The National Drug Commission (NDC) was created by the National Drug Commission Act 1993 and became operative in January 1994. A government quango or quasi automomous non-government organisation, it is run by an 11-person board, seven of which are appointed by the governor including the chairman and deputy chairman. On appointing members of the board, the Governor acts on the advice of the Premier, who is required to consult with the opposition leader before giving his recommendations, according to chairman of the NDC Mr. Mansfield H.

Brock, Jr. The establishment of the NDC was based on the advice of Canadian Dr. David Archibald, who in October 1991 recommended the creation of a national authority that would be independent of politics and therefore, out of the hand of government, he said. Dr. Archibald proposed that this national organisation would have responsibility for coordinating and evaluating the various programmes organised in the areas of education, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, information and research, enforcement and control, and international coopertion. Section 5 of the National Drug Commission Act, therefore, states that the Commission must be active in the following functions with respect to alcohol and drug abuse: prevention; treatment and rehabilitation; education -- particularly for young people; training assistance for people who wish to study matters relating to drug abuse; conferences, seminars and meetings related to drug abuse; information systems, data bases and facilities on policies, programmes and research on drug abuse; the establishement and operation of treatment centres; and knowledge of the availability and supply of drugs in Bermuda likely to be abused. Said Mr.

Brock: "It is very clear from the Act that Parliament's intent was to create a body which has the power, the authority, the resources and the mandate to take action to solve the Island's alcohol and drug problem. "This is in sharp contrast to NADA (National Alcohol and Drug Agency), which was purely an advisory body.'' Chief executive officer Mrs. Eugenie Simmons said the NDC provides the Ministry of Human Affairs & Information as well as the Ministry of Health & Social Services with advice and recommendations in regards to drug treatment, education and prevention. "The ultimate decision-making lies with the Ministries involved,'' she said. "But we provide support. For instance, we would conduct research on a particular issue and then make recommendations based on our findings.'' The NDC works with other organisations in a coordinating manner. It is not the role of the NDC to recreate, said Mrs.

Simmons. "If a service exists, we'll work with and support it, and we'll try Efforts to reduce and prevent substance abuse must involve whole community take action to try and solve the Island's drug problem,'' added Mrs. Simmons.

Mr. Brock reminds us of Dr. Archibald's admonition that any effort to reduce and prevent substance abuse must involve the whole community. "Above all else,'' he stated, "the strong will and determination of all Bermudians will be required. When Bermudians as a whole -- all races -- all political persuasions -- all socio-economic groups -- realise that they are dealing with a problem that is national in scope and say with their collective voices, `we've had enough -- we're going to beat this problem,' then and only then will the problem be brought under control.'' Mr. Brock said the NDC is attempting to persuade the entire community to become involved in tackling the drug problem. "We have written to all of our churches and other sectors of the religious community, all of our parent-teacher associations, all of our unions and employer organisations, all three political parties, every member of the House of Assembly and Senate as well as all of our sports clubs and other sporting bodies,'' said Mr. Brock. And the NDC has since formed alliances including Work Against Drugs, Sports Against Drugs, Churches Against Drugs and Parents Against Drugs to help eliminate substance abuse in Bermuda.

"Our overall strategy is both supply reduction and demand reduction,'' said Mr. Brock, noting that as long as there is demand, there will be supply.

"This means increased efforts in the areas of education, prevention and treatment,'' he said. The NDC has recently been working with the Chamber of Commerce, Bermuda Employers Council, the BIU, the Bermuda Public Services Association, the Prison Officers Association, the Fire Services Association, the Employee Assistance Programme, Benedict Associates, the Bermuda Union of Teachers, the hotels and other agencies to develop workplace drug policies, said Mrs. Simmons. As a result of these efforts, a report outlining the approaches and necessary steps for establishing policies has been created, she said. The NDC's executive Committee, which includes the Treatment Committee, Public Education Committee, Education of Young People Committee, Supply and Control Committee, Prevention Committee and Treatment Regulation & Certification Committee, has made recommendations pertaining to their area of expertise in order to establish a master drug plan, said Mrs. Simmons. "It will be published in the Royal Gazette on October 27,'' she noted, adding that the plan outlines 27 initiatives that will be developed by the National Drug Commission. The NDC has also recently worked with Addiction Services in the restructuring of their programme. In addition, the commission conducted a school survey last year as well as an adult population survey earlier this year. Said Mrs. Simmons: "Surveys are necessary because we need to know how many people are taking drugs, how many addicts we are dealing with, the relationship between drug abuse and disease, what it's costing the country, etc. And until we understand this, we can't get people to take action,'' she said. Mr. Brock said the dimensions of the drug problem -- it's prevalence, rate of growth, severity and trends - must be known in order to contain it.

And such information can only be obtained by means of a statistically reliable survey of the adult population. The results of the survey will be available later this month, he noted. Another area of the NDC's concern is that of research, said Mr. Brock. "We need to find the answers to many questions. Why are so many Bermudians taking drugs? What are the factors in our homes, in our schools, in our culture and in our environment generally which foster alcohol and drug use by our children?'' Finding preventative strategies will require the combined efforts of the entire community, said Mr. Brock. "The problem cannot be solved by the government, the NDC or by The Council Partners. The abuse of drugs and the crime and violence that accompanies it is probably the biggest problem Bermuda has ever faced,'' said Mr. Brock. "We need everybody's help if we are to achieve any success in solving this problem.'' national drug strategy for Bermuda.

NDC CHAIRMAN -- Mr. Mansfield H. Brock, Jr.