Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 12, 1991 TAG: 9103120454
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: BEN BEAGLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Wilder spoke at the the dedication of the renovated Alcohol and Drug Detoxification and Rehabilitation Center, operated by Mental Health Services of the Roanoke Valley.
He said 44 percent of the students surveyed admitted using drugs or alcohol.
Wilder said that when he was a young chemist just out college, he specialized in toxicology and saw what alcohol did to adults who used it to escape the drudgery and sameness of their lives.
Wilder told a large crowd that the center on Shenandoah Avenue Northwest will continue to "serve as a beacon and a pilot light [for those] who have slipped off the pages of the book temporarily."
The center first opened in 1974 in what had been a hardware store and lumber yard. It has accepted more than 13,400 admissions since its opening.
Earlier Monday in Charlottesville, Wilder said he would keep asking for legislation that would take away for six months the driver's license of a casual drug user.
"It is imperative for the casual user to be pursued and brought to justice with the same vigor and determination devoted to the elimination of a pusher or hardened addict," the governor said.
Speaking at a drug education conference, Wilder said the "ranks of the enemy are not limited to the pusher or hardened street addicts."
Wilder had wanted the law this year, but it died when the House of Delegates refused to go along with Senate amendments attached to the bill.
These unlikely amendments were proposed by State Sen. Dudley Emick, D-Fincastle, who opposes revocation of driver's licenses for offenses unrelated to driving.
The Emick amendments would have expanded the law to include Richmond murderers, bad-check writers in country stores and legislators with the highest travel expenses.
The state already has a similar law that applies to Virginians under 18.
Wilder ended the day in Roanoke at a once-postponed reception at the Sheraton Airport Inn.
About 350 Democrats from the 6th and 5th Congressional Districts showed up. Proceeds from the $10 tickets will go to the 5th and 6th Democratic committees.
The Associated Press contributed some information for this story.
by CNB