College Hosts Illicit Drug Conference
Fabrizio Montermini
Issue date: 10/25/05 Section: News
Trinity hosted "The Illicit Drugs - Burden and Policy" conference last weekend at Mather Hall as a multidisciplinary effort to educate individuals about the many facets of the drug problem in the Hartford area with a focus on current setbacks with resources, ineffective drug policy and the inefficiency of current solutions.
The two-day event brought together "law enforcement groups, [individuals from] state agencies [and non-profit organizations], state and city representatives, and national experts with creative talents to meet the drug scourge head on," said an official from the City of Hartford. Social workers discussed more effective ways of treatment, and recovering addicts personally expunged on challenges they faced in recovery and how current laws delayed their progress. The conference tried to include all the relevant viewpoints for this discussion. Student representatives were even present to speak about the experiences of youth. This assortment also included church leaders and concerned citizens.
The conference was valuable and personal to the residents of Hartford, because there are a significant number of disrupted neighborhoods in the capital; the drug problem is destroying what the city is trying to build up, explained Mayor Eddie Perez in his speech to attendees. Mirelle Friedman, Executive Director of the Capital Area Substance Abuse Council, complemented this by indicating that Hartford is the second poorest medium-sized city, after Brownsville, Texas, with a population of 124,848 and a mean income of $13,428. Hartford is the seventh most violent medium-sized city in the nation and has the highest rate of minorities (93 percent) in New England. Ivan Kuzyk, an independent researcher, added that 64 percent of 24-year-old males have been arrested in the last five years.
Perez commented on the variety of participants that created a unique atmosphere of open discussion with a wide range of viewpoints. Although there were formal speakers with a purely objective and educational motive, the conference was focused on promoting dialogue, and speakers were interrupted with applauses of approval or sometimes angry hecklers. The question and answer sessions were also filled with a range of individuals, some of whom expressed their approval at an idea for change, while others challenged and criticized the speakers' advocacies.
The two-day event brought together "law enforcement groups, [individuals from] state agencies [and non-profit organizations], state and city representatives, and national experts with creative talents to meet the drug scourge head on," said an official from the City of Hartford. Social workers discussed more effective ways of treatment, and recovering addicts personally expunged on challenges they faced in recovery and how current laws delayed their progress. The conference tried to include all the relevant viewpoints for this discussion. Student representatives were even present to speak about the experiences of youth. This assortment also included church leaders and concerned citizens.
The conference was valuable and personal to the residents of Hartford, because there are a significant number of disrupted neighborhoods in the capital; the drug problem is destroying what the city is trying to build up, explained Mayor Eddie Perez in his speech to attendees. Mirelle Friedman, Executive Director of the Capital Area Substance Abuse Council, complemented this by indicating that Hartford is the second poorest medium-sized city, after Brownsville, Texas, with a population of 124,848 and a mean income of $13,428. Hartford is the seventh most violent medium-sized city in the nation and has the highest rate of minorities (93 percent) in New England. Ivan Kuzyk, an independent researcher, added that 64 percent of 24-year-old males have been arrested in the last five years.
Perez commented on the variety of participants that created a unique atmosphere of open discussion with a wide range of viewpoints. Although there were formal speakers with a purely objective and educational motive, the conference was focused on promoting dialogue, and speakers were interrupted with applauses of approval or sometimes angry hecklers. The question and answer sessions were also filled with a range of individuals, some of whom expressed their approval at an idea for change, while others challenged and criticized the speakers' advocacies.