ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCES ANTI-METHAMPHETAMINE CAMPAIGN

SACRAMENTO- Attorney General Dan Lungren today unveiled television and
radio ads designed to raise awareness of the methamphetamine problem in
California and discourage the use of the deadly drug.

"California's methamphetamine problem is truly a multi-headed monster. The
consequences of using the drug and the costs and danger associated with the
aftermath of environmental hazards all need to be addressed in our
methamphetamine strategy," Lungren said. "Simply put: where meth goes,
violence and destruction follow. All of us in law enforcement and the
general public alike, need to become as educated and informed as possible
about this growing menace."

Lungren unveiled two television ads which are part of a statewide public
education campaign. The first ad focuses attention on the devastating
environmental impact that "meth cookers" impose on California's
environment. The second ad, titled "Eyes," shows the world through the
point of view of a meth user, illustrating the paranoia and violence often
associated with heavy meth use. Both ads begin airing today. Two additional
television spots are currently in production.

The public education campaign also includes four radio ads and 55
billboards which will be rotated throughout the state, all of which direct
the public to an interactive web-site, www.stopdrugs.org ,which gives
extensive information on the dangers of methamphetamine and other drugs.

The Attorney General's Office successfully lobbied the federal government
for the $18.2 million grant to address the growing methamphetamine problem
in California. Approximately $1.8 million of the grant money is earmarked
for the public education campaign. The grant money will also fund the
expansion of the California Department of Justice's law enforcement efforts
including the hiring of 131 narcotics agents, criminologists and lab
technicians statewide.

In 1997, the California Bureau of Narcotics (BNE) seized 946 clandestine
drug labs and local law enforcement seized 713 labs, totaling 1,659 labs in
California. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reports that they seized
1,495 labs nationwide in 1997, including cases they worked on with BNE in
California.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)