FIGHT CONTINUES AGAINST RISING USE OF METH IN HENRY

When Henry Police Capt. Michael Gaddis was promoted last month to head the
criminal investigative division, he also became the head of the narcotics
division.

And, he inherited a the problem of containing and stopping a growing
scourge in Henry County: methamphetamine.

"Meth is probably our most prevalent drug," Gaddis said. "It appears to be
the drug of choice in the county."

In fact, methamphetamine use in Henry County, based on amounts of the drug
seized here, has almost tripled in two years. In 2002, police seized
methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $357,100; in 2003 they
seized $714,200 worth of the stuff; and in 2004 the estimated street worth
of the seizures topped $1 million.

"Within the last year, I been on the Narcotics unit and I have seen an
increase in methamphetamine with use and sale of it," Gaddis said.

Henry County, fortunately, isn't alone in its fight against meth. The drug
is at epidemic proportions throughout the state. So much so, that last
August, Gov. Sonny Perdue convened the Georgia Methamphetamine Summit, to
help law enforcement agencies come up with effective ways to combine forces
against the drug.

The meth summit resulted in 25 recommendations on best practices to deal
with five areas: Public Awareness; Clandestine Lab Response; Pre-cursors
(cut off access to meth-making ingredients); Drug Endangered Children;
Statewide Training and Protocols.

"These recommendations will help us put a stop to the harm this drug is
inflicting on Georgia communities, family and children," he said after the
recommendations were returned to his office.

The next step is for the recommendations to go before a small state agency
known as the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The CJCC's primary role
is to coordinate with all law enforcement agencies, manage federal grant
money for criminal justice projects and apply for grant money. The agency
will take the 25 recommendations from the meth summit and translate them
into a working program that can be easily used and adapted by state law
enforcement agencies at all levels.

"They will coordinate with the actual criminal justice agency within state
and local law enforcement to help implement the recommendations," said
Heather Hedrick, the governor's press secretary.

In the meantime, Gaddis and his narcotics division are fighting the meth
war the way that they have been: prowling the interstates and relying on
tipsters who call a special drug tip hotline: (678) 610-6322.

"The K9 unit is back on the interstate trying to cut down on drug
activity," Gaddis said. "We have a large stretch of interstate here in the
county."

Gaddis said that his unit hasn't busted a meth lab during his watch, but he
urged anyone who might suspect they were near one to call the anonymous
tipster line and let his men check it out.

"[Making it] involves a lot of chemicals that are dangerous, and someone
who doesn't know what they're doing can easily blow something up," he said.
"Meth has very distinct odor. If someone constantly smells this odor, but
doesn't have any idea what it is, and if they think it has the potential
for being a meth lab, they should call the tip line."

And, although Gaddis welcomes help from the state or other law enforcement
agencies, he doesn't really need a lot of direction to know what to do.

"Once you work in this business for a while, you become aware of the
dangers and recommendations that should be met," he said.

The Henry County Anonymous Drug Tip Line is (678) 610-6322.