S.C. SUMMIT TO PLAN METH STRATEGIES

State Agencies Discuss Proactive Options, Plans

'There is not a state in the nation that has been able to get a grasp
on this epidemic.' Trey Walker - spokesman for the S.C. attorney
general's office

Methamphetamine, a drug alarming authorities nationwide, will take
center stage in Myrtle Beach this week during the S.C. Community
Methamphetamine Summit.

The four-day event that begins today will give representatives from
various agencies an opportunity to develop strategies to combat the
spread of meth in S.C. communities.

Trey Walker, spokesman for the S.C. attorney general's office, said
the summit is a continuing education effort to help people recognize
problems such as meth addiction and other problems associated with the drug.

Similar meetings have been held in states across the nation,
according to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials.

"The goal is to educate the people who deal with methamphetamine on
the latest techniques to deal with preventing the spread of meth,
responding to meth labs, and health problems that arise from meth
addiction," Walker said.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug that can cause psychosis,
stroke, dangerously high body temperature and cardiac arrhythmia.
Withdrawal often results in severe depression and paranoia.

Topics this week will include how to recognize and treat meth
addiction, medical evaluation and treatment of children exposed to
the drug, the psycho-social effect of methamphetamine on children,
and methamphetamine and the legislative process.

The audience will be multi-disciplinary, including representatives
from law enforcement, social services and solicitors' offices, said
Shannon Argetsinger, a coordinator from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Methamphetamine became a problem about two decades ago on the West
Coast and has spread eastward, Walker said.

South Carolina has seen a rise in the number of meth labs discovered
in the state - up from six in 2000 to more than 240 in 2004.

S.C. officials are trying to slow the spread of meth by controlling
the sale of key ingredients used to make the drug - including
pseudoephedrine, which is sold over the counter.

The S.C. attorney general's office established Meth Watch, a
voluntary program among retailers and law enforcement designed to
stop the suspicious sale and theft of items commonly used to make the drug.

N.C. officials are attacking meth with a bill that took effect this
year and limits the amount of pseudoephedrine that can be sold over
the counter.

"There is not a state in the nation that has been able to get a grasp
on this epidemic," Walker said. "South Carolina is still very much in
the first stages of methamphetamine saturation."