LB TO FORM METH BATTLE PLAN

Police, Public Safety Panel To Report Back On Ways To Combat Stimulant

LONG BEACH - City officials on Tuesday began an effort to fight the
increasing use of crystal methamphetamine here.

Ron Arias, director of the Long Beach Department of Health and Human
Services, recommended that the city form a group to develop a multitiered
response to crystal meth, which has replaced cocaine as the most popular
illegal stimulant in Long Beach.

The group, he said, would include "representatives from law enforcement,
schools, mental health agencies and other groups that are committed to
being part of the solution." He also urged the city to work with state and
federal lawmakers to earmark funding for crystal meth treatment and research.

The council sent Arias' recommendations to the city's Public Safety
Advisory Commission to draft a plan to tackle crystal meth use in Long
Beach. In 60 days, that commission will report its plan to the Public
Safety Committee, the council's public safety arm.

Police Chief Anthony Batts also said he will return to council with a
report on the number of methamphetamine lab seizures in Long Beach, a
number that has declined since state law made ingredients increasingly
difficult to purchase in large quantities.

Both council members and residents said they were alerted to the problem by
recent media reports, including a three-day Press-Telegram series last week
and a set of articles in Newsweek.

Crystal meth use, Arias said, is a national problem affecting people from
all walks of life, and is one of several factors fueling increases in
sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, especially among gay and
bisexual men.

The connection between meth and STDs like HIV is compounded by several
factors, Arias said, pointing out a lack of funding for mental health and
rehabilitation programs and a lack of needle-exchange programs.

City Manager Jerry Miller was also directed to prepare a report on what the
city is doing to address meth use, at Councilman Dan Baker's request.

"It's screwing up lives and having devastating effects on society," Baker said.

At the meeting, Baker showed several pictures of meth addicts whose healthy
skin became severely aged, dotted with sores and nearly unrecognizable
after a few years of meth use. Citing the pictures, Baker urged the health
department to be as candid as possible in their education campaigns.

"We don't hold back," said Nettie DeAugustine, preventive health bureau
manager at the Long Beach Health Department, which has education materials,
counseling programs and workshops on crystal meth and its link to STDs.
"People think of meth as a party drug. Our role is to show people how one
good time can lead to a lifetime of pain and suffering."

Other agencies such as Being Alive, The Comprehensive AIDS Resource
Education program, the Gay and Lesbian Center and the Cal State Long Beach
Center for Behavioral Research and Services have outreach, counseling or
education programs to address crystal meth

Councilman Val Lerch asked that crystal meth users be approached as
addicts, and human beings rather than criminals. Councilwoman Rae Gabelich
stressed the importance of education and awareness, and suggested posting
billboards with pictures that show the effects of ongoing meth use.

"Parents have a tremendous lack of information," added Councilwoman Tonia
Reyes Uranga. "We're not equipped to educate young people. We don't know a
lot about this drug."

Whitney Engeran, executive director of Being Alive Long Beach, a coalition
for people living with HIV and AIDS, praised the health department for its
programs and stressed the drug's widespread impact.

"I want to completely emphasize that this is not a gay thing," Engeran
said. "This is not a gay epidemic at all."