Pubdate: Tue, 05 Dec 2006
Source: Hollister Free Lance (CA)
Copyright: 2006 Hollister Free Lance.
Contact:  http://www.freelancenews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2927
Author: Michael Van Cassell

SHERIFF'S OFFICE GETS STATE FUNDS TO COMBAT METH USE

Hollister - The San Benito County Sheriff's Office Is Receiving 
$330,000 in State Grants to Combat the County's Methamphetamine Problem.

The sheriff's office will add an extra deputy and fund  an additional 
Hollister police officer to work in  conjunction with the county's 
United Narcotics  Enforcement Team, Undersheriff Pat Turturici said. 
The  sheriff's office will begin receiving the grant money  this 
month, he said.

Turturici called methamphetamine use in the county an epidemic.

"It's easy to make, it's cheap to make and it's highly  addictive," 
Turturici said.

Hollister Police Officer Rosie Betanio said Hollister  has problems 
with the drug.

"Normally if you have a meth addict and they don't have  a job, the 
option they have is to steal, burglarize or  rob to sustain their 
habit," Betanio said.

Lt. Edward Escamilla, San Benito County Jail commander,  said a 
majority of inmates in the San Benito County  Jail are incarcerated 
on meth-related crimes.

"They need to support their habit," Escamilla said.

Of the 113 inmates in the San Benito County Jail on  Tuesday, 58 were 
there on drug charges, Escamilla said.  The drug of choice among 
inmates is meth, he said. Drug  users often are connected with other crimes.

"A lot of those also have piggybacked theft crimes,"  Escamilla said.

The California Office of Emergency Service will dole  out $29 million 
in anti-meth funds to 40 counties this  year - $19 million more than 
was available in 2005,  state officials said.

In 2005, OES grant funding helped local law enforcement  agencies 
rescue 152 children, arrest 955 suspects,  confiscate 321 weapons, 
dismantle 46 meth labs and  seize more than $6.9 million in drug 
money and assets,  according to the agency's director, Henry Renteria.

The California State Sheriff's Association lobbied for  the grants 
and determined need on a county-by-county  basis. Some counties 
received substantially more  funding.

San Joaquin County, where meth use has been linked to  141 deaths 
since January 2003, will receive $1.2  million. Sacramento County 
will receive $3.5 million,  the most funding of any county, according 
to an OES  press release.

Meth is manufactured everywhere, said Turturici,  including San Benito County.

"We come across two to three labs a year, and it's  always in the 
rural areas," Turturici said. "We have  limited resources to go look 
for these people."

State Sen. Jeff Denham's office stated in February that  "more than 
30 percent of people in county drug  treatment centers reported 
methamphetamine (meth) as  their No. 1 drug, compared to 22 percent 
for alcohol  and 16.5 percent for heroin."

Denham's office also stated that "more than 70 percent  of all 
current child welfare service cases in Merced  and San Benito 
counties are meth related."

Turturici called meth "an ugly drug." He said the  effects of the 
drug can be devastating.

"I've seen people in the jail who have not gone to  sleep for eight 
days" after arriving high on meth,  Turturici said.
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