Pubdate: Tue,  6 Aug 2002
Source: Edmond Sun, The (OK)
Copyright: 2002 The Edmond Sun
Contact:  http://www.edmondsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1591
Author: David Hartman

METH SUMMIT ATTEMPTS TO FIND SOLUTIONS

Two city leaders and an Edmond high school student attended last week a 
methamphetamine summit sponsored by the Oklahoma County District Attorney's 
Office.

City Manager Larry Stevens and Police Chief Dennis Cochran attended the 
all-day event Thursday, which was designed to bring city leaders and law 
enforcement officials together to discuss ways to fight the war on the 
manufacture and abuse of methamphetamines in Oklahoma County, Cochran said 
last week.

Thursday's summit, attended by more than 250 people - all of them working 
in Oklahoma County - was the first of a series of meetings the group will 
have in the next 12 to 18 months, Cochran said.

"I thought it was worthwhile," Cochran said. He said he took home five 
specific ideas from the group he was in on how to help fight 
methamphetamines in Edmond.

Not wanting to reveal secrets to the wrong people, Cochran wouldn't give 
details about the new ideas.

"But what we're going to do may surprise some people," he said.

As a state, Oklahoma leads the nation in the number of clandestine 
methamphetamine labs per capita that are busted every year. Oklahoma County 
is the nation and state's leading county for clandestine meth labs per 
capita, said Nancy Galloway, a program coordinator for the Oklahoma County 
Sheriff's Department.

Galloway and other members of the department conducted a meth lab 
recognition seminar last month at Edmond Church of Christ.

Cochran acknowledged that a methamphetamine problem exists here in Edmond.

"It's worse than I'd like it to be," Cochran said. "But based on our level 
of crime, it's not as bad here as it is in some places in the county."

Cochran said narcotics officers in Edmond have raided about five 
methamphetamine labs in the last year.

"We're being very proactive against the problem," Cochran said.

Tiffany Jordan Hill, a senior at Edmond North High School, was one of only 
three high school students selected to attend the summit.

"It was very interesting," said Hill, a member of the Youth Leadership 
Exchange at North High School.

Hill said representatives from various human service and faith-based 
organizations also attended the summit to share their problems with the 
battle against methamphetamines.

"Lack of funding is a big problem," Hill said of the private-sector groups 
that attended. "And a lack of public information about the extent of the 
dangers of methamphetamines."

Each community has its own unique problems with illegal drugs that may 
require unique solutions.

"There isn't a single problem, and there isn't a single solution," Cochran 
said.

By breaking the summit participants into small groups of five, the group 
was able to identify several drug-related problems, and several potential 
solutions, he said.

One of the reasons the manufacture of methamphetamine is rapidly growing in 
Oklahoma is because a small investment in chemicals and supplies can yield 
a large profit margin in a short time, said Sheriff's Deputy Sheri Wallace.

An initial investment of $50 to $75 can produce enough meth to sell on the 
street for $1,200 to $1,500, Wallace said. And methamphetamine can be 
"cooked" in as little as two hours.

City Manager Stevens said he found the summit beneficial as well.

"I think it (methamphetamine labs) is certainly a growing problem in our 
area," Stevens said.

Battling illegal drugs should be a joint effort by everyone in the 
community, not just the police, Stevens said.

"There's definitely a need for more extensive communication between all the 
groups," Stevens said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens