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States Craft Drug Policy Measures
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2000
Contact: Shaun McGrath or Karen Deike 303-623-9378
| PHOENIX -- Representatives of six Western states and American Samoa
meeting in Phoenix are fine-tuning legislative proposals and other measures aimed at
tackling substance abuse. Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, Chairman of the Western Governors' Association, and Arizona Gov. Jane Dee Hull, WGA Vice Chair, told participants in WGA's second Drug Policy Academy that their efforts are critical if states are to stem the growth of drug addiction and the attendant social and budgetary impacts. Kempthorne noted that as he puts the finishing touches on next year's Idaho state budget, he is frustrated at how many worthy state programs cannot be funded, in part because of growing prison costs related to drug crimes. Both governors said it will take a mix of prevention, intervention, enforcement and treatment to decrease substance abuse and the related costs." "We need to have a resounding message to kids: 'Don't start the stuff. It is addictive...and the price of experimentation may, in all honesty, be addiction,'" Kempthorne said. He urged the state teams to develop creative, cost-effective solutions to reduce substance abuse. "If you can give someone a second chance and they can become a productive member of society, then that=s very positive." Hull said Arizona has a five-year strategic plan in which all affected agencies are participating, so they don=t each "reinvent the wheel." She said Arizona and other states are making progress, but additional solutions in the area of prevention and treatment are needed. "I am tired of dealing with the lives of children who have been ruined by drugs," Hull said. "I am tired of dealing with domestic violence, women and men battered because of the violence associated with drug abuse. I am tired of seeing my police killed by meth-crazed criminals. I am tired of building more prisons." Participating in the academy are diverse teams from American Samoa, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming. Participants include representatives from law enforcement, courts, public and private treatment centers, prevention programs and legislatures. The first academy was held in Lincoln, Neb. in October. A Drug Policy Summit will be held June 5 - 6 in Boise, Idaho to raise broad awareness of the region =s illegal drug problems and to consider the most effective solutions.Following their address to Drug Policy Academy participants, Governors. Hull and Kempthorne visited the Guiding Star Program in Phoenix, which provides substance abuse and domestic violence counseling to Native American women and their children in a residential setting. Information on WGA's drug policy program and related resolutions are available on WGA's Web site at www.westgov.org. The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 18 states, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Through their association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management.
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