STATE METHAMPHETAMINE SUMMIT OPENS

Officials Seek To Build Connections Among The Various Agencies Fighting The
Drug's Growth In Georgia.

ATLANTA - Warning that the deadly drug is tightening its grip on rural
Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue opened a two-day summit seeking solutions to the
state's growing methamphetamine production and abuse problem.

Law enforcement, lawmakers and those involved in drug treatment gathered at
the Omni Hotel to begin brainstorming ideas on how to deal with the threat.

In a session with reporters shortly before the Tuesday session began,
Perdue said the purpose of the gathering was to help build connections
among various agencies fighting meth's growth.

"We have to change history...in the next two days," said Sherri Strange,
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency's special agent in charge of the Atlanta
field division.

In remarks opening the summit, Perdue described how meth use in Georgia has
skyrocketed in recent years and highlighted his administration and the
legislature's efforts to fight the drug's spread.

But, the governor said, more needs to be done.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, left, speaks with Vernon M. Keenan, director,
Georgia Bureau of Investigation, at the Georgia Methamphetamine Summit in
Atlanta on Tuesday. Ric Feld The Associated Press Law enforcement agencies
were projected to make as many as 2,000 meth seizures in rural areas of the
state this year - up from 854 just four years ago.

"It touches all corners of our state," Perdue said. "It is especially
corrosive in some of our smallest and poorest communities."

The growth of meth use in Georgia is part of a national trend, as a
substance that got its start in California has spread across the nation at
a rapid pace. Almost every state in the country, save a handful in the
Northeast, had 20 or more meth labs seized in 2003.

"We know what's been happening in California and we know what's been
happening in the Midwest, and the last thing I want to see is another
Sherman marching through Georgia," said Becky Vaughn, president of the
Georgia Council on Substance Abuse. She urged an emphasis on treatment as
well as enforcement.

Meth's effects include psychotic thoughts and damage to vital organs. Meth
labs often produce dangerous fumes and can be volatile, sometimes
triggering explosions or fire.

One reason the spread of meth is so difficult to beat back, officials say,
is that it's incredibly easy to produce.

Instructions are readily available on the Internet, a kitchen or even a
hotel room can serve as a "lab," and one of the main ingredients needed to
produce the drug is ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, often found in cold
medicines.

That has prompted most states to set limits on the amount of ephedrine
someone can possess, with Oklahoma recently passing one of the most
restrictive laws in the country.