SHERIFF CALLS FOR COUNTY SUMMIT ON METH CRISIS

BELLEVUE -- Snohomish County is struggling with severe problems from
methamphetamine abuse and the dangers associated with making it, but there
remains mostly benign perceptions about the meth trade, say county law
enforcement officials.

"We have to create a sense of urgency in our county," Snohomish County
Sheriff Rick Bart said. "We really don't have it."

To draw attention to the problem, Bart said Tuesday he plans to invite law
enforcement and others from across the county to be a part of a Snohomish
County meth summit.

Inspiration for the county summit was gained Monday and Tuesday at a
statewide meth summit in Bellevue.

About a dozen county representatives joined Bart in agreeing the county
needs its own summit to address the burgeoning and costly meth problem,
with clandestine laboratories turning up all over the county.

"It's wide in scope in that people are so transient in how they produce
this," Lynnwood Police Chief Steve Jensen said. "It's manufactured in cars,
motels, homes. It carries on for years because of the contamination. And
many of those involved with methamphetamine are also involved in many other
crimes -- fraud, forgery or car thefts."

Cities and counties across the nation are struggling with the meth epidemic
and have to attack it from an organized and systematic approach, said James
Copple, vice president and chief operating officer of the National Crime
Prevention Council.

Washington state is ranked second in the nation in the number of meth labs
investigated last year, exceeded only by California.

The focus of a county meth summit will be to explore the extent of the
problem and develop a master plan to combat it, bringing people from all
segments of the county with their own ideas and expertise to map out the
battle strategy. Those range from real estate agents to unions, service
organizations to schools.

All government agencies face the same problem: tight budgets that aren't
growing with the increasing demands for those dollars. Part of the meth
summit's goal will be to find creative solutions to the problem, which
includes cleanup costs.

More than 350 people attended the state summit, the first of its kind
anywhere in the United States. The state summit will be used as a model to
help other states face the meth challenge, said King County Sheriff Dave
Reichert, whose department hosted the summit along with U.S. Rep. Jennifer
Dunn, R-Wash.

More and more meth laboratories are turning up, some in rented homes or
apartments, many simply dumped in parking lots, forests or on private
property. The labs are so toxic they usually kill any plants in the area
and can be so devastating to a house or apartment that the cost of cleaning
it can be so great that the property becomes worthless, authorities said.

Stamping out the meth problem won't be easy, Snohomish County Executive Bob
Drewel said.

"You can't do it with the resources we have now," he said. "I'm convinced
of the magnitude of the problem, but there has to be public education along
with enforcement."

It's not just a law enforcement problem, but also a huge public health
problem that affects all aspects of society, he said. Drewel pledged to
seek "every penny" of grants or other sources of money that will help, he said.

In addition, authorities agree, police are finding children living in homes
where methamphetamine is being made. Those children are turned over to
state Child Protective Services because of the dangers in their homes, and
end up in foster care. In many cases, they're not reunited with their
parents, which costs the public more money.

Ideas that came out of the state meth summit include the possibilities of
new taxes, such as a tax on chemicals used in producing meth; streamlining
government grant procedures so more agencies can apply; and passing a law
that would hold parents accountable for endangering their children in meth
homes.

Key participants in the summit will meet again in the fall and the spring
to track the progress of counties in formulating their own strategies for
combating meth.