NorthwestJuly 17, 2003

Dean Ferguson

The Payette County Jail spends its entire medical budget pulling rotten teeth from methamphetamine users -- about $6,300 per month.

Each meth lab the cops find costs $2,000 to $4,000 to clean up. The total is 53 labs in Idaho since January.

The Idaho Department of Corrections says 83 percent of prisoners are in for drug-related problems.

"I don't think we even have a handle on how huge it is," said Glen Schwartz, ISP major operations commander, about the meth problem in Idaho.

Schwartz presented information about meth to a dozen fire and law enforcement officials Wednesday in Lewiston.

Schwartz is traveling the state seeking ideas for tackling the meth problem.

Nez Perce County prosecutor Dan Spickler suggested stiffer penalties for meth dealers might help.

More cooperation among agencies is needed to beat meth, said ISP Capt. Dave Kane.

Hospitals need to let police know when someone shows up with burns from an exploded meth lab.

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More highway investigation is needed to stop shipments on interstate highways.

The Department of Corrections needs to relax its rules so police can turn parolees into snitches.

Above all, said Kane, communities need to know just how bad the problem is.

"The root is the demand for the drug," Kane said.

Education and community awareness can kill the root, he said.

Kane and Schwartz said word about the destructive nature of the drug and the high costs of addiction could help turn the tide, like the efforts to stop drinking and driving.

Democratic state Rep. Mike Nacaratto, a Lewiston firefighter, pledged to help get a handle on how much meth is costing the state of Idaho. Nacaratto said police need solid numbers before they take proposals to the Legislature.

Any group interested in seeing a presentation that includes information about how meth is made, its symptoms and effects, and its costs may call Kane at 799-5020.

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Ferguson may be contacted at dferguson@lmtribune.com

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