Grassley said the key to solving the drug problem is getting citizens from all elements of society involved. He encouraged parents, students, teachers, youth leaders, law enforcement officials, clergy, business professionals, medical experts, local government officials, concerned citizens, and the media to attend the meeting. "Facing it together is the only way we can make our families, neighborhoods, schools, and places of work drug-free," Grassley said.
The meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 18, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., at Rex Mathes Elementary School, 1401 Vine Street, in West Des Moines. The forum is open to the public. Area residents are encouraged to attend and share their questions and concerns regarding the growing problem of drug abuse, specifically methamphetamine, in Iowa.
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 over two years to develop the community anti-drug coalition called Face It Together ? or FIT ? to respond to the growing drug problem in Iowa. The FIT coalition surveyed Iowa's 947 mayors, and thousands of Iowa citizens at more than 30 town meetings, to gather input on strategies to fight drugs. In addition to the meeting in West Des Moines, Grassley will conduct meetings on the drug issue next week in Grundy Center, Tama and Anamosa.
Altogether, during the President's Day holiday recess, Sen. Grassley will conduct meetings in 15 counties across the state, as part of his commitment to holding a public meeting in each Iowa county every year.
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 http://grassley.senate.gov/fitmain.htm.