OFFICIALS LOOK FORWARD TO VISIT FROM DRUG ABUSE EXPERT

TWIN FALLS -- Local officials hope a substance abuse expert's visit next
week will help raise the alarm about the area's potential next drug wave --
and also serve as a springboard for forming a comprehensive group to fight
drug abuse.

Efforts began last summer to recruit former Los Angeles Police Department
narcotics detective Trinka Porrata for a series of presentations in
southern Idaho, said Marlene Yardley, who works with the Idaho Department
of Health and Welfare in Twin Falls.

"She's a dynamic speaker, and her message is that you need to educate your
community and let them know what is going on with the 'club-drug' scene,"
Yardley said.

Club drugs in recent years began to emerge as part of the "rave" scene in
large urban areas. "Raves" -- clandestine dance parties centered around
thudding techno music and cutting-edge fashion -- gave rise to widespread
use of new drugs such as Ecstasy and brought new popularity to LSD and
similar substances.

While it's unlikely that huge, spur-of-the-moment raves will pop up in
Idaho's towns and small cities, there's evidence that some smaller raves
have been organized here and drugs have been pushed at them, said John
Hathaway, the Region V Health and Welfare director.

Indeed, some of the rave-scene drugs -- such as one called "Special K" --
are still legal, Hathaway said. But that doesn't make them any less
dangerous, especially to the 15- to 18-year-old crowd that tends to
frequent most raves, he said.

There's evidence that some at raves use "date rape" drugs -- which can be
slipped to unsuspecting girls and women in hopes of breaking down their
sexual inhibitions, Yardley said. Much of Porrata's material will focus on
those drugs.

Studies have also shown that club drugs often are a "gateway" to the abuse
of other drugs, such as methamphetamine, Hathaway said. In fact, some of
the "designer" club drugs are made by combining meth with a hallucinogen.

Yardley, Hathaway and Twin Falls County Commissioner Bill Brockman -- who
also helped organize Porrata's visit -- said they hope the events draw big
crowds.

But they also hope it will serve as a jumping-off point to organize a
permanent group charged with studying the area's drug problem and taking
proactive steps to curb it. The group would probably take the form of a
committee and could serve as a comprehensive source of information for
public officials, law enforcement, private companies and the public,
Hathaway said.

Yardley, Hathaway and Brockman said that if such a committee forms, they
plan to be on it. The group also hopes to recruit at least one doctor. And
school officials, church leaders and others would also be needed, Yardley said.

"If we could get our youth pastors involved, that would be vital," she said.

Parents would probably have a place at the table, Brockman said.

"Parents who have had kids on drugs understand the problem 10 times better
than I ever will," he said.

The long-term goal is to provide a truly "big picture" look at the local
drug problem and find some realistic answers, Hathaway said.

That might call for some basic changes in philosophy, Brockman said.

"Right now, if we find out a kid's been using drugs once, we kick him off
the football team -- and there goes that positive influence," Brockman
said. "If we catch him again, we kick him out of school. And that just
gives him all day to stand around in the street with the wrong people and
talk about drugs. If we catch him a third time, we throw him in jail. And
that gives him 180 days to sit with these people talking about drugs even
more."

Expert Presentations

Drug abuse expert Trinka Porrata -- a retired Los Angeles Police Department
narcotics detective -- will give several presentations next week in
southern Idaho. Porrata's program will center on the growing "rave," "club
drug" and "date rape drug" problem. The schedule of her appearances includes:

# Burley, Feb. 4

* Conference for law enforcement officials, medical personnel and other
professionals, 3-5 p.m., little theater in Burley High School, 2130 Park Ave.

* Presentation for the general public, 7-9 p.m., in the King Fine Arts
Center at Burley High School.

# Twin Falls, Feb. 5

* Conference for professionals, 10 a.m. to noon, Nazarene Church, 1231
Washington St. N.

* Presentation for public, 4:30-6:30 p.m., College of Southern Idaho Fine
Arts Auditorium, 315 Falls Ave. W.

# Hailey, Feb. 6

* Conference for professionals, 3-5 p.m., band room at Wood River High School.

* Presentation for public, 7-9 p.m., Wood River High School Auditorium.

About The Events

* Parents are encouraged to bring their children. Age-appropriate drug
education for children ages 6 to 16 will be provided by the Boys and Girls
Club.

* Admission is free.

* Porrata's visits are sponsored by the Idaho Department of Health and
Welfare, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services; Canyon View
Psychiatric and Addiction Services; the Walker Center; the Idaho Department
of Corrections, Probation and Parole and the District 5 Juvenile Justice
Council.

* For more information, call Marlene Yardley at Health and Welfare, 736-2177.