SUMMIT TO TARGET METH

The Illegal Drug Exacting A High Toll On Oklahoma, And Officials Are
Looking For Solutions.

The city of Tulsa spends a lot of time trying to attract industry, but
there is one business it wants to see leave town soon.

Scheduled for Sept. 19 at the Tulsa Convention Center, the Mayor's Meth
Summit is designed to cast a spotlight on the scope of the local
methamphetamine epidemic and to offer possible solutions to the problem.

The number of meth labs seized in Oklahoma increased from 10 in 1994 to 946
last year, according to Mark Woodward, a public information officer for the
Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics.

"There's no part of the state that's not getting eaten up with them," he said.

In 2000, Tulsa officers seized 150 meth labs, an increase of 18 over the
previous year.

Mayor Susan Savage said methamphetamine seems to be a drug that cuts across
all ethnic, economic and gender lines.

"It's such a growing problem in this area," she said. "We want to keep it
from getting completely out of control."

Methamphetamine poses a public health risk well beyond its users, Savage
said. The volatile chemicals used in its production can pose threats
ranging from explosions and fires to pollution in the aftermath of improper
disposal of waste materials.

Business leaders, hospital administrators, educators, insurance company
representatives, rehabilitation specialists and law enforcement officials
are among those who will receive invitations to attend the September event,
said Keri Fothergill, the summit's co- coordinator. But she stressed that
the general public will also be invited to the free program, which is
funded through a local law enforcement block grant.

Besides local panelists, the summit will also feature appearances by Scott
L. King, the mayor of Gary, Ind., and a representative from San Diego, a
city that Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Raley said set the standard on
fighting methamphetamine almost 10 years ago.

Once called the Crank Capital of America, San Diego's approach to getting a
handle on the problem is now an example to be followed, he said. Raley was
among a contingent of local officials who journeyed to the Southern
California city last August to get a first-hand look at what can be done.

Now, Tulsa is one of eight U.S. cities that are scheduled to be national
model cities under a federal program to combat meth.

But the cities -- Tulsa; Sacramento, Calif.; Honolulu; Des Moines, Iowa;
Omaha, Neb.; Salt Lake City; Boise, Idaho; and an area of West Virginia --
are still waiting for the "model city" program to be funded, Raley said.

In the meantime, Tulsa has already incorporated San Diego concepts, such as
educating convenience store owners about the sale of precursor chemicals
and notifying hotel and motel owners about the signs of mobile
methamphetamine labs, into the law enforcement effort.

The biggest need Raley sees right now is for treatment and intervention for
people struggling with addiction, he said.

More treatment programs, incarceration for those repeatedly caught cooking
meth and programs like the Mayor's Meth Summit are among keys that could
make a difference, Woodward said.

Raley said the Mayor's Summit will be an opportunity for a variety of
people to "put their heads together and look at this from all angles."

Woodward said methamphetamine's grip on the state isn't going to go away
overnight, but he noted that the dramatic rise in manufacturing may be
slowing. As of July 1, officers had found 475 labs in the state this year.
That would project to 950 for 2001, an increase of only four labs compared
to 2000.