Pubdate: Mon, 22 Oct 2007
Source: Benton County Daily Record (AR)
Copyright: 2007 Community Publishers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.recordtimes.com/dailyrecord/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1087
Author: Evie Blad

WHAT IS THIS COSTING US?

ROGERS - People respond to the pervasive  methamphetamine problem in
the county for different  reasons.

Some respond to personal stories from former addicts  and from
recovery counselors.

Others feel the tinge of conviction when they see  graphic photos of
rotting teeth and sore-marked skin  typical of the drug's users.

Some respond strongest when the drug problem is  detailed not in use
and enforcement, but in dollars and  cents.

Whether or not Benton County residents know someone who  uses the
drug, the cost of meth is affecting them  indirectly, stretching
public resources and making  private businesses less efficient, said
Megan Cuddy,  coordinator of the Benton County Methamphetamine Task
Force. After presenting more personalized presentations to local
businesses, the group made an effort to show the pervasive economic
impact of meth use, commissioning a 2005 University of Arkansas study.
The numbers woke  people up. " We kind of got to them at a different
angle, " Cuddy said. " I hope that they are taking it  more seriously.
"

The study, constructed through anonymous surveys  distributed to
workers in Benton County -- which did  not include surveys from
Wal-Mart employees --  estimated that meth use costs businesses $ 21
million  each year. The results factored employee turnover,
efficiency and lossprevention efforts related to  employee meth use.

Beyond business, the meth problem saps resources  supported by the
public dime by requiring extra  enforcement efforts from various
law-enforcement  groups.

" Methamphetamine is single-handedly the greatest  catalyst of crime
in Benton County, " County Attorney  Robin Green said.

As a former prosecutor, Green saw meth's influence on  most property
crimes, including forged checks and  breaking and entering. Most of
these crimes are  committed by addicts in search of new ways to obtain
  the substance, she said. The crimes take a significant  amount of
law-enforcement officers' time.

Green supported the Quorum Court's decision to join 16  other counties
in a Pulaski County lawsuit against the  drug companies that make
ephedrine, a major ingredient  in methamphetamine.

While restrictions on certain ingredients have reduced  the number of
meth labs in the county, the drug is  heavily imported from Mexico,
she said. The plaintiffs  in the suit claim that " the amount of
ephedrine which  was being manufactured and sent to Mexico far
exceeded  legitimate medicinal demand" and that the manufacturers
were aware that the excess was likely used in drug  production. In a
period when 224 tons of ephedrine were  shipped to the country, an
estimated 100 tons were  needed for medical reasons, Green said.

The lawsuit seeks to recover county costs associated  with meth use
including, but not limited to, cleaning  up meth labs,
government-provided medical assistance,  family assistance programs,
research, law-enforcement  agencies and the strain on area jails.

" It doesn't cost Benton County anything at all to join  the suit, "
Green said. " If they're successful, we'll  see a portion of the
settlement. "

As part of the legal action, the county will undergo  efforts to
estimate the total public economic impact of  the drug's traffic.

Accountants with the Pulaski County attorney have  visited the county
jail to begin a complete report, but  no estimates have been compiled,
Green said. She hopes  the suit will help quantify the drug's impact
and to  stop the source of the problem.

" We have done and are doing what can be done on the  criminal side in
our judicial system, " she said. "  With this lawsuit, Benton County
is joining the other  named counties in Arkansas in seeking to nip the
source  of methamphetamine production through civil litigation."
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MAP posted-by: Derek