Thursday, April 1, 1982
Eugana, Oragon
Oregon daily
Volume 83
Number 121
emerald
Drug center balloons in size
By Dan* Claus sen
Ot tty Emfmtd
Ten years ago today, the Drug
information Center began as an
ASUO program in the basement
of the EMU Today it occupies a
University house at 1763 Moss
St and is a nationally recog
nized University department
And despite continued un
certainty about future funding,
director Mark Miller says this is a
time to emphasize the center s
growth and accomplishments,
and the continued need for the
center
Miller says it's possible that
the center's staff has provided
information about drugs — all
types of drugs, not just the il
legal kind — to about 150,000
Oregonians in the last 10 years
This doesn't include informa
tion disseminated through
about 200 television and radio
appearances in that time, he
says
In addition, the Drug Informa
tion Center has spoken to at
least 50,000 people, 10,000
15,000 per year in the past
few years, Miller says
The agency has been
“moderate to very good" but
never has had the financial
support to be excellent, he says
“We re the only agency that
started as a student program,
became a University depart
ment, and then a statewide ser
vice," Miller says This is due
largely to student control of the
incidental fee allocation, he
says
The center has had one key
effect in Oregon — and that is
making the point to the
populace that the term "drug"
means more than illegal drugs
Miller was a founder of the
center at age 20 and has been
with it ever since
“I didn't expect to be here at
30," he says Miller says he
doesn't believe in the philo
sophy of changing jobs every
three years as many Americans
do
"You have to be willing to
spend the years and decades"
to become an expert to be ef
fective, he says
"It's difficult to get bored
when every day is different.”
Further reinforcement for him
comes from surveys that in
dicate that 100 percent of those
receiving Drug Information
Center literature say it is useful
As for the future. Miller says
the center would like to buy a
$2,000 word processor in the
next three years to improve its
information system They would
also Mke to be able to make
video tapes and film strips to sell
to schools.
"We're pretty sure that
unless we can make money
we re not going to survive." he
says
Looking back, Miller says the
Center also could not have sur
vived without the support of the
University, which now provides
in-kind services worth $20,000
to $30,000 a year
‘‘I get full cooperation when I
go to a University department,"
he says, adding that the center
also has the full support of the
administration.
Among the accomplishments
and services of the center dur
ing the past 10 years are:
• Establishng the first anon
ymous drug analysis service in
the state
• Becoming the Drug Abuse
Communications Network ap
pointee for the state.
• Receiving the National
Search Award from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse.
• Initiating a Federal Trade
Commission investigation of
doctors and druggists in Mexico
accused of "bilking” senior
citizens.
• ^Publishing three books
through the University Press for
public distribution.
• Providing training for police
officers, teachers, and the U S.
Coast Guard in Oregon.
• Producing multi-media slide
shows and a videotape.
• Publishing the Oregon
Prevention and Education
newsletter.
• Issuing drug alerts.
• Providing literature, speak
ing, and otherwise disseminat
ing information.
• Sponsoring Lane County Poi
son Prevention week.
But recent cuts
could weaken
future efforts
While the Drug Information
Center may go to a four-day
work week in July because of
financial constraints, its director
is saying that Nancy Reagan’s
efforts to fight drug abuse won’t
substitute for cuts in drug
education and prevention fund
ing.
Reagan's campaign is just
"window dressing,” says Mark
Miller. Calling for parents to
form coalitions against drug
abuse will not work, he says,
adding that efforts to prevent
and educate on drug abuse
require trained professionals.
"Volunteerism cannot work in
these programs,” Miller says.
Volunteerism works in some
situations but not with drug use
education, he says.
“The Reagan Administration
thinks that if enough parents get
mad, they’ll make a difference,”
Miller scoffs. In addition. Pres.
Ronald Reagan’s economic
policies will cause a depression,
which will not stimulate private
donations to drug education, he
says.
“Reagan and his policies are
guaranteed suicide for the
state,” Miller says.
“She’s not going to make any
difference . . If she cared,
she'd be trying to get money for
prevention and education,” he
says about Nancy Reagan's
professed battle against drug
abuse. Such declarations will
end up "guaranteeing a polar
ization of people who use drugs
and those who don't,” Miller
says.
Oregonians continue to place
fighting drug abuse as their
second highest concern follow
ing taxes, he says.
"The state of Oregon has no
commitment to prevention and
education of drug abuse,”
Miller says. “None whatsoever."
Photo by Erich Bookolhoide
Jerry Beck end the University’s Drug Information center offer Information to 10,000-15,000
Oregonians every year.
Lawsuit alleges ‘Hot Whacks’
left plaintiff partially deaf
A campus area tavern has been hit with a
lawsuit from a man who charges that music
played too loudly at the bar caused him to suffer a
50 to 60 percent hearing loss
Michael Valdenegro charges that Duffy's and
a band performing there were negligent because
they did not inform him that the noise level of the
performance might damage his hearing.
Valdenegro said that during April, 1980, he
entered Duffy s Tavern, at the corner of 13th
Avenue and Alder Street, where the band “Hot
Whacks" was performing Valdenegro alleges
that neither the tavern nor the band warned him of
the “inherent" danger In the suit, Valdenegro
claims that the music was “played with such
intensity as to constitute a danger to patrons."
Valdenegro says that he left the tavern after
experiencing pain and ringing in his ears after
"Hot Whacks" had played two songs The next
day Valdenegro says that he went to a doctor and
learned that he had become partially deaf in both
ears. He also maintains that the incident has
increased his susceptibility of becoming totally
deaf
“All I can say right now is I do have a hearing
loss the reason I didn't do it (file the suit)
earlier was because I didn't realize how much loss
was involved," says Valdenegro.
Currently a student at Lane Community Col
lege, Valdenegro says that he was unemployed at
the time of the alleged incident and that he did not
suffer a job loss But, he says that he feels that he
will be handicapped when he does search for a
job, especially if the job involves telephone com
munication.
Duffy's, which is popular with many Universi
ty students, is under the control of Stephen Nosier
and William Baker, officers of Billsteve Inc. Nosier
and Baker as well as the individual members of
"Hot Whacks” are named as defendants in the
suit. At press time none of the defendants could
be reached for comment.
Trash,
trash
and more
trash...
Somewhere Inside