drugs.

Politicians, anti-drugs campaigners, religious leaders and members of the public linked hands at the Moment of Consciousness held at Hamilton's City Hall.

A crowd of around 300 people -- from pre-school children to pensioners -- turned out to mark the Moment.

And some were close to tears as they heard reformed drug addicts Dennis Steede and Richard Lewis urge children and teenagers to say no to drugs.

The crowd listened in shocked silence as Mr. Steede said: "I know what I'm talking about -- I have been in the war and I have been in the battlefield.

"I know what it is to struggle every day against drugs and I know what it is to go home and see my wife and children cry because I have deprived them due to drugs.'' Mr. Lewis said there was a need for after-care and follow-up support for addicts battling to beat the habit.

He added that former drug users also had a role to play.

He said: "We need to show love to people who are making an effort. The more people who get clean, the more people we'll have to help others to get clean.'' The band of Warwick Academy played the inspirational One Moment in Time, originally recorded by Whitney Houston and used as the theme tune for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

They followed up with a selection of show-stopping tunes from the Andrew Lloyd Webber smash-hit musical Cats.

John Duncan sang The Moment, written specially for the occasion, while Lois Stafford recited her own poem, Just Say No to Drugs.

Gina Spence-Bean starred in a short play called The Lady, which recorded the break-up of a marriage due to the husband's `love affair' with cocaine.

Buildings around City Hall displayed banners supporting the anti-drugs movement and youngsters waved flags declaring war on drugs.

Staff in Church Street law firm Mello, Hollis, Jones and Martin unfurled a 30-foot-long banner which reached from the top of their office building to the bottom to show their support for the campaign.

And thousands of ribbons -- each one representing one of the 32,000 people who pledged support to the Moment of Consciousness -- made a bright splash of colour behind the platform speakers.

Elsewhere, pupils at Dellwood Primary School sang a special Just Say No song and listened to anti-drugs speeches. The school will also join in today's Moment of Consciousness march and rally at the National Stadium.

Staff at Marriott's Castle Harbour Resort in Tucker's Town celebrated the new anti-drugs initiative with a talk from anti-drugs workers, including a member of the National Drug Commission, and two recovering drug addicts, one currently serving a jail sentence at Westgate. Self-help leaflets have also been made available to resort staff.

Hotel spokeswoman Lorrita Tucker-Simmons said: "It was a wonderful experience -- very emotional and inspirational. The staff thoroughly enjoyed it.'' At the Hamilton Princess Hotel, staff formed a giant P in the hotel grounds to show support for the Moment of Consciousness.

Premier the Hon. David Saul asked the crowd at City Hall to take a symbolic step forward to show their support for the battle against drug abuse.

He said: "This is a remarkable day. Indeed, it's a remarkable crowd out there in front of me.

"How in the world can we say that the children of today are not the same as children used to be. I think they are a heck of a lot better than they used to be and they are well worth fighting for.

"Looking at the little children below me, how can we even think of failure?'' Dr. Saul added that Bermuda was ideally placed to be the first country in the world to cut its drug problem to a minimum because of its size and geographic isolation.

He said: "This is a turning point and Bermuda's finest moment. Why can't we become the first country in the world to have licked the drugs problem? "Bermuda is the kind of place where everybody knows everyone else and we can take the lead. Why can't we be the first?'' Dr. Saul was backed by the Leader of the Opposition, Frederick Wade MP, who had earlier held hands with the Premier to show cross-party support for the Moment of Consciousness.

One of the speakers, Arthur Andrews, a former New York cop turned motivational expert, told parents: "Sit down with your children and educate them.'' He added: "It's not what's happening to Bermuda that counts, but how you are going to react to what's happening to Bermuda.'' STRONG MESSAGE -- Elizabeth Richardson and Preston Scott, who appeared in The Lady, which graphically underlined the effects of drug abuse on a marriage.