7/27/2019 No on 91 Press Release - 9-5-14
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No on 91 response to Blumenauer's wreckless accusations
9/5/14 (Redmond, OR) -- "I was shocked and hurt." That's how
Mandi Puckett, who has dedicated
most of her life to helping people avoid dangerous drugs like
alcohol, marijuana, meth, & Rx drugs,
reacted upon learning a member of Congress had singled her out
during a press conference.
For the last twelve years Puckett, a wife and working mother of
three kids, has been employed as a substance
abuse prevention coordinator in tiny Madras, OR and coordinating
ongoing educational events for over ten years."My job was to help
apply for State and Federal grants and work with the local
coalition to use that money to
educate people about the dangers of using addictive substances."
Puckett said. Prevention education efforts, like
the Madras Summit, are often a required component of grant
applications.
Regardless if drugs are legal or not, they can be dangerous and
addictive. One of the primary duties of a
prevention coordinator is to provide evidence-based prevention
education to the public. I am saddened to see my
former employer, other coordinators and coalitions across the
state bullied by a pro-marijuana politician simply
for doing the job we were funded and approved to do,Puckett
said.
On August 21st, Puckett took a leave of absence from her
substance abuse prevention job to work on the No on 91
campaign. "She came highly recommended and we recruited her,"
said Darrell Fuller, General Manager of Oregon
State Sheriffs' Association. "We were lucky to get someone of
her caliber. Now a politician is dragging this womanthrough the mud
for political gain. It's disappointing. Is it any wonder people
have a low opinion of Congress?"
This educational summit in Madras, the accompanying tour of
Oregon cities, including the timing of the events, has
been in planning stages for nearly two years (Fall of 2012 to
Spring of 2014 to be exact), long before Measure 91
was on the ballot. In addition, the Summit and Tour went through
a number of approval steps with the state during
the past Spring and was granted final approval in writing from
the Oregon Health Authority by Summer. The
events, dates, speakers and funding were approved and all legal
guidelines were met. Laterwhen it was
announced the measure would be on the November ballot, we took
extra steps to include in our work plan and
advise presenters to not speak about the ballot measure. Our
goal was to educate, not lobby," said Puckett.
The Summit and Tour is part of an ongoing effort to provide
public education outreach. State legislators, even
members of Congress, have attended educational and prevention
events in Madras. TheMarijuana, Drugs andAlcohol Prevention Summits
are not a new educational program, and it is not a program that was
developed in
response to the ballot measure. These summits have been held
over the years to help educate about the harm that
marijuana, drugs and alcohol can have on youth. I went to one or
two in Jefferson County a couple of years ago,
long before a ballot measure proposing to legalize recreational
marijuana was created. It is sad to me that anybody
would politicize a prevention program focused on keeping our
youth away from addictive substances,said State
Representative John Huffman (The Dalles).
Puckett now has no direct role in the summit, but she has been
told there are communities insisting on raising
private funds to educate the public to replace monies which had
previously been approved to use.
"I am happy to answer questions about the work I have done over
the last decade. I am proud of our efforts to have
worked together as prevention coordinators. If I have helped
prevent one youth from experimenting with drugs, Iknow Ivemade a
positive difference.Puckett remarked.
"I am just a working mom who cares about kids. It's intimidating
that a US congressman has singled me out and is
using his position to make hurtful and unfounded accusations
about me and others," Puckett said. "Apparently
making the headlines is more important to some politicians than
getting the facts. As a native of Central Oregon, I
am not used to Washington, DC-style mudslinging and I am very
disappointed by these efforts to smear my good
name, and the good name of others, for political gain," she
concluded.
No on 91 PAC PO Box 13141 Salem OR 97309-1141
[email protected] 971-218-3558
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]
