Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 Source: Seattle Times (WA) Copyright: 2004 The Seattle Times Company Contact: http://www.seattletimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409 Author: Jennifer Sullivan, Times Snohomish County bureau Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mccaffrey.htm (McCaffrey, Barry) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) EX-DRUG CZAR TO HEADLINE YOUTH METH CONFERENCE EVERETT -- Former national drug czar and retired general Barry McCaffrey will headline this year's Snohomish County Youth Meth Summit on Feb. 5 at the Everett Events Center. McCaffrey, who stepped down as the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in January 2001, said he will share his anti-drug message with students during the six-hour summit. "Methamphetamine is the worst thing that has happened to America, period, on the drug issue," he said yesterday. "It's a building crescendo. "We've been working on (eradicating meth use) for a good long while now, but the problem is the drug is cheap, it's easy to make, it requires precursor chemicals readily available on the commercial market." Youth Meth Summit The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Everett Events Center, 2000 Hewitt Ave. Admission is free, and a pizza lunch will be provided. Go to www.methsummit.com (http://www.methsummit.com) for more information. McCaffrey, who was the most highly decorated and youngest Army four-star general when he retired, commanded the Army's 24th Infantry Division Combat Team during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Since stepping down as drug czar, McCaffrey has worked as a professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., has become president of his own consulting firm and has appeared on NBC News as a national-security and terrorism analyst. According to the Washington Speakers Bureau, McCaffrey can earn up to $15,000 for a speaking engagement. Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart, one of the summit organizers, said McCaffrey is not charging a speaking fee for his appearance at the Meth Summit. Travis Talbot, a member of the local anti-drug group Lead on America and a summit organizer, said McCaffrey is the biggest name they have recruited since the event was started in 2002. Talbot said he doubts students will be fully prepared for the amount of information McCaffrey will present. Talbot expects more than 1,200 students to attend. Because the event is on a school day many districts are hand-picking students from classes with the hope that they can present what they learned to their classmates after the summit. "Having students take part in this discussion is important," said Debbie Jakala, a spokeswoman for the Edmonds School District. "They will have an opportunity to hear about this issue and the impact it has on lives." Jakala wasn't sure how many students were being sent to the summit from her district. Chris Van Horn, an Everett mother who has helped plan all three summits, said she got involved with the events along with her daughter, Jessica. "I love to work with the kids," said Van Horn, whose daughter is a sophomore at Cascade High School. "I think they learn from the summit. We're not trying to get them off drugs, we're hoping to make sure they don't try drugs." The students attending the summit will also hear from members of the Snohomish County Regional Drug Task Force who will talk about shutting down meth labs. Employees from Ausclean Technologies, a Kirkland-based company that specializes in the cleanup of such labs, will discuss how they clean homes and vehicles contaminated with the toxic chemical residue left behind by meth production, Talbot said. "The Youth Meth Summit is a good vehicle to get the information out to the youth," said Drug Task Force Cmdr. Pat Slack, who runs the multijurisdiction task force which focuses on arresting drug dealers, users and manufacturers. "They're getting it firsthand and not from their friends down the block. If we're going to make a change, it's through the youth." Slack said the task force investigated more than 50 methamphetamine labs in 2002 and 2003. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake