METH SUMMIT ATTEMPTS TO FIND SOLUTIONS

Two city leaders and an Edmond high school student attended last week a
methamphetamine summit sponsored by the Oklahoma County District Attorney's
Office.

City Manager Larry Stevens and Police Chief Dennis Cochran attended the
all-day event Thursday, which was designed to bring city leaders and law
enforcement officials together to discuss ways to fight the war on the
manufacture and abuse of methamphetamines in Oklahoma County, Cochran said
last week.

Thursday's summit, attended by more than 250 people - all of them working
in Oklahoma County - was the first of a series of meetings the group will
have in the next 12 to 18 months, Cochran said.

"I thought it was worthwhile," Cochran said. He said he took home five
specific ideas from the group he was in on how to help fight
methamphetamines in Edmond.

Not wanting to reveal secrets to the wrong people, Cochran wouldn't give
details about the new ideas.

"But what we're going to do may surprise some people," he said.

As a state, Oklahoma leads the nation in the number of clandestine
methamphetamine labs per capita that are busted every year. Oklahoma County
is the nation and state's leading county for clandestine meth labs per
capita, said Nancy Galloway, a program coordinator for the Oklahoma County
Sheriff's Department.

Galloway and other members of the department conducted a meth lab
recognition seminar last month at Edmond Church of Christ.

Cochran acknowledged that a methamphetamine problem exists here in Edmond.

"It's worse than I'd like it to be," Cochran said. "But based on our level
of crime, it's not as bad here as it is in some places in the county."

Cochran said narcotics officers in Edmond have raided about five
methamphetamine labs in the last year.

"We're being very proactive against the problem," Cochran said.

Tiffany Jordan Hill, a senior at Edmond North High School, was one of only
three high school students selected to attend the summit.

"It was very interesting," said Hill, a member of the Youth Leadership
Exchange at North High School.

Hill said representatives from various human service and faith-based
organizations also attended the summit to share their problems with the
battle against methamphetamines.

"Lack of funding is a big problem," Hill said of the private-sector groups
that attended. "And a lack of public information about the extent of the
dangers of methamphetamines."

Each community has its own unique problems with illegal drugs that may
require unique solutions.

"There isn't a single problem, and there isn't a single solution," Cochran
said.

By breaking the summit participants into small groups of five, the group
was able to identify several drug-related problems, and several potential
solutions, he said.

One of the reasons the manufacture of methamphetamine is rapidly growing in
Oklahoma is because a small investment in chemicals and supplies can yield
a large profit margin in a short time, said Sheriff's Deputy Sheri Wallace.

An initial investment of $50 to $75 can produce enough meth to sell on the
street for $1,200 to $1,500, Wallace said. And methamphetamine can be
"cooked" in as little as two hours.

City Manager Stevens said he found the summit beneficial as well.

"I think it (methamphetamine labs) is certainly a growing problem in our
area," Stevens said.

Battling illegal drugs should be a joint effort by everyone in the
community, not just the police, Stevens said.

"There's definitely a need for more extensive communication between all the
groups," Stevens said.