the proposed new National Drugs Authority and for Bermuda by suggesting the name of Dr. Vincent Bridgewater as a member of the interim authority. The PLP very reluctantly agreed to have anything to do with the new Authority and now, we think, is using Dr. Bridgewater as a stick to beat the Government and to damage the Authority.

The PLP is very aware that Dr. Bridgewater is no ordinary self-confessed, recovering addict but is also a former United Bermuda Party Member of Parliament for Paget West. We think the PLP chose to constantly remind the public that a UBP MP became a drug addict by using Dr. Bridgewater and thus nominated him for the interim drugs authority. We do not believe for a moment that the PLP had good intentions in seeking to appoint a recovering addict. It would have had absolutely no problem finding a recovering addict to propose who was not a former UBP MP. We believe the PLP chose Dr. Bridgewater solely to make political points and that demonstrates further the PLP's lack of care for a solution to the drugs problem. We think the PLP might also have wanted to complain a great deal when Dr. Bridgewater was not appointed. Either way, it wanted to make political points rather than reach drug solutions.

We found out over the weekend just how much the leadership of the Progressive Labour Party knows about drugs in Bermuda when PLP Leader Mr. Frederick Wade appeared on ZBM television outside the House of Assembly. Three times during a brief interview Mr. Wade cited Dr. Bridgewater's service on NADA, the National Alcohol and Drug Agency, as good cause for proposing his service on the new Drugs Authority. Dr. Bridgewater never served on NADA.

ZBM compounded the problem because the reporter did not properly question Mr.

Wade on the point, or indicate that Dr. Bridgewater had not served on NADA, thus allowing the public to be misled.

Last week this newspaper was accused on television by Dr. Bridgewater of criticising his proposed appointment to the new Drugs Authority because he is a recovering addict. Nothing could be further from the truth and to make such a claim was to distort the editorial. This newspaper is very well aware that the effective programmes toward recovery are, more often than not, served by people in recovery. There was no intention to imply that this newspaper was opposed to service by recovering addicts and we deeply regret that some people misread the editorial.

This newspaper supports recovery by opposing the PLP turning the Drugs Authority into a political football by using Dr. Bridgewater to beat the Government, thus damaging the Drugs Authority which can best work as a quango above politics. Dr. Bridgewater must bear some blame for this because, as an educated man, he should have spotted the political ploy and refused to be used.

We think the PLP is so desperate to win the next election that it is willing to disrupt the National Drugs Authority in order to claim during the election campaign that the Government has done nothing about drugs, which polls show as the public's number one concern.

First, the Progressive Labour Party refused to join any bi-partisan effort against drugs. It did not cooperate with Dr. David Archibald and his Drug Strategy Team. The refusal to help with the drugs strategy indicated just how narrow the PLP is because it made plain for the Country that the PLP is not prepared to tackle the drug problem, nor prepared to help others combat drugs, unless there is political gain for the PLP.

Then, to cover its blunder, the PLP announced, defensively, that it would produce its own drugs report. It has never presented such a report to the public but we believe that it did produce a report which was so poor that it could not stand public scrutiny.

Since then the PLP has carped about the suggested appointments to the new National Drugs Authority. The PLP began to feel left out of the process and agreed to take part in the appointments to the Authority. We know that it had to be poked, prodded and dragged into submitting names for that Authority.

Then it suggested Dr. Vincent Bridgewater.