WHAT IS THIS COSTING US?

ROGERS - People respond to the pervasive methamphetamine problem in
the county for different reasons.

Some respond to personal stories from former addicts and from
recovery counselors.

Others feel the tinge of conviction when they see graphic photos of
rotting teeth and sore-marked skin typical of the drug's users.

Some respond strongest when the drug problem is detailed not in use
and enforcement, but in dollars and cents.

Whether or not Benton County residents know someone who uses the
drug, the cost of meth is affecting them indirectly, stretching
public resources and making private businesses less efficient, said
Megan Cuddy, coordinator of the Benton County Methamphetamine Task
Force. After presenting more personalized presentations to local
businesses, the group made an effort to show the pervasive economic
impact of meth use, commissioning a 2005 University of Arkansas study.
The numbers woke people up. " We kind of got to them at a different
angle, " Cuddy said. " I hope that they are taking it more seriously.
"

The study, constructed through anonymous surveys distributed to
workers in Benton County -- which did not include surveys from
Wal-Mart employees -- estimated that meth use costs businesses $ 21
million each year. The results factored employee turnover,
efficiency and lossprevention efforts related to employee meth use.

Beyond business, the meth problem saps resources supported by the
public dime by requiring extra enforcement efforts from various
law-enforcement groups.

" Methamphetamine is single-handedly the greatest catalyst of crime
in Benton County, " County Attorney Robin Green said.

As a former prosecutor, Green saw meth's influence on most property
crimes, including forged checks and breaking and entering. Most of
these crimes are committed by addicts in search of new ways to obtain
the substance, she said. The crimes take a significant amount of
law-enforcement officers' time.

Green supported the Quorum Court's decision to join 16 other counties
in a Pulaski County lawsuit against the drug companies that make
ephedrine, a major ingredient in methamphetamine.

While restrictions on certain ingredients have reduced the number of
meth labs in the county, the drug is heavily imported from Mexico,
she said. The plaintiffs in the suit claim that " the amount of
ephedrine which was being manufactured and sent to Mexico far
exceeded legitimate medicinal demand" and that the manufacturers
were aware that the excess was likely used in drug production. In a
period when 224 tons of ephedrine were shipped to the country, an
estimated 100 tons were needed for medical reasons, Green said.

The lawsuit seeks to recover county costs associated with meth use
including, but not limited to, cleaning up meth labs,
government-provided medical assistance, family assistance programs,
research, law-enforcement agencies and the strain on area jails.

" It doesn't cost Benton County anything at all to join the suit, "
Green said. " If they're successful, we'll see a portion of the
settlement. "

As part of the legal action, the county will undergo efforts to
estimate the total public economic impact of the drug's traffic.

Accountants with the Pulaski County attorney have visited the county
jail to begin a complete report, but no estimates have been compiled,
Green said. She hopes the suit will help quantify the drug's impact
and to stop the source of the problem.

" We have done and are doing what can be done on the criminal side in
our judicial system, " she said. " With this lawsuit, Benton County
is joining the other named counties in Arkansas in seeking to nip the
source of methamphetamine production through civil litigation."