Pubdate: Thu, 22 Feb 2007
Source: Havre Daily News (MT)
Copyright: 2007 Havre Daily News
Contact:  http://www.havredailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1247
Author: Elizabeth Doney
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

TRAINER: METH IS THE ENEMY

A strong, perhaps spiritual force is driving the ongoing battle 
against the reappearing drug methamphetamine and its producers.

Armed with experience in highly specialized law enforcement 
divisions, Lamar Associates has brought some heavy artillery to the 
front line with the Methamphetamine Response and Investigation 
Training held at the Great Northern Inn the past three days. The 
training has gathered concerned community members, informed service 
providers, interested educators and trained tribal police officers in 
a united effort to join strength and knowledge together against it's 
enemy, methamphetamine.

It is a reinforcement to the Tri- Agency Safe Trails Task Force that 
has already been taking the drug head on with 43 arrests in the past 
six months according to the force's 2006- 2007 Quarterly Reports for 
July through December. The reports also show the alarming truth that 
meth has become the drug of choice for north-central Montana, with 
over two pounds seized during those months compared to less than a 
gram of cocaine and a pound of marijuana. Still more alarming is the 
fact that of the 43 arrests, 14 were associated with Native American 
Indian Reservations, amounting to approximately one third of the 
uncovered drug activity in the sixcounty and two-reservation region 
that the task force investigates.

With the hopes of building bridges in Montana's tribal communities, 
Lamar Associates have joined Montana's war on meth. According to 
Lamar's director of the Training Division, Steven K. Juneau, this 
seminar is a tool that taught participants how to promote 
collaboration, problem solving and strategic planning. It's ultimate 
goal is to aid in the fight of manufacture, sale and distribution of 
methamphetamine.

Some of the artillery that was presented at the seminar was the 
overview of the drug, signs of use, various drug paraphernalia, how 
to spot "Beavis and Butthead" meth lab supplies and the extraction 
process. Also held during the training was an introduction to a 
strong Intranet database that can be purchased and customized for 
coalition efforts with the ability to host as a personalized domain 
name on the Web. Designed to assist communities by sharing meth 
intelligence data, coalition announcements, links and grant 
information, the data base comes equipped with valuable features such 
as survey polls, discussion forums and an e-mail manager.

But perhaps the most effective weapon of the presentation was the 
message brought by a former drug dealer from one of the native 
communities. The woman dealer talked about being busted, convicted, 
jailed in federal prison, bitter and yet, with the help of the 
Creator, coming to terms with her history.

"I thought my life was over, but I have rebuilt my spirit and come 
home to help other people who are in the same predicament that I was 
in," the anonymous drug dealer said.

This woman, armed with, courage and strength, now has a drive to help 
people involved in drugs and she helps future drug investigations by 
answering questions that hold valuable insight into a dealer's secret 
life. What this particular dealer discovered about drugs was that 
money was the most addictive substance in her life, which is becoming 
all too common in poverty stricken communities.

With many individuals now armed with knowledge and a desire to 
overcome the devastation of meth before it's too late, the trainer 
concluded the general session of the training with these words: "Meth 
is not knocking on the door -- it's kicked the door down," Juneau 
said. "But there is no doubt in my mind that, together, we can find a solution."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman