GOVERNOR SETS UP ANTI-METH TASK FORCE

State Wages War On The Drug Linked To Most Property Crimes

PORTLAND - Gov. Ted Kulongoski has announced the creation of a new task
force that will tackle methamphetamine abuse statewide, which the governor
called one of Oregon's biggest crime problems.

"Methamphetamine is estimated to be the driving force in 80 to 90 percent
of property crimes committed in Oregon," Kulongoski said in a speech
Wednesday before the Citizens Crime Commission in Portland. With new,
cheaper and purer forms of the drug coming on the market, "it is
anticipated that use of this drug will increase sharply."

Last year, arrests linked to meth made up 78 percent of total drug arrests
by Jackson County's Narcotics Enforcement Team. Nearly 87 percent of the
agency's overall drug arrests were connected to meth in 2001. Most suspects
are apprehended in Medford, officials said.

"Obviously, we think that's one of the biggest problems we face," said
Medford Police Chief Eric Mellgren. "When we backtrack from the crime ...
almost invariably meth shows up in the equation."

Police in Jackson County seized more than 30 pounds of meth last year, and
prosecutors charged 1,069 people with possessing, delivering or
manufacturing the drug.

"It seems from my angle meth is surrounding practically every criminal case
we're working," said Medford police Lt. Tim George.

The task force will include law enforcement, treatment specialists, the
pharmaceutical industry and others who can craft a plan by early next year.

Although meth long has been recognized as one of the state's main drug
concerns, this is the first time a governor has singled it out for attention.

Craig Campbell, Kulongoski's public safety adviser, said the plan is to go
after the drug at all levels, from monitoring the everyday chemicals used
to make it to treatment programs for users who become addicted.

He said the task force will have about 20 members and will first meet in
late January. The hoped-for result is a plan of action the governor can
implement or take to the Legislature.

Campbell said Kulongoski is most nervous about the emergence of a
crystallized form of meth, known sometimes as "ice," that is cheaper,
stronger and more addictive than other forms.

"It's cheap," Campbell said. "It produces a high the first time. It's one
of those drugs that, once you use it, that's it."

The task force will look at precursor chemicals used to make the drug,
which can be found in common products such as Sudafed, an over-the-counter
allergy pill, he said. The governor hopes to find a way to track how such
chemicals come into Oregon and how they' re acquired, Campbell said.

Kulongoski also wants to study how the drug is sold on the streets and in
schools, and how treatment programs can become more effective.