ASSEMBLY MEMBERS QUESTION MULTITUDE OF ANTI-DRUG PROGRAMS

Assembly Ways and Means members on Wednesday questioned the multitude of
anti-drug programs funded by the state.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said there are dozens of
programs getting grants from a variety of sources from criminal justice to
education to health and human services and that lawmakers don't have any
idea how much they overlap, which ones are working and which ones aren't.

"We need to pull all drug money into one place and let's see what's
working," she told deputy superintendents of education Doug Thunder and
Keith Rheault.

That way, she said, the state could decide which ones deserve funding and
which should be dropped. She said the money should go to the programs that
do the best job, and that overlap and duplication should be reduced.

"No offense to DARE, but it's long been said that program isn't effective,"
said Giunchigliani, who is familiar with the Drug Awareness Resistance
Education program as a former teacher.

She said they need to poll school districts and "see how many programs
they've got out there."

"We're funding all these programs and we don't know which ones work," she
said. "We need to get a handle on this. Then let's pick the top two or three
programs and fund them."

She was joined by Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, and veteran
Assembly member John Marvel, R-Battle Mountain.

"I agree with Chris," said Marvel. "We looked around in all these budgets
and you're right: there's all kinds of drug money. But we don't see
results."

"Pick the top three programs or whatever it is and fund them and get away
from doing 100 programs and 100 administrators," said Hettrick. "Something
ought be consolidated here to make this a lot more effective program."

Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, added that lawmakers should look not only at
education programs but those at the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse and
every other agency in the state.

No action was taken, but lawmakers asked staff and the Education Department
to begin looking into the number and variety of anti-drug abuse programs
operated through state government.