Pubdate: Tue, 06 Aug 2002 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2002 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 Author: John Mcdonald DEA CHIEF PRAISES LOCAL LAW AGENCIES FOR COOPERATIVE EFFORTS Traditionally competing factions are a model for the nation as they work together to battle narcotics, Hutchinson says. SANTA ANA -- The rest of the nation could learn a lot from the Orange County Methamphetamine Task Force, which unites traditionally competing factions such as law enforcement, education and drug treatment into a united front against drug abuse, Drug Enforcement Administration Director Asa Hutchinson said Monday. "We at the DEA are very good at bringing down criminal organizations, but if the demand is still there, a new organization will be on the same street corner (selling drugs) three weeks later," Hutchinson said at a town hall meeting set up by the task force and Chapman Medical Center. "You can't just take down the criminal organization, but you have to change the community. What you have here should be an example for the nation," Hutchinson said. He said that in most communities nationwide, law enforcement, educators and treatment institutions operate with little coordination, as compared with Orange County. In Orange County, teams composed of police, probation, the courts, schools and treatment facilities join forces to address the problem and to design recovery programs for individuals. "In Orange County, they have common goals rather than turf battles," Hutchinson said. "One example is in the dealing with children who are exposed to drugs through their parents. The enforcement and social service agencies and the courts have a quick intervention program to protect those children and get them out of that environment until it is safe for them to return." Max Schneider, a physician from Orange who lectures around the country on drug abuse, said no precise statistics are available, but 10 percent to 15 percent of the population of Orange County could be addicted to drugs or alcohol. That would amount to about 290,000 people or more. The figure is based on observations in dealing with addicts in Orange County since 1953, he said. He added that the number of people who experiment with drugs would be even higher. "We have a great shortage of treatment facilities for the indigent," in the county, he said. "We currently have two beds for indigents in need of medical detox. We could use 100." Schneider said that the change in attitude by the DEA, brought on by Hutchinson, is "like a breath of fresh air." He said prior DEA chiefs had collared all political support to fund enforcement, and little was left for education or treatment. Hutchinson said after his talk that what he admired most about the Orange County effort is that "they are cooperating and working together." "We are all on the same team," he said. He said President George W. Bush has given unprecedented support to funding education and treatment, along with enforcement, as part of the war on drugs. Among those who spoke to the group were three young recovering addicts. "You have to put people in treatment to give them a chance to get clean," said Danielle, 18, who declined to give her last name. She said she became an addict while attending junior high school in Westminster. "My boyfriend went to jail twice, and when he got out, we celebrated by getting off. Jail doesn't help." Orange County Judge Wendy Lindley told the group that 13 percent of defendants who go through the county's drug courts fail to complete the program. But, she said: "We have the threat of jail to hold over them" as an incentive to obtain treatment. Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters urged even more cooperation. While the FBI is focusing on the war against terrorism, "Southern California is the gateway to all of the types of drugs found in America," he said. Crime and drug use have declined in the past 20 years in Santa Ana, but the fight is far from over, he said. "We have to be more proactive and preventive. We have to be more efficient," Walters said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth