Pubdate: Sun, 29 Sep 2002 Source: Daily Ardmoreite, The (OK) Copyright: 2002 Daily Ardmoreite Contact: http://ardmoreite.com/stText/sendLetter.html Website: http://www.ardmoreite.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1574 Author: Ron Jenkins, Associated Press Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) OKLAHOMA FUNDS NEW FOCUS ON METHAMPHETAMINE WAR OKLAHOMA CITY -- Police agencies in six Oklahoma counties will get an infusion of cash to fight drug traffickers, particularly people operating methamphetamine labs. The six counties -- Oklahoma, Tulsa, Cleveland, Comanche, Muskogee and Sequoyah -- will get an extra $250,000 a year because they have been identified as areas where drugs are being produced that are sent to other areas of the country, Rep. Ernest Istook said in a news conference Friday. Bob Survec of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Oklahoma City said Oklahoma currently ranks in the top four among the 50 states in the seizure of methamphetamine labs. A state study of 1999 figures shows total meth use in the state is 42 percent higher than the national average and 80 percent higher among Oklahomans ages 26 to 34. All six of the counties, designated as High Intensity Drug-Trafficking Areas, are in metropolitan areas, except Sequoyah County, which is located in eastern Oklahoma on the Arkansas border. "Meth labs and meth are major problems in Oklahoma, and it's expensive to combat them," Istook said. "This HIDTA designation gives Oklahoma significant new help to fight meth and other illegal drugs." Istook is chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees more than $2 billion in federal anti-drug spending. The HIDTA designation authorizes Oklahoma law enforcement to receive federal reimbursement for such expenses as overtime for drug investigations, leasing costs for vehicles, travel and payments for evidence and information. The designation is also intended to increase coordination between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager