ROGERS — A government official warned Friday that methamphetamine use is seeing a surge across the U.S.
Shannon Weatherly, with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, was guest speaker at Friday’s annual Methamphetamine Awareness and Prevention luncheon.
The number of domestic lab incidents is increasing, with the largest increases in the South and Midwest. In March 2009, there were 966 meth lab incidents nationwide, compared to 756 incidents in March 2008 and 596 incidents in March 2007. In the South, meth lab incidents for Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida show an increase of 254 percent from 63 in March 2007 to 223 in March 2009, according to the website www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov.
Weatherly said a 2005 law that put items containing pseudoephedrine, a main ingredient in the meth-making process, behind pharmacy counters across the country helped decrease the number of meth labs operating in the country.
Some states and cities even passed laws requiring prescriptions for items containing pseudoephedrine.
Meth makers, though, have found new ways to get the items they need to make the drug. Some makers use multiple people to purchase items to make methamphetamine, Weatherly said. An electronic system used to track the purchase of pseudoephedrine products does not report state-to-state, she said.
Rick McLeod, chairman for Drug Free-Rogers Lowell, showed a short video Friday. The video is included in presentations given to children at area schools.
McLeod said the program was presented to more than 7,000 youths at schools throughout the county this month.
“It’s another successful year to get out the message about methamphetamine to the community and especially children,” said Van Stone, Benton County prosecuting attorney.
Weatherly also warned about the growing problem of prescription drug abuse.
“It’s the epidemic methamphetamine was several years ago in the Midwest,” Weatherly said.
Weatherly said it is important different entities within a community work together to address drug problems.
She said her office’s responsibility is to provide resources to local communities to aid them in solving drug problems.
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Web Watch
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/