Pubdate: Fri, 09 Sep 2005
Source: Daily Sentinel, The (Grand Junction, CO)
Copyright: 2005 Cox Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.gjsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2084
Author: Kristen Senz
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

BEATING METH PROBLEM BEGINS WITH CITIZENS' AWARENESS

Matchbooks with the striker plates scraped off? Cat litter containers with 
tubing attached? Empty Sudafed packages? Just walk away, and then call the 
Drug Task Force.

That was the message of Lt. Tim Grimsby's presentation Thursday in front of 
an audience of about 75 people who attended the Methamphetamine Task Force 
meeting. Those items, as well as mass quantities of iodine, lye and various 
solvents, are main ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine, and 
they're good clues that a toxic lab is nearby, Grimsby said.

Grimsby addressed the group of agency representatives and private citizens 
as part of a push to increase public awareness about meth, the illegal 
stimulant that creates a long-lasting high, but leaves ruined lives and 
abandoned children in its wake.

The Meth Task Force, a group made up of representatives from the law 
enforcement, rehabilitation, political and public arenas, meets every month 
to study and discuss the impact of methamphetamine on the local community.

Grimsby said there probably are about 60 methamphetamine labs in Mesa 
County, compared with more than 2,000 on the Front Range. Still, the 
prevalence of the drug is increasing in Mesa County, and the solution to 
the problem starts with citizen awareness, he said.

"We will never beat this problem with law enforcement," Grimsby said, 
"because on that end, all we're doing is reacting."

The Meth Task Force is in the process of finalizing a study that aims to 
determine what kinds of services are needed to combat the problem locally, 
Mesa County Commissioner Janet Rowland said. The study includes interviews 
with inmates, a review of coroner's reports and analyses of the impact the 
drug has had on the Mesa County Department of Human Services and the local 
school district.

The Meth Task Force also is exploring the possibility of setting up a 
statewide task force and passing related legislation, Rowland said.

"It's an issue the commissioners are prioritizing in our budget this year," 
she said.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman