ANTI-METH ACTIVISTS DISCUSS INITIATIVE

Students at Newberg High School are drawing national attention for
their campaign against meth abuse.

About 40 students worked for months to develop two public-service
announcements that warn of the dangers of methamphetamines, Newberg
junior Esther Herron told U.S. Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-Ore.

The results were so successful that they have been asked to share
them at conferences across the country and recently were featured on CNN.

"Over the past few years, I've seen more awareness of meth,
especially in schools," Herron said.

Herron was one of nine people who spoke Monday at a roundtable
meeting hosted by Hooley, who invited experts to help her develop
ideas for legislation she can introduce to stop the spread of meth
nationally and to help her seek funding for successful efforts.

"It is an issue that affects every one of us whether we know it or
not," Hooley said. "As a community, we can no longer turn our backs on this."

Hooley has helped secure millions of dollars for anti-meth programs
nationwide. Congress is considering more than 30 proposals designed
to help states deal with meth.

Also at the roundtable:

Anna Peterson and Cyndi Astley described the No Meth -- Not in My
Neighborhood project, which aims to create a network of people to
work on drug prevention and public awareness of the crisis.

Judge Dennis Graves talked about the Marion County Drug Court, which
helps adults charged with felony drug-related crimes get clean,
rather than go to jail.

Representatives of Bridgeway and DePaul treatment centers talked
about the increasing number of methamphetamine addicts and the lack
of funding for treatment.

Max Margolis and Kaleen Deatherage of the Oregon Partnership projects
that the statewide nonprofit is helping to sponsor. Among those is
Newberg High School's Meth Awareness Project.

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Link

For an overview of Oregon's meth problem, go to the National Crime
Prevention Council Web site at www.ncpc.org/ncpc/ncpc/?pg88-9852.