Pubdate: Mon, 19 Sep 2005
Source: Parklander, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2005 Hinton Parklander
Contact:  http://www.hintonparklander.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/782

IT'S TIME TO STAND AND BE COUNTED

For many long years our civic leaders, law enforcement and other 
organizations have toiled in a conscious, high-profile quest to 
address drug concerns in Hinton.

If nothing else, the campaign has spawned some useful networking 
between agencies, as well as with other communities in similar 
situations. The Hinton Drug Action Committee, which was formed in the 
wake of this renewed focus on community drug problems, has definitely 
raised the awareness of both the issues -- like addiction, 
drug-related crime and health -- as well as some of the solutions.

There was a lot of chutzpa involved in even making the drug problem a 
publically-debated issue because, while it seems like common sense, 
some communities do not want the black-eye of being known as having these ills.

It's potentially bad for morale, bad for public image and bad for 
business. However, our leaders should be commended for realizing they 
had bigger fish to fry than a perceived black eye.

But the question now is what effect has all of this effort, time and 
money had on the problem?

Stakeholders like the Hinton RCMP, the drug action committee, AADAC 
and the legal community will be on hand at a public forum on drugs on 
Sept. 28 at the Hinton Centre.

It'll be their job to make presentations and tell you what's been 
done in the fight against drugs.

But it's the responsibility of the public to show up and give input 
to help answer the one raging question -- what effect has all this 
work had -- as well as one other question:

What else can possibly be done?
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman