METH ADDICTION: A HUGE PROBLEM, STILL NO ANSWER

Methamphetamine is the "nobody drug" that nobody in the know has figured
out how to keep off the streets and out of the lives of substance abusers.

"It's an epidemic, and no one has the answer," said state Sen. Dick
Wilkerson, the sponsor of recent legislation to require violent offenders
to serve 85 percent of their sentence.

"Our drug treatment services are terribly inadequate, and nobody has got
treatment exactly right," said Ben Brown, deputy commissioner of substance
abuse for the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

"It's a very dangerous drug, and almost nobody knows anything from a
research perspective about the long-tern effects, said Dr. Sara Jo Nixon, a
researcher at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

The experts are sure about one thing: Methamphetamine -- one of the cheaper
illegal drugs on the market -- isn't going to do anything to help anyone
save a buck if the pattern for abuse and violence continues.

For example:

Difficult and expensive to treat, meth is being listed as the overwhelming
drug of choice by drug court participants. Recent prison and treatment
center surveys also reflect the growing popularity of meth, feeding
concerns that Oklahoma's expanding prison system may not be able to keep up
with its spread.

The state's second-largest agency, the state Corrections Department, has
more than 5,0000 employees and, despite its $400 million budge, is
underfunded, prison officials say.

As of June 18, 22,745 offenders were housed in the prison system, 550 short
of capacity, at an average annual cost of $18,000 per offender.

While substance abuse plays a role with almost 80 percent of the offenders
sentenced to state prisons, Gov. Frank Keating said the surge in meth will
require more than a crackdown on drugs.

Keating said a treatment-oriented approach to non-violent drug abusers
makes sense, especially when it comes to meth.

Keating has been joined by other traditional law-and-order voices in
calling for more emphasis on treatment.

"I'm not soft on punishment -- let's build another McAlester for those who
sell and distribute meth -- but we would be remiss if we didn't try
treatment, as well," said Maj. Johnny Kuhlman of the Oklahoma City Police
Department. "If it works, it's one less person an officer in a scout car
has to worry about."

Sen. Wilkerson, a former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent, said
a distinction needs to be made between people who are primarily involved in
a drug trade because they need to feed an addiction and violent criminals
who do drugs.

While state laws are geared to sending traditional drug dealers and
suppliers to prison for a minimum 20 years to life, Wilkerson said the meth
epidemic is producing a new breed of manufacturer/dealer, who is barely
cooking enough meth to meet his needs and those of a few friends.

"It's difficult to sell this concept to politicians because politicians are
a reflection of society, and we all want simple answers," Wilkerson said.
"We want to put the answer on a bumper sticker, but this is bigger than a
bumper sticker. It's a complex problem and can't be answered simply.

Oklahoma has been aggressive in its drug enforcement efforts, but it is
lagging in the number of treatment options, those in the treatment sector say.

"There's not enough funding and not enough beds," said Dr. Linda Lantrip,
the medical director for Central Oklahoma Community Mental Health and
Substance Abuse in Norman. "It seems like it's easier to get another prison
built than it is to get more beds."

The situation has been compounded at the Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services, where priorities and funding have traditionally
favored mental health.

In the 1999 fiscal year, $23.2 million of the department's $165.4 million
budget was spent on substance abuse services. While substance abusers were
23.5 percent of the department's client base, they received 14.1 percent of
the funding.

Recognizing the disparity, Keating's task force recommended giving
substance abuse more representation on the board of directors and naming a
deputy commissioner to specialize in substance abuse.

Brown, a former state senator and a treatment advocate, was named deputy
commissioner in December. Two months later, the board hired Terry Cline as
commissioner.

Both men have pledged to take steps to address the concerns of substance
abuse treatment proponents.

The Legislature last month approved an additional $1.8 million for drug
court treatment and another $3 million to assess whether offenders should
receive substance abuse treatment.

But the demand will outpace the means to provide treatment, Brown said.

"There are 650 offenders in prison toddy for DUI offenses who under state
law could be in treatment programs, but we don't have that many places to
put them," Brown said. "Every place we now have as a waiting list, some up
to o 70 days."

Brown said the agency must: *Do a better job of treating people with
substance abuse. *Establish treatment on demand. *Improve education and
prevention efforts.

Among the participants in the Oklahoma City drug court program for
non-violent offenders are a surgeon, a nurse and business owners, said Sgt.
Vanessa Price, of the Oklahoma City Police Department and president of the
State Drug Court Association.

"Drug addiction doesn't pick on a certain race or gender," she said.