TEAMING UP TO FIGHT DRUGS

White House official urges community coalition building

The last time an official from the Office of National Drug Control Policy
came to Columbia, the city was days from voting on a citizen-driven proposal
to de-emphasize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Voters in 2003 rejected the proposed ordinance, but a similar proposal won
strong support at the polls in November and is being targeted for repeal by
the Columbia Police Officers Association.

A representative of the same White House office spoke in Columbia on Monday,
encouraging local drug-prevention organizations to think of creative ways to
prevent drug abuse.

Mary Ann Solberg, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy, said the most effective way to reduce drug abuse among young people
is through community coalition building.

Solberg made no mention of the new ordinance that makes possession of 35
grams or less of marijuana the city's "lowest law enforcement priority." Nor
did she mention ongoing repeal efforts.

In fact, when contacted last week, she said she was unaware that Columbia
even had such an ordinance.

During her speech, Solberg offered numerous examples of what she has seen
done elsewhere. One community held a youth conference where adults were not
allowed to speak -- only listen to the students' perspective.

"We are not dealing with a war," Solberg said, "we are dealing with a public
health threat."

The best way to calm that threat, she said, is by organizing coalitions that
offer parenting advice, offering information about good activities for
youths and surveying the community to see what work must be done.

"Drug use is a local problem," she said. "It demands a local solution."

The luncheon at Peach Tree Banquet Center was sponsored by the Columbia
Housing Authority, Columbia Police Department and Central Missouri Counties'
Human Development Corp.

Doris Chiles, executive director of the Columbia Housing Authority, said
Solberg's visit had nothing to do with efforts to repeal the new ordinance.
Chiles said she invited Solberg to speak because she wanted to strengthen
the size of the Columbia Youth Prevention Policy Board, which she co-chairs
and has about 20 active members. The board has been organized since 2003 and
last year was approved for a federal four-year grant of $100,000 annually.
Chiles said she hopes some of the almost 100 people who attended the
luncheon decide to join the cause.

The event attracted educators, health care providers, college students and
city staff. Police Chief Randy Boehm and First Ward Councilwoman Almeta
Crayton also attended.

Rose Aker, an adolescent-treatment provider for the behavioral health-care
provider Pathways, said she would first like the community to acknowledge
that there is a drug problem and then respond.

"Denial in a community is as deadly as drug use," Aker said.

Aker said the drug problems of Columbia's youth aren't unique, but they
still need to be addressed.

"Drug use in all communities looks the same. There's use, there's abuse and
there's addiction," Aker said. "Communities need to identify the need for
substance-abuse prevention, intervention and services."

Boehm said the police department agreed to sponsor the event when the
housing authority contacted him about the possibility. The department paid
$250 to cover part of the cost of the lunch, which Boehm said is not related
to efforts by an association of city police officers to repeal the new city
law.

Last month, the Columbia Police Officers Association launched a petition
drive aimed at asking voters to repeal the 6-month-old ordinance.

Columbia Police Officer Association President Sterling Infield said last
week that the petition drive was going well. Officers are continuing to
collect signatures in hopes of getting the issue on the ballot "as soon as
possible." Infield declined to offer a number when asked how many signatures
the association had collected.

City Clerk Sheela Amin said 2,276 signatures would have to be submitted to
her office by July for the issue to be placed on the Nov. 8 ballot. She said
it is too late for the issue to appear on the June or August ballots.