CAPACITY AUDIENCE PACKS FINAL COMMUNITY ISSUES FORUM GATHERING

Meth Is Subject Of Town Hall

Lincoln County Counsel Rob Bovett and Lincoln County District
Attorney Bernice Barnett were the guest speakers for the final 2005
meeting of the Community Issues Forum of South Lincoln County.

Their two-hour presentation on Oct. 27 at Waldport City Hall offered
specific local data indicating the number of active methamphetamine
labs has been dramatically reduced by changes in the accessibility of
over-the-counter cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, but the
actual use of this deadly drug is on the rise.

Statistics indicate first-time users are not only younger, but
adolescent females are among the fastest growing population. Because
meth is inexpensive to purchase, it is highly attractive to youths
who may not realize the almost immediate addictive consequences of
trying it "just once."

Methamphetamine use is growing in popularity at an amazing rate and
crossing all socio-economic lines, Bovette and Barnett said. Not all
meth users are easily identifiable; as they can and do appear to lead
relatively normal lives at least for a while. Those most tragically
affected by this epidemic are the children of addicts, and their
increasing numbers are overwhelming the foster care system. Often
these children have already suffered from abuse, neglect, and
abandonment by parents so caught up in their enslavement to drugs
that they forget all else, including their babies.

As this plague continues to grow, grandparent-headed households are
among the fastest growing segment in our society, and this statistic
was borne out by concerns shared in the local audience. Another facet
of the effects of meth on local communities is the rising number of
employers dealing with drugs in the workplace, and the need for
policies and procedures to prevent and/or address drug abuse among employees.

A point clearly made by Bovette and Barnett at the Community Issues
Forum event was that in order to address the burgeoning number of
meth-related cases flooding the court system, more funding and jail
space are crucial in addition to alternative rehabilitative options.