BRADLEY TO DISCUSS METH EFFECTS ON RURAL COMMUNITIES

COELLO - Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, is in Coello tonight to discuss the
effects of methamphetamine on rural communities.

Bradley, recognized at a recent meth conference in Williamson County by
Attorney General Lisa Madigan as a "general in the war on meth," has held
several town hall-type meetings to discuss the dangers of meth.

The meetings are conducted by Bradley and local law enforcement, treatment
specialists, elected officials and firefighters to educate the community
about what meth is, how it poses dangers to the community, how it and its
users can be recognized and what a community can do to protect itself and
help its residents who are affected by the illegal drug.

Bradley has been part of creating and promoting legislation aimed at
stopping meth manufacture. Meth, a home-made drug produced with common
ingredients, is typically made in user-cells rather than by a major
producer in a pyramid-like distribution system. Bradley has compared the
spread of meth to cancer, saying fighting it is more like fighting
terrorist cells than a standard "drug war."

The meeting is at 6 p.m. today at the Coello Village Hall. Scheduled to
join Bradley are representatives of Franklin-Williamson County Human
Services and local law enforcement, firefighters and community leaders.

Topics of the forum will include: meth lab warning signs, symptoms of
addiction and how to help an addict and state laws pertaining to
methamphetamine.

For more information, call the representative's regional office at (618)
997-9697.