Committee members present: Gary McElligott, Tom Tatum, Ken George, Bill Gilkey, Chuck Dunn, Vicki Sutton, John Foster, Montie Sims, Lynda Baxter, Pat Briley, Elizabeth A. Carter, Betsy Bostian, Jeff Phillips, MJ Ballard, Melinda Collins, Carolyn McGee, Sammie Johnson, Marie Lawrence, and Jerry Hamrick.
The meeting was called to order by Gary McElligott who thanked everyone for coming. He then asked that each person present to introduce themselves.
Gary began his presentation by stating that the website www.StopMethNow.com is up and running and looks great. He had a power presentation available that was very informative on the effects of meth use and abuse in our area. The presentation pointed out the fundamentals of meth use, how it was created at the turn of the century, used by pilots in the 30’s and 40’s, truck drivers in the 50’s and 60’s, and in the 80’s began to spread quickly throughout the U.S.
He stated the ease in making the drug, as well as the low expense. His presentation showed the chemical compound make up of the drug, and that it can be snorted, smoked, ingested, and injected. It has many looks to it such as ice, powder, and may be found in vials. Gary explained that with education, public awareness and the help of law enforcement, abuse of the drug has decreased by 50%, and sales of the drug have declined. He stated that we must reduce the demand for the drug, as one pound of meth made, produces seven pounds of waste that can cost several thousands of dollars to clean up. A hazmat team has to be called in to decontaminate exposed residents if the drug production has been in the home within 12 hours.
He also explained that when it is smoked, 80% of its residue can be found in a home and its chemicals will be absorbed through the skin to any individual that comes in contact. This is extremely dangerous for children. The drug is a mutagen that alters DNA. Gary told the committee that when a parent is addicted to the drug, he/she will have many high’s and low’s for several days, such as binging that keeps them up for two to three days, then neglect to the children as they begin to come down from the drug so they can sleep to let their bodies recharge which may also last for two to three days, and may experience paranoia. Gary stated that a developing child’s brain cells can be severely affected by exposure.
His report also stated that it causes cancer, and using the drug even one time may cause long term abuse and addiction. Urine toxicology screens may even receive a negative result if exposure has only been within a few hours of use. Hair will have a positive test result as long as the follicle is alive, and that permission by the parent or guardian is needed to obtain a sample from a child. Montie Sims asked Gary what the guidelines were for law enforcement to get permission from a guardian that is in custody. Tom Tatum answered by stating that a court order may be obtained within two weeks if needed.
Sheriff Gilkey thanked everyone for attending the meeting and stated that he would like to incorporate the schools involvement to the coalition, and that we have a lot of goals to work towards. Tom Tatum also thanked everyone and stated that our schools are an excellent resource for education. The committee then broke up and went to their groups for “Use”, “Production”, and “Distribution”.
Since the last meeting, Leanne made some follow up calls to community service, and was told they are not teaching classes at this time on drug abuse. She stated that she invited Janice Burnside from Freedom House to come to the meeting today. Jeff Phillips from Counseling and Associates stated that he would check on available funds in the budget for classes. He also stated that he would check with Linda Hubbard, a case worker for Pope County Drug Court on available money for grants. A representative from Superior Graphite stated that they will hire someone who is discharged from drug court, and that with current drug testing it makes it easy to hire them. Sheriff Gilkey asked Melinda Collins and Mary Ballard if a program was developed, how much time could Fourche Valley Schools dedicate to drug education, and they stated as much is needed, at least a couple hours each month.
The meeting was then adjourned. The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday, August 3rd, 2006 at the Dardanelle Community Center at noon. Lunch will be provided.