ANTI-METH GROUP SETS MAIN PRIORITIES

Gov. Janet Napolitano's Methamphetamine Task Force on Monday unveiled
10 priority recommendations on how Arizona can fight meth use and
related crimes.

The main priorities include:

- -- Expanding prevention programs for high-risk populations, schools,
rural areas and tribal nations.

- -- Working with the Office of Homeland Security and tribal
governments to prevent the trafficking of methamphetamine and
chemicals used to make the drug.

- -- Expanding treatment for meth users, including treatment
alternatives to prison.

"This is the first time in this state that there is a coordinated
effort to address what is possibly the No. 1 drug problem in the
state," said Barbara LaWall, Pima County attorney and task force
chairwoman. "Now we're going to have to do mini-action-plans for each step."

From 2004 to 2005, methamphetamine-related hospital admissions in
Arizona rose by 20 percent, according to the task force's report.

The majority of meth-related arrests in Arizona involve white men
between ages 18 to 41, but if no action is taken, this could easily
spread to younger, more diverse populations, said Capt. David Neri,
commander of the interagency Counter Narcotics Alliance and a
task-force member. "Marijuana is out there -- we've got it. Coke is
out there -- it's bad. Prescription drug abuse -- bad. All these
things are bad," Napolitano said. "But you can add them all together
and they probably wouldn't equal the social damage that is being
caused in Arizona by methamphetamine today."

In the next 90 days the task force is going to determine how the
recommendations can be put into action.

The group will meet again in three months for an update on its progress.

Another main recommendation calls for the creation of a single
contact point for state-wide meth services, which will be known as
the Governor's Office of Substance Abuse Policy. Heading up the
planned office will be Kim O'Connor, director of the governor's
Division for Substance Abuse Policy.

"We need to find out what's out there and what's being done, so we
don't re-create the wheel," O'Connor said.

LaWall said the recommendations were the first step for the task
force, and finding funding for the recommendations was among the many
things the group has to determine.