INHOFE, COBURN OPPOSE MEETING

A claim that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is sponsoring
a conference about methamphetamine and sexually transmitted diseases raised
the ire of Oklahoma's two senators.

Sens. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, are among six who
sent a letter this week to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Michael Leavitt criticizing the agency.

Although Health and Human Services was listed as a primary sponsor for the
conference, department spokeswoman Christina Pearson said conference
organizers made a mistake.

"HHS is not a sponsor of the conference. The conference organizers
incorrectly listed us as a sponsor without our knowledge or consent," she said.

Conference organizers counter that the agency provided them with a $3,000
grant, but the agency denies it provided the money.

"There was discussion of $3,000 that would provide some scholarship funds
to defray travel costs of people attending, but this is not being provided
now," Pearson said.

Inappropriate Topics

The conference, the First National Conference on
Methamphetamine, HIV and Hepatitis: Science and Response, is in Salt Lake
City today and Saturday. The meeting also attracted the attention of
Oklahoma's Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.

The agency had been asked to make a presentation, but decided against it,
its spokesman said.

"We were led to believe that it was about raising awareness about meth and
the dangers associated with it. We were not aware that there would be other
questionable and potentially controversial topics being discussed out
there," Mark Woodward said.

As of Thursday, more than 900 health care workers, scientists, law
enforcement agents and others from around the world were registered to
attend the conference.

According to the senators' letter to Leavitt, some topics scheduled for the
conference "are wholly inappropriate and contrary to commonly accepted
norms related to drug abuse prevention and treatment. It is appalling to us
that HHS would support such an agenda."

Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Sam Brownback, R-Kansas; Mike DeWine,
R-Ohio; and Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, also signed the letter,
outlining concerns that taxpayer dollars were supporting a conference with
controversial workshop titles such as "Tweaking Tips for Party Boys" and
"You Don't Have to Be Clean & Sober, or Even Want to Be!"

Luciano Colonna, executive director of the Harm Reduction Project, said the
organization received a $3,000 federal capacity building grant this year
through a suboffice of Health and Human Services. The funds were used to
provide conference scholarships for health care providers in rural areas.
HHS was listed as a sponsor because of the grant, and was never an official
sponsor.