Pubdate: Sun, 27 Nov 2005
Source: Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Copyright: 2005 Sun Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/987
Note: apparent 150 word limit on LTEs
Author: Kenneth A. Gailliard
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

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."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman