Grassley to Hold More Meetings Aimed at Drug Problem in Iowa

Grassley to Hold More Meetings Aimed at Drug Problem in Iowa

Meetings in Keokuk, Fort Madison Scheduled for Saturday, October 24

? Sen. Chuck Grassley today announced that he will hold two town meetings in Iowa on Saturday, October 24, as part of his ongoing effort to help local communities fight illegal drug use and experimentation.

Grassley said the key to solving the drug problem is communities acting together, and he encouraged parents, students, teachers, youth leaders, law enforcement officials, clergy, workers, business professionals, medical experts, local government officials, concerned citizens, and the media to attend these meetings. "Facing it together is the only way we can make our families, neighborhoods, schools, and places of work drug-free," Grassley said.

Grassley's two meetings are open to the public. The first meeting will take place from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. at the Keokuk Public Library. The meeting is jointly sponsored by the Lee County Narcotics Task Force. The Keokuk Public Library is located at 210 North 5th Street. Grassley will be available on site to answer questions from the media for 15 minutes immediately following the meeting.

Grassley's second meeting will begin at 10:45 a.m. in the City Council Chambers in Fort Madison. The meeting will last for one hour, and is being co-sponsored by the Fort Madison SAFE Coalition. For 15 minutes following the meeting, Grassley will be available to answer questions from the media. The Fort Madison City Council Chambers are located at 811 Avenue E.

In August, Grassley launched the nation's first-of-its-kind statewide anti-drug effort offering citizens creative strategies to combat illicit drug use in their hometowns. Grassley has been at work with Iowans for nearly two years to develop the coalition called Face It Together ? or FIT ? to respond to the growing drug problem in Iowa. The FIT coalition surveyed Iowa's 947 mayors to gather input on strategies to fight drugs. The meetings in Keokuk and Fort Madison bring the total number of town meetings Grassley has held in Iowa this year on the drug issue to 27.

Grassley is chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control and a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Iowa's Grassroots Blueprint for Action" and additional information about methamphetamine and the drug problem in Iowa is available at www.senate.gov/grassley.