WAGING WAR ON METH

Jail time can't solve the meth epidemic in Walker County and Northwest
Georgia, officials say. "It's not just a law enforcement problem," Walker
County DARE officer Terrence Hambrick said. "It's a community problem,
because it affects our families."

DARE officers are on the front lines of drug education to elementary
students. Methamphetamine is not a core part of the DARE curriculum, but
Hambrick's partner, LeBron Durham, said officers are working new information
into their classes to address the growing problem in Northwest Georgia.

DARE's meaning has changed over the years, Hambrick said. Originally, DARE
meant Drug Abuse Resistance Education, but it has evolved to stand for
Define, Assess, Respond and Evaluate to illustrate what children should do
when forced to make an important decision.

Hambrick said he would like to extend education from the school grounds into
the community. He foresees town hall meetings and cooperative effort between
local government, business, civic groups and churches to educate the public.

"Half of knowledge is knowing where to find it," Hambrick said. "The other
half is knowing how to use that knowledge."

Many people do not know how pervasive the problem is now, he said.

"We used to think 'crack' cocaine was the worst thing we would see. Then
methamphetamine came along," said Hambrick's partner, LeBron Durham.

The Walker County Chamber of Commerce also brought the Power of One program
to LaFayette Middle School last year. Like DARE, the program teaches
decision-making skills.

Power of One is a product of Texas-based Motivational Productions. Chamber
officials hope to bring the program back to Walker County during this school
year.

School workers learn about meth abuse

Winnie Schimdt, head nurse for the Walker County school system, said her
staff and others in the schools have attended work sessions with the Walker
Sheriff's Department, Drug Task Force and Department of Family and
Children's Services to learn more about meth, its production and effects on
children and families.

"We're working with the Sheriff's department and the drug task force getting
information on a case-by-case basis if we need to," Schmidt said. "We also
work closely with DFCS on individual cases.

"The administration is more than aware of the need for school personnel to
be aware of (meth problems)," Schmidt said.

Children who come from homes with ongoing meth usage often have problems
with attendance and illnesses, she said.

"Kids come to school unkept and tired, just like any case of neglect," she
said.

Emergency workers from Hutcheson Medical Center in Fort Oglethorpe are
scheduled in September to train school counselors, family involvement
coordinators, nurses and social workers to recognize problems before they
start, Schmidt said.

"They are going to be providing an in-service for those staff members who
are in close contact with parents and children, and have the tendency to
make more home visits aware of the dangers, signs and symptoms, to look
for," Schmidt said. "We're starting to provide that education (for our
staff) this year more than we have in the past."

Prevention, not incarceration

Jail is not the sole answer to the problem, Hambrick said.

"All you are doing is putting them away for a certain amount of time," he
said. "If they learn some sense and straighten up, that's great. If they
don't, you've got a more hardened criminal than before they started doing
time."

Lookout Mountain Community Services executive director Tom Ford said the
programs offered at his agency may help addicts, but prevention is easier
than rehabilitation. The agency, which offers services throughout the
Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit, made up of Walker, Catoosa, Chattooga and
Dade counties, works with school officials and students in the elementary
and middle schools.

Help for addicts

Help is available in Walker County for methamphetamine addicts who want to
turn their life around, Lookout Mountain Community Services executive
director Tom Ford said.

"As far as treatment, we treat anyone that's willing to come in, but most
people only come in for substance abuse treatment when they're ordered by
the court," Ford said. "Probably 90 percent of our people are court-ordered
clients.

"Most substance abusers, because of the denial component, do not come in
willingly," he said.

Treatment is available to anyone, regardless of their ability to pay, Ford
said. Arrangements can be made for those in need.

Ford said group therapy is used to help people leave their addictions
behind. Some people may get some individual assistance if they have other
issues.

Despite treatment, many meth users slide back into their old habits, Ford
said.

"Most meth users do not come into treatment even after they've been caught
and put back out on probation unless the court orders them to do that," he
said. "We'll find that individuals will come, go through the treatment and
go back to using meth. It's not that the treatment fails as much as it's a
highly addictive drug."

About 41 percent of cocaine addicts dedicated to quitting the habit are
successful, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said. The percentage of
successfully recovering methamphetamine addicts plummets to about 7 percent.

The addictive pull of methamphetamine is so strong, most users are hooked
after their first use, Wilson said.

"If they don't change their friends and the people they hang around with,
it's really difficult (to quit), he said. "It's not a 12-week program you go
through and then you're cured. It's an ongoing process."

Ford said his office also works in the schools to keep students on a
drug-free path.

"There is a prevention program that focuses on kids, because by the time
they are adults prevention isn't going to work."

Groups go the elementary and middle schools to teach children how to make
informed decisions in the face of peer pressure, Ford said.

"The reason we don't do it in the high schools is because by the time they
get there it is too late," he said. "We focus on the younger kids."