Drug abuse and the drugs themselves evolve while police and other officials — including parents – struggle to keep in the know, said Detective Joe Leroux of the Ottawa County Drug-Free Collaborative and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department. Street Smart: Ohio, a program being held to give the public, especially parents and those who deal with youngsters, an inside look at drugs and how they’re being used or concealed by youngsters and their friends.

Street Smart: Ohio will be held Tuesday, April 20 at Port Clinton (1-4 p.m.) and Oak Harbor (6-9 p.m.) high school auditoriums. It is a free program. To sign up for either of the Street Smart sessions at Port Clinton or Oak Harbor, register at https://forms.gle/zf3bdvDnhhuSnAFU6.

For more information, contact Leroux (419-734-6843) or Margaret Osborne of the Ottawa County Family & Children First Council at 567-262-3651.

“The program is a collaborative effort between DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and the sheriff’s Special Investigations Unit,” said Leroux. “It involves members of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department working collaboratively with other agencies and community organizations to build better relationships and educate the public.”

Featured will be Captain Shawn Bain, who retired after serving over 29 years with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Columbus. Captain Bain’s expertise in law enforcement lies within drug investigations.

He has served as the lead undercover detective or supervisor on over 3,000 undercover drug buys and participated in over 1,000 drug search warrants both at the local and federal levels.

He has found his passion the last 14 years in drug education. With the experience he gained while interviewing or interrogating thousands of drug traffickers and drug abusers, he has come to the realization that enforcement of drug crimes is not the solution to the drug epidemic

plaguing our country today. Instead, the answer lies with education to change the culture of drug abuse in our society.

Also on stage will be Sgt. Michael N. Powell, a veteran with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Sgt. Powell continues to conduct drug training throughout Ohio and the United States.

He has participated in over 6,000 counts of drug trafficking and executed over 1500 federal and local search warrants.

On the Street Smart agenda on April 20 will be: Concealment, Alcohol, Marijuana/Cannabis Concentrates, Prescription Medication, Heroin, Fentanyl/Fentanyl Analogs, Cocaine/Crack/Psychostimulants, and Methamphetamine.