Let me begin by expressing my gratitude as a citizen of this community to Ms. Rosalynd Tompkins and all of her staff at Mothers In Crisis. Thank you all for your leadership in our community. You’ve proven that community-based intervention does work, and can make an enormous difference in real people’s lives in our community.

It is appropriate that ADAVA kicks-off its activities in Leon County with this Designer Drug Summit. The campus life which is woven into the fabric of our community is especially susceptible to this new wave of designer drugs, and it’s up to all of us to respond to this challenge.

We know that ecstasy can deprive the heart of blood long enough to leave scars on the heart which are reminiscent of the effects of a heart attack. Again, I can’t stress this strongly enough -- ecstasy leaves permanent scaring on the heart muscle which make it look to doctors as if the person who’s taken the drug has actually had a heart attack.

We also know that, according to a study conducted by the LSU College of Pharmacology, the designer drug ecstasy causes permanent damage to laboratory animals’ central nervous system after only one or two doses.

Ecstasy, rohypnol, and GHB, which lead the pack in designer drug usage, leave a permanent imprint on the central nervous system and the brain. Their long-term effects can include paranoia, confusion, depression, sleep problems and severe anxiety. In some cases they can also cause death -- also a permanent condition.

The young people who come to Tallahassee for their college experience are here to learn. While they’re here we should help them to learn about the dangers of designer drugs -- while respecting their intelligence enough to give them the facts -- and trusting in them enough to make responsible choices.

The importance of combating these new and dangerous drugs does not leave us the luxury of conducting a "culture war" against these kids, the Rave music that they listen to or the dance clubs they frequent. As we learn from our country’s recent history, when the "War on Drugs" becomes a "War on Music" or a "War on Culture", it is an abysmal failure, and we loose credibility with the young people we are trying to influence.

Just yesterday -- as I was driving near the FSU Campus -- I saw a bumper sticker on a young person’s car that read, "Raving is not a crime." I believe we should think carefully about the message that this sentiment expresses. It should tell us that -- whether we intend it or not -- kids are perceiving our anti-Rave drug efforts as a war of intolerance against their culture -- and as such, our sincere warnings about the health consequences of designer drugs are falling on deaf ears.

The impulse to attack the peripheral trappings of the Rave club scene -- the music, the clothes, or the lolly pops and glow sticks that are a part of it -- is a well-intended but misguided strategy. No one ever died from sucking on a blow pop and the kids know this. For us to focus on these peripheral trappings will have the inevitable consequence of the kids not taking us seriously. We must promote the message that it’s not their culture that kills. It’s the drugs that kill.

We have a unique opportunity with the new Anti-Drug Anti-Violence Alliance to work with the club owners in our community on the designer drug problem. Let us work with these small business owners to deliver public health messages -- through their establishments -- directly to the young people who are most at risk.

In addition, I hope that ADAVA will work to forge strong ties to the local health community -- doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, as well as the hospitals and the State Health Department -- to legitimize our efforts to reduce designer drug use in our community as a public health threat. Let us focus on the terrifying truth of designer drugs, which is bad enough, and leave aside our judgements and preconceptions about Rave club culture. It is the only way to get kids to listen to us -- to trust us -- and to hear this vitally important public health message.

Thank you all for coming tonight, and thank you for your support of ADAVA. I hope you’ll all participate energetically and will take what you learn tonight out with you into the community. Education and tolerance are our best hope to keep the kids at risk for designer drug use out of the hospital, out of the moruge, out of jail -- and IN school.