Pubdate: Fri, 17 Dec 2004
Source: Sun Herald (MS)
Copyright: 2004, The Sun Herald
Contact:  http://www.sunherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/432
Author: Robin Fitzgerald, The Sun Herald
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

$162K GRANT WILL FIGHT METH IN HARRISON

GULFPORT - The U.S. Justice Department has awarded the Harrison County
Sheriff's Department $162,321 to combat methamphetamine.

Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. said the grant will pay for training,
equipment, overtime and an aggressive community outreach campaign.

The timing, he said, is critical.

"Our methamphetamine arrests are increasing each year. We've had more
than 100 meth arrests this year," said Payne. "Our last three
officer-involved shootings were meth-related, which shows the extreme
dangers of meth use and manufacturing."

Deputies have training regarding meth, but the grant will pay for more
specific training, Payne said.

The community outreach campaign will warn the public about the dangers
of the illegal synthetic narcotic.

"There is no more important duty that I have than to educate the
public on this extremely hazardous and addictive substance and to keep
it out of the hands of our youth," Payne said.

"At the current trend, meth will overtake cocaine as the 'No. 2' drug
of choice of violators in South Mississippi and statewide."

Marijuana remains the "No. 1" drug of choice, he said.

The grant is from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services,
or COPS. It's the county's first grant targeting meth.
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MAP posted-by: Derek