Meth Efforts Must Be Multidimensional, Drug Czar Says

ROGERS -- Combating methamphetamine's effects will not be truly
effective until those fighting the battle merge treatment, prevention
and awareness efforts into multidimensional approaches, the state's
drug czar said Friday.

" Much of our success depends on our ability to knock down those
silos, " Arkansas Drug Director Fran Flener said, referring to the
perceived walls that separate those involved in drug-control efforts.
" We can't allow the lack of collaboration to prevent us from being
successful. "

Flener joined U. S. Attorney Bob Balfe and Congressman John Boozman,
R-Ark., in addressing a group of lawenforcement officials,
drugtreatment counselors and community leaders gathered for the
Methamphetamine Awareness Luncheon. The event was sponsored by Drug
Free Rogers-Lowell as a wrap-up for the group's Methamphetamine
Awareness Month.

The fight against meth has changed as legislation has controlled the
sale of ephedrine, a key component in the drug, driving homespun meth
labs out of the country. But the drug is still extremely pervasive,
influencing property crime, domestic violence and child endangerment
issues throughout the state, Flener said.

To bring about meaningful change, the state should seek to fund
programs that advocate a holistic approach, confronting not just drug
use, but the circumstances that lead to it, she said.

For example, meth disproportionately impacts women. Treatment programs
should offer options for mothers to stay with their children while
pursuing sobriety. While the state has space for 589 women in this
sort of treatment, it only has funding for 289, she said.

Balfe agreed that a multilayered approach would be more
effective.

" It's going to take more than arresting people, and it's going to
take more than treating people. It's going to take a holistic
approach, " he said.

Balfe and Boozman pointed to Circuit Judge Mary Ann Gunn's pioneering
efforts to bring drug court into public schools, merging prevention
and enforcement by exposing students to the real consequences of drug
use.

Alongside cooperative educational efforts, like those demonstrated by
Drug Free Rogers-Lowell and the Benton County Methamphetamine Task
Force, tougher enforcement will be necessary to continue to reduce the
effects of meth in the state, the leaders said.

Arkansas' congressional delegation has hassled national-level
officials to grant the state status as a " high-intensity
drug-trafficking area, " a designation that would bring with it more
money for drug enforcement and prevention. The designation would apply
to Washington, Benton, Pulaski and Jefferson counties. Only seven
states lack the designation, and Arkansas is one of them, Flener said.

Some have questioned the success of drug-prevention efforts, which can
be difficult to measure. Balfe encouraged a continued application of a
multi-pronged approach and a focus on people, not numbers.

" You can feel discouraged when it seems like a battle that we don't
see success on, " he said. " But we have to measure that success one
person at a time. "