Pot times
Meth Problem Stretching Budgets Thin, Sheriffs Say
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1094/a02.htmlNewshawk: Beth
Pubdate: Wed, 06 Jul 2005 METH PROBLEM STRETCHING BUDGETS THIN, SHERIFFS SAY
Source: Charleston Gazette (WV)
Copyright: 2005 Charleston Gazette
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Author: Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm
(Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm
(Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Mark+Souder
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm
(Youth)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The crippling reach of methamphetamine abuse has become
the leading drug problem affecting local law enforcement agencies, according to
a survey of 500 sheriff's departments in 45 states.
About 90 percent of the sheriffs interviewed for a National Association of
Counties survey released Tuesday reported increases in meth-related arrests in
their counties over the last three years, and more than half of those
interviewed said they considered meth the most serious problem their department
faces.
Meth-related arrests have packed jails in the Midwest and elsewhere and swamped
other county-level agencies, which face additional work, such as caring for
children whose parents have become addicted and cleaning up toxic chemicals left
behind by meth cookers. The regions the report cites as having the
greatest increase in meth arrests over the last five years include the upper
Midwest, the Southwest and Northwest.
States which reported a doubling of meth arrests over the last five years
include Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah,
Washington and Wyoming. States reporting similar increases in the last
three years were Georgia, Kentucky, South Dakota, Iowa and Mississippi.
Sheriff Keith Cain in Daviess County, Ky., which leads the state in meth
arrests, said that meth has pulled his department away from fighting other
crimes.
"The other crime not only doesn't go away, but it worsens because it's not
being dealt with," Cain said.
A component of the survey examining meth's effect on children found that 40
percent of child welfare officials in 13 states where welfare is a county
responsibility said they had removed more children from homes because of meth.
Members in Congress, who have heard countless stories about meth's hold on
communities in their states, have become increasingly vocal about the problem
and have accused the federal government of moving too slow in addressing it.
"It ain't just in Kansas anymore," said Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind.
"The whole country is screaming. The entire nation is yelling.
At what point does Washington respond?"
"We're finding out that this is bigger problem than we thought," said
Larry Naake, executive director of the association. "Folks at the
state and federal level need to know about this."
The report comes soon after the White House Office of National Drug Control
Policy restated its stance that marijuana remains the nation's most substantial
drug problem. Federal estimates show there are 15 million marijuana users
compared to the 1 million who might use meth.
Dave Murray, a policy analyst for the White House, said he understood that the
meth problem moving through the nation was serious and substantial. But he
disagreed that it had reached the state of an epidemic.
"This thing is burning, and because it's burning, we're going to put it
out," he said. "But we can't turn our back on other
threats."
While most in law enforcement recognize marijuana as a problem, those costs are
far outweighed by those from jailing inmates on meth charges, cleaning up
makeshift labs and caring for the children left behind when addicted parents are
sent to prison or treatment, said Sheriff Jon Marvel of western Indiana's Vigo
County.
Marvel estimates that 80 percent of the inmates in his county's jail in Terre
Haute are held on meth-related charges. He also points to an operating
budget that has risen from $800,000 in 1999 to about $3.4 million last year as
the best way to illustrate the stranglehold meth has on the county's resources.
"I want it stopped and I want it stopped now, and there is no way that's
going to happen," Marvel said.
