "The Northwest Indiana Substance Abuse 2000 Summit."