By Greg Munno

Dr. Eugene Tinelli, a former Navy commander, is a staff psychiatrist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center's Chemical Dependency Clinic in Syracuse.

His resume should make Tinelli a shoo-in for appointment to the 45-member Syracuse-Onondaga Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission, right?

Perhaps, if it weren't for another item on his resume: He's a prominent member of ReconsiDer, a Syracuse-based drug policy group that, among other things, advocates for the legalization of some drugs.

The Onondaga County Legislature's Health Committee unanimously approved Tinelli and another ReconsiDer member, Nicholas Eyle, to serve on the commission.

They were two of four people nominated to fill four openings on the commission. All four names were submitted by Legislator William Kinne, D-Syracuse, the only lawmaker who responded to a months-old request for nominees.

Then, a few hours before the full legislature's May meeting, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney John Duncan alerted legislative Chairman William Sanford of Tinelli's and Eyle's pro-legalization stance. Sanford quickly pulled the resolution from the agenda that would have made Tinelli's and Eyle's appointment official.

Legislators have since made nearly a dozen nominations. The Health Committee will make new endorsements at its meeting June 13.

Tinelli's and Eyle's chances for appointment now appear slim. But the question remains: Should a political point of view bar someone from public service?

"Absolutely," said Legislator Thomas Smith, R-Clay, who chairs the legislature's Health Committee and who serves on the commission.

Smith said he and other Health Committee members were unaware of Tinelli's and Eyle's affiliation, although the two had clearly stated their membership on the resumes presented to the committee.

"This is a community with traditional values," Smith said. "Part of a legislator's job is to appoint people who reflect those values."

Duncan also said he believes the stances of the two ReconsiDer members should disqualify them.

"It's a point of view that's antithetical to the commission's purpose of eradicating drug abuse in this community," said Duncan, the commission's chairman. "The commission has been consistent in not promoting policies that promote legalization. If someone wants to promote legalization, there are other places for them to do it.

"This is not my decision. It's the legislature's," Duncan added. "But I want to make sure that all the people who want to serve on the commission get consideration and that legislators are fully informed about who they are voting for."

But Tinelli and Eyle say they share the commission's goal of fighting drug abuse. They just don't always like the way the commission goes about it.

"Of course," Tinelli said, "abstinence is the best way to avoid a lot of things, such as pregnancy and drug abuse, but for many youth in the community, it's not reality. Some kids will experiment. A campaign that preaches abstinence becomes moot to these kids, who, in fact, are the very kids who are most at risk for becoming abusers."

Tinelli also objects to the current slant of drug education, which teaches that drugs have no redeeming value, a claim teen-agers view with a skepticism that turns into curiosity.

"One of the questions I ask patients is, 'What good things does your drug of choice do for you?' " Tinelli said. "That way, we explore other, less harmful means for a patient to receive that benefit."

Eyle points to ReconsiDer's position on tobacco sales as a way of explaining their legalization stance.

"We are not a bunch of potheads," Eyle said. "ReconsiDer is a serious, legitimate group that both the state and federal governments recognize as a nonprofit educational institution. Look, for instance, at our proposed legislation that would prevent cigarette sales in any place other than a liquor store, pub or other age-restricted establishment."

"I'm a smoker, and it would inconvenience me, but I would accept it as a necessary inconvenience needed to protect our youth" he continued. "We don't want to see minors have access to drugs. As a result, we recognize that drugs are there and that effective regulation is essential. The goal should be to reduce the harm drugs cause, not to eradicate drugs. The war on drugs has been a disaster for this country."

He questioned how a 45-member group didn't have room for two divergent viewpoints.

"What are they afraid of?" Eyle asked.

New commission member Bryan Hedges, an Onondaga County Family Court judge, agrees that the commission can afford to have a diverse membership.

"If I were a prosecutor like John Duncan, who I have a lot of respect for, I might agree that (Eyle's and Tinelli's) membership would be counterproductive," Hedges said. "But as a judge, I want to keep an open mind. And it must be said that no one seems to have the answer to the drug epidemic. So we can't afford to turn away new, and possibly better, ideas."

But Duncan isn't the only drug commission member against Eyle and Tinelli joining.

"As a commission, we are committed to certain activities, such as an aggressive advertising campaign against drug use," said commission member David Morton, director of social studies, fine arts and health at the North Syracuse school district. "Those activities take effort, and we need members who will put in that effort. Members who would question the merit of the whole process might be a distraction."

Kinne, the legislator who put the names forward, said that's absurd.

"What good does a 45-member commission do if they are all robots who do nothing but tout the party line?" Kinne asked. Kinne criticized Duncan for interfering with the legislature's vote and Sanford for delaying the vote.

"This absolutely stifles the democratic process," Kinne said. "Why should being the member of a group disqualify them? These people aren't criminals. They are thoughtful citizens of this community. In fact, from what I understand, Duncan and Tinelli share the same goals. They merely have different approaches."

The drug commission has been in existence in several forms since about 1970. Its most vibrant period, according to Duncan, was the early 1990s when it received the bulk of its money from the federal government. It now is mostly financed through federal, state and private foundation grants.

According to a recent grant application, the group has five goals: "promote awareness of the dangers caused by alcohol and drug abuse"; "act as a facilitator to support current, as well as develop future, prevention programs"; "evaluate, assess and report" the level of drug abuse in the community; "secure further resources for prevention"; and "catalyze an effective response ... to alcohol and drug use problems."

Sunday, June 4, 2000