Pubdate: Thu, 14 Apr 2005
Source: Pantagraph, The  (IL)
Copyright: 2005 The Pantagraph
Contact:  http://www.pantagraph.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/643
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

HOT LINE PART OF $25 MILLION PLAN TO COMBAT METH LABS

A statewide hotline to encourage people to report suspected
methamphetamine labs would be just the tip of the iceberg if a House
task force co-chaired by Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, is able to
fulfill its wishes.

The hotline would be operated by Illinois State Police if House Bill
3523 is approved in both chambers and signed by the governor.

This was just one of many suggestions that would cost nearly $25
million, not including $500,000 estimated for the hot line, that the
House Republican Methamphetamine Crisis Task Force came up with after
hearings in 14 cities, including Normal, last summer.

However, Brady has already said the task force will have to prioritize
its ideas because he didn't think the task force would suggest
unfunded mandates on agencies dealing with methamphetamine problems.

The hot line would be one of the less costly ideas the task force came
up with. The most costly would be $10 million to establish a statewide
drug court. Another $5 million is needed for drug task forces; $2
million to train first-responders on what to expect when they confront
someone high on meth; $500,000 to educate judges and prosecutors on
how a drug court should work; $7 million to the state Agriculture
Department to subsidize the cost of dyeing a key meth ingredient,
anhydrous ammonia, so farmers would know immediately if their field
tanks have been tapped; and $400,000 to educate farmers on how to spot
meth labs.

The task force seems convinced that drug courts would pay off in the
long run. Drug courts that were checked in seven states cost from $2
million a year in Missouri and Michigan to as high as $18 million in
California, where the meth "super labs" supposedly operate and ship
the drug out of state.

Drug courts offer rigidly structured treatment programs that may be in
lieu of jail time for offenders. The group thinks people found guilty
should also be responsible for the entire cost of cleaning up their
"lab" sites. In reality, the task force said, the labs usually look
more like a dirty kitchen but are highly volatile and can be set up in
a small room or even a vehicle.

The concern is that meth labs are popping up with increasing frequency
in rural farm areas because the ingredients are so easy to obtain and
because most of the addicts are making their own instead of buying it
from pushers as do users of other drugs.

The task force said methamphetamine is the most highly addictive of
illicit drugs.

Just reading through the task force's 40-page report on its findings
is enough to convince most people something drastic must be done. But
the task force is also being realistic in saying it has to prioritize
its desires. The state's financial woes will probably prohibit the
kind of investment the task force thinks is necessary. Unfortunately,
the most needed thing -- drug courts -- almost requires some of the
additional training costs.

If the Legislature can't find the money to establish a statewide drug-
court system, perhaps it could fund a total of three drug courts in
the north, central and southern portions of the state to determine how
effective they are and whether they can produce long-term savings from
putting people in jail. The 11th Judicial Circuit in Central Illinois
would be an ideal central location for such an experiment.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin