MADIGAN, FED DRUG CZAR ADDRESS METH PROBLEMS WITH LOCAL OFFICIALS

Carterville, Ill. - Hours after launching an anti-methamphetamine
advertising campaign Tuesday in St. Louis, federal drug czar Gil
Kerlikowske joined Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and other
officials for a meth roundtable at John A. Logan College.

The $9 million media blitz will target the states with the worst meth
problems - Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Arkansas,
Indiana, Kentucky and Nebraska in the Midwest. Alaska, Washington,
Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico also will be targeted.

"When meth first reared its head across the nation, Washington D.C.
didn't listen to the problem," Kerlikowske said. "Meth is still lower
than other drugs, but if you're in a small town devastated by meth,
you don't give a darn about the national numbers."

He complimented Southern Illinoisans work to combat drug problems
through cooperative projects, including a pseudoephedrine-tracking
program launched in June.

"It's wonderful to see collaboration from those discussions,"
Kerlikowske said.

The tracking program covers Williamson and six other counties.
Pseudoephedrine purchases will be tracked, but Williamson County
Sheriff Tom Cundiff said only large-quantity purchasers will be targeted.

"We're interested in the big fish," he said. "If you buy 10 packages
in 30 days, we want to know what's going on."

The sheriff also credited the Williamson County Coalition Against
Methamphetamine Abuse for combating the drug.

"There's no telling how many lives they've saved and people they've
helped," Cundiff said. "They've all come together and made it so effective."

Marion police chief Gene Goolsby suggested a national-level campaign
like Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.).

"If they come up with a program, it may have a stronger impact with
respect to education," he said.

Goolsby noted education officials from northern Illinois said drugs
like cocaine were bigger problems in that region, but meth is more
dominant south of Springfield.

H Group substance abuse director Wendy Baillie credited the annual
meth conference at JALC and the meth coalition for battling drugs in
the region.

"People wanted information and were committed to doing what needs to
be done," she said. "We're making sure people are armed with the
latest information."

At the national level, the ad campaign will run through November.

''Meth is literally stealing the lives of people across the state,
specifically young people,'' Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster
said.

Kerlikowske's office cited a 2007 survey that found that more than 5
percent of Americans age 12 or older had tried meth at least once, and
that an estimated 529,000 Americans had used meth in the past month.

Anti-meth campaign on the Web: www.methresources.gov