METH 'SUMMIT' TARGETS ABUSE

Arizona policymakers and national experts vow to leave the
methamphetamine horror stories at home as they spend two days sharing
strategies on how to beat the scourge responsible for about
one-fourth of all substance abuse treatment in the state, including
onein-10 children.

Related Links Today's Top Stories
(http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/?sec=1) News
(http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/?sec=2)

The state-sponsored conference that begins today in Phoenix combines
treatment, prevention and law enforcement approaches to combating
methamphetamine, emphasizing what's working.

"Our hope is that people walk away with the sense that something can
be done," said Christy Dye, who heads the Bureau of Substance Abuse
Treatment and Prevention for the state Department of Health Services.
"Don't just come to talk about how bad it is. What can people do when
they go home?"

About 700 people are expected at the conference, headlined by Gov.
Janet Napolitano and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. Goddard
will join state attorneys general from Oklahoma, Montana and North
Dakota to tout legislation regulating the sale of over-the-counter
cold medications.

The Legislature last session watered down such a bill, patterned
after an Oklahoma law that proponents say has drastically reduced
meth production there.

Reducing supply is only part of the solution, however, and experts
will discuss successful treatment methods and prevention strategies
such as public awareness campaigns. Communities also will learn ways
to build support for anti-meth plans among local groups, including
schools, parents and faithbased organizations.

"We have the will in the state now," said Frank Scarpati, chief
executive officer of Community Bridges, a Mesa substance-abuse
treatment center. "The governor has the will to do something. The
Legislature has the will to do something. Now we need a plan, and it
needs to be nonpartisan."

Scottsdale was among cities that jumped on the bandwagon in November
to vie for planning grant money in advance of the conference,
inviting Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, Carefree, Fountain Hills and
the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian
Community to join the city in developing an anti-meth plan.

Days earlier, the City Council had approved an ordinance, in effect
today, to regulate sales of cold medications such as Sudafed and
Claritin that contain pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient for producing
meth in illegal labs.

Phoenix already has a similar ordinance. Apache Junction's ordinance
takes effect March 1 and other East Valley municipalities are
considering similar ordinances.