LOCAL ANTI-DRUG ACTIVIST JOINS NEW STATE TASK FORCE

Attorney General Starts Program To Stop Meth

Alabama Attorney General Troy King says he is trying to do his part in the
fight against the state's fastest-growing drug problem, methamphetamine.
And he's asked a Huntsville woman to help.

Deborah Soule, executive director of the Partnership for a Drug Free
Community, is part of a 27-member statewide Methamphetamine Task Force.
King created the task force to search for ways to slow and reverse the
spread of methamphetamine, identify additional tools needed to help fight
the drug and come up with standard methods for handling children found at
meth lab sites.

Soule said King asked her to participate after he attended the "Merchants
Against Meth" training forum held here last month. The task force held its
first meeting in Montgomery last week.

Methamphetamine presents many challenges.

The task force has split into several committees to come up with new ideas
to better address the exploding problem.

In Huntsville and Madison County, officials raided at least 60 meth labs in
2004. Of those, at least 35 were seized by the Huntsville-Madison County
Strategic Counterdrug Team. The unit found 15 in 2003 and two in 2002.

Another 25 meth labs were found and seized in 2004 by the Sheriff's
Department's Vice and Narcotics Unit, compared to 15 in 2003.

Because of her work with local law enforcement, Soule signed up for the
attorney general's law enforcement and education committees on the new task
force. She will share information on how the Huntsville area is benefiting
from a law enforcement coalition that works closely with the Partnership
for a Drug Free Community.

Coalition members include Huntsville, Madison and Alabama A&M University's
police departments, Madison County Sheriff's Office, HEMSI ambulance
service, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Alabama
Cooperative Extension Office.

Soule said the members spoke at 27 educational forums about methamphetamine
in the past year.

It's made a difference, said Jim Winn, commander of the counterdrug team.

Sometimes illegal labs are found by chance. But Winn said the public
awareness and different programs to educate area residents has paid off for
local drug agents.

Promoting a Web address for residents to anonymously report possible meth
labs has resulted in several meth lab finds, Winn said.

Store managers call police when they see people buying large amounts of
ingredients that might be related to meth production, he said. People
recognize signs and smells of a possible lab in their neighborhood and
report it.

"It works here and I'd like to show others around the state how important
it is to get the community behind law enforcement, especially with a
problem like meth," said Soule.

On the education committee, Soule said she will review a meth curriculum
for ninth-graders to see if it can be integrated into awareness programs in
city and county schools.

The group will also look for other ways to educate state residents about
the dangers of the highly addictive drug.