Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jan 2005
Source: Daily Herald (GA)
Copyright: 2005 The Henry Herald
Contact:  http://www.henryherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3543
Author: Gerry Yandel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

FIGHT CONTINUES AGAINST RISING USE OF METH IN HENRY

When Henry Police Capt. Michael Gaddis was promoted last month to head the 
criminal investigative division, he also became the head of the narcotics 
division.

And, he inherited a the problem of containing and stopping a growing 
scourge in Henry County: methamphetamine.

"Meth is probably our most prevalent drug," Gaddis said. "It appears to be 
the drug of choice in the county."

In fact, methamphetamine use in Henry County, based on amounts of the drug 
seized here, has almost tripled in two years. In 2002, police seized 
methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $357,100; in 2003 they 
seized $714,200 worth of the stuff; and in 2004 the estimated street worth 
of the seizures topped $1 million.

"Within the last year, I been on the Narcotics unit and I have seen an 
increase in methamphetamine with use and sale of it," Gaddis said.

Henry County, fortunately, isn't alone in its fight against meth. The drug 
is at epidemic proportions throughout the state. So much so, that last 
August, Gov. Sonny Perdue convened the Georgia Methamphetamine Summit, to 
help law enforcement agencies come up with effective ways to combine forces 
against the drug.

The meth summit resulted in 25 recommendations on best practices to deal 
with five areas: Public Awareness; Clandestine Lab Response; Pre-cursors 
(cut off access to meth-making ingredients); Drug Endangered Children; 
Statewide Training and Protocols.

"These recommendations will help us put a stop to the harm this drug is 
inflicting on Georgia communities, family and children," he said after the 
recommendations were returned to his office.

The next step is for the recommendations to go before a small state agency 
known as the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The CJCC's primary role 
is to coordinate with all law enforcement agencies, manage federal grant 
money for criminal justice projects and apply for grant money. The agency 
will take the 25 recommendations from the meth summit and translate them 
into a working program that can be easily used and adapted by state law 
enforcement agencies at all levels.

"They will coordinate with the actual criminal justice agency within state 
and local law enforcement to help implement the recommendations," said 
Heather Hedrick, the governor's press secretary.

In the meantime, Gaddis and his narcotics division are fighting the meth 
war the way that they have been: prowling the interstates and relying on 
tipsters who call a special drug tip hotline: (678) 610-6322.

"The K9 unit is back on the interstate trying to cut down on drug 
activity," Gaddis said. "We have a large stretch of interstate here in the 
county."

Gaddis said that his unit hasn't busted a meth lab during his watch, but he 
urged anyone who might suspect they were near one to call the anonymous 
tipster line and let his men check it out.

"[Making it] involves a lot of chemicals that are dangerous, and someone 
who doesn't know what they're doing can easily blow something up," he said. 
"Meth has very distinct odor. If someone constantly smells this odor, but 
doesn't have any idea what it is, and if they think it has the potential 
for being a meth lab, they should call the tip line."

And, although Gaddis welcomes help from the state or other law enforcement 
agencies, he doesn't really need a lot of direction to know what to do.

"Once you work in this business for a while, you become aware of the 
dangers and recommendations that should be met," he said.

The Henry County Anonymous Drug Tip Line is (678) 610-6322. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake