FIGHTING ADDICTION

Drug Czar Asks For Cooperation Among Agencies

TWIN FALLS -- Idaho's first drug czar said the state must not fail in
its fight against rising methamphetamine addiction.

During the United Way campaign kickoff on Monday morning, Jim Tibbs,
who was appointed July 11, told local business owners and members of
the community that he will submit a plan to the governor next month
that will recommend changes to the state's current system of treating
drug and alcohol addiction.

Although Tibbs did not share details of the plan, he said a
fundamental part of it is encouraging state agencies to work together
to prevent and treat methamphetamine addiction.

"I'm not going to pretend that I know everything about drug
addiction," Tibbs said. "One role of the drug czar is to be
accountable for agencies involved, so hopefully between the
interagency committee and the drug czar there will be a collaborative
process with the ultimate goal being a plan for comprehensive
substance abuse prevention." This year, the Idaho Legislature passed
House Bill 833, which created an Interagency Committee on Substance
Prevention and Treatment, and it budgeted more than $35 million to
fight the state's growing drug and alcohol addiction.

"This year we organized the first big meeting of the six big
departments in an effort to build trust and sharing of information,"
Tibbs said. "I am also meeting with agencies throughout the state
because, it seems to me, that there's kind of a disconnect between
Boise and the rest of the state."

Eighty-five percent of people incarcerated in Idaho have a documented
substance abuse problem, and about 98 percent of those people will be
released, Tibbs said.

Monday morning's event marked the beginning of the United Way of
South Central Idaho's annual fundraising campaign. The organization
hopes to raise more than $350,000 to help with problems such as drug addiction.

Local treatment centers, such as the Walker Center, said they need
more state support.

"We have a big demographic that we serve," said Carmalin Resz, a
treatment coordinator at the Walker Center. "And what we could use is
continued support to provide funding for all people."