During the Conference’s Annual Conference in Seattle June 9 mayors from as far away as Guam gathered for the Drug Policy Task Force meeting to discuss, among other things, the implementation of local data collection. The discussion led by Task Force co-chairs Boise Mayor H. Brent Coles and Gary Mayor Scott King focused on several pressing issues facing mayors including addressing drug abuse as a rural and city issue, working together to address drugs in prison, and the importance of local data collection.

Mayor Coles stressed the importance of understanding and developing effective tools to combat drug problems in the rural communities and the cities. "We must remember that drugs are not just a city problem but also a rural problem."

When Mayors asked about data that addressed marijuana use as a predictor to future drug use Mayor Coles quoted findings from the CASA "No Place to Hide, "report, stating that "although most youth who use marijuana will not move onto heroin and cocaine, teens who use marijuana are far more likely to get into harder drugs than teens who do not."

Mayor King continued the discussion by underscoring not only the importance of the rural perspective but also the importance of making sure that every person who leaves prison is drug free. Mayor King stated "studies show that over 60% of those inmates who have access to good drug treatment have not re-offended ." He called on all Mayors to work within states to pass state legislation that mirrors the Conference’s national policy that calls for mandatory pre-release drug testing of all federal prisoners. "Mayors have to get on their state legislatures and governors and say we want drug free prisoners."

As the discussion turned to local indicators of drugs in their communities, the task force members welcomed guest presenter Carol Stone, executive director of the, Portland Regional Drug Initiative. Ms. Stone explained the value of gathering and disseminating community substance abuse data as a "consumer price index," illustrating her points with the "Drug Impact Index," prepared annually by the Portland Regional Drug Initiative. The Index is a compilation of severall community defined indicators that are used to generally assess the impact and severity of drug problems on a local community.

The local data collection process was viewed as a mechanism to bring together indicators from all the sectors (justice, schools, health, etc.) of the community. Ms. Stone stated that all the data used to create the annual report was readily available in her community and that no new research had to be conducted. This program is recognized as a model for general local data collection.

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