GROUP TAKES ON METH 'PLAGUE'

Summit aims to stem drug's rapid growth

Calling methamphetamine a "plague" in Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue asked about
250 state and local officials Tuesday to work together to find solutions.

"This meth plague has developed so recently and is spreading so rapidly that
our response is not as coordinated as it can be," he told the crowd, called
to Atlanta for a two-day meth summit at the Omni Hotel.

Methamphetamine arrests, Perdue pointed out, are soaring in Georgia. From
2000 through 2003, the number of meth seizures shot up from 854 to more than
1,800, he said. And at-home meth labs increasingly are menacing Georgia's
children with toxic chemicals and the threat of explosions, he said.

"It's not difficult to turn a trailer, or a tool shed or kitchen table into
a meth lab," he said. "When there are children present in these home drug
labs, the recipe for meth becomes a recipe for disaster."

Perdue and the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse are hosting the federally
funded summit to devise state and local strategies to combat the spread of
the illegal stimulant before it overwhelms law enforcement, courts, social
services and drug treatment providers.

Those attending include police, fire and emergency officials; health, drug
treatment, child protection and environmental officials; and lawmakers,
judges, prosecutors, educators and retailers.

Janet Oliva, director of the state's Division of Family and Children
Services, stressed the dangers children face if they live in homes where
meth is made and used. One-third of Georgia adults arrested for meth have
children, she said. Meth-abusing parents are "often impaired," she said.
"Children may be subjected to physical as well as sexual abuse."

Oliva announced that DFCS and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation have
reached an agreement that defines caseworkers' and drug agents'
responsibilities when children are discovered at meth labs.

GBI Director Vernon Keenan said agents now are required to call in
caseworkers immediately and to help them document instances of child neglect
and endangerment at meth lab homes.

They will, for instance, take pictures of the conditions the children were
living in, which often include toxic chemicals within children's reach,
exposure to hazardous waste and filth, and a lack of food because parents
are busier making and using the drug than in caring for their children.

Those at the summit said they're optimistic about forming anti-meth
strategies.

"Today won't solve it [the meth problem], but continued efforts like today
and tomorrow will at least put us in the ballpark," said Clarence E. Cox
III, president of the Georgia Narcotics Officers Association and commander
of the Clayton County Drug Enforcement Task Force.

Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Peggy Walker said she hoped the summit
would help to educate drug treatment providers about what works best for
meth users.

"A meth user is different from any other kind of user because we're talking
about a high level of addiction, a high level of verbal and physical
aggression, and we're talking about huge safety issues for anyone who's
exposed to a meth user," Walker said. "Until we begin to focus our treatment
programs and tailor them to the meth user, we're not going to be effective."