Costa Mesa : Group to Begin Lobbying Against Alcohol Abuse

A new Orange County-based group contends that a quiet, but potentially powerful lobbying force could form if recovering drug and alcohol abusers organized.

“We think they’re there,” said Ken Estes, acting director of Americans for Substance Abuse Prevention, or ASAP. “We think it’s one of those things where people say, ‘Sure, I’m concerned about alcohol and drug abuse.’ But nobody does anything except MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers), which does a very good job with the drunk-driving issue. But we think it’s bigger than that.”

ASAP, for instance, is part of a national effort to ban beer and wine advertising on radio and television and is urging lawmakers to impose a national minimum drinking age of 21, along with new laws regarding drug abuse.

Not all of the ASAP members are recovering alcoholics or former drug users. But those with histories of addiction make up the bulk of the membership, Estes said.

The group claims a national membership of 10,000 and boasts a roster of well-known advisers, including Joseph A. Califano Jr., former U.S. secretary of Health, Education and Welfare; former Sen. Herman E. Talmadge, former Rep. Wilbur Mills, columnist Abigail Van Buren, heart specialist Dr. Michael E. DeBakey and entertainer Pat Boone, along with experts on alcohol and drug abuse.

The national advisers plan the group’s strategy for legislative reform regarding alcohol and drug issues. Eventually, though, the focus will shift to local chapters, which will do the same on the local and state levels.

The group’s first chapter formed this fall in Cincinnati. Its second will meet for the first time in Costa Mesa on Tuesday.

Chapters also are forming in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

“We figured we should start making our voice heard on these issues,” Estes said. “But no one lead group was taking the lead to organize these people.”