Citizens For a Safe Snohomish County (CSSC) published our 25-page "Report on the Methamphetamine Crisis in Snohomish County" last month. The intent of this study, begun in January 2003, was to focus appropriate and reasonable attention on meth as the single most invasive public safety issue affecting our daily lives.
The report of findings and recommendations has been called "clear and reasonable." We look now to our county government to create a long-term strategic plan to eradicate this menace once and for all.
CSSC’s report recommends a broad-based approach to the meth crisis, headed by a county leadership body that would have the authority to appropriate funds and resources and establish policy. Active community organizations and concerned citizens already engaged in the fight against meth are eager to cooperate with county government in this effort. CSSC offers suggestions in the areas of prevention, protection and law enforcement, environmental mitigation, treatment and corrections.
Prevention and awareness are crucial elements of a successful plan. Prevention programming would be oriented toward reducing the number of meth users and producers and might include elements such as meth summits in schools. Prevention represents a long-term investment that will result in lessening the problem over time. Awareness is a corollary to prevention and involves outreach to the community. Awareness develops public support for the overall response program and its associated cost to society. Since the beginning of our study, great strides have been made in this arena by the Sheriff’s Office, the County Meth Action Team and a valiant group of teens who vow to educate every student in the county.
Protection and enforcement efforts would identify criminal activities associated with meth use and production, arrest and prosecute criminal acts, protect victims and otherwise uphold the law. Included would be certain social service agencies, such as Child Protective Services, where children are harmed during a meth-related crime. CSSC deeply laments the fact that the lives of innocent children are put at risk of dangerous fumes and potential fires as meth is cooked on the kitchen stove by their primary "caregivers."
Environmental mitigation involves all necessary components required to respond to meth use and production where damage to the environment and property occurs. Meth lab cleanup costs from $6,500 to $30,000 per site. The entire value of the house or property is lost if it is deemed unsalvageable by the Health District and the Bio-Chemical Processing Team.
CSSC finds that treatment is the missing link in the fight against meth. We strongly recommend a heavy emphasis on treatment and relapse prevention. Even hardcore prosecutors are now advocating treatment over jail time as familiar names and faces return to the jail, over and over again, addicts caught in the cycle. Studies show that addicts "hit a wall" at 45 days of treatment, making a 30-day jail sentence ineffective without the ongoing treatment component.
Corrections would address meth users who cannot be treated successfully and who must be removed from society for their protection and for the protection of the community. It also addresses those who manufacture and sell meth, those who are pure criminals who cannot be rehabilitated within the current corrections system. CSSC finds some legislative requirements governing the state Department of Corrections onerous and inflexible.
Suggestions outlined in our report are offered in a spirit of collaboration with government to help bring about victory over the epidemic of meth in our county. Progress has been made since the beginning of our study. It is time for a comprehensive, workable plan from leadership and a steady, dedicated funding source against meth, indexed for inflation. CSSC recommends that budget forecasts and spending plans include cost/benefit analyses to demonstrate the long-term benefits realized by effectively managing the meth issue.
The county executive has announced a 2004 budget that does not allow for the 10-person Meth Strike Team citizens have been waiting for and, in fact, cuts seven employees in the Sheriff’s Office. It will take creative measures to find the money to fight meth in our county. Only one thing is certain: If left unchecked, this crisis will leave no citizen and no business unscathed.
Our study illuminates the threat meth represents to our communities and people. CSSC urges immediate action and careful planning to stem the human, environmental and business costs of meth today and for generations to come.
Irene Endicott is Chair of Citizens For a Safe Snohomish County and resides in south Everett. Lisa Vares is a member of the Marysville City Council and a founding member of CSSC.
A copy of the CSSC Report can be obtained by writing Citizens For a Safe Snohomish County, P.O. Box 13618, Mill Creek, WA 98082 or by e-mailing SnoCoSafety@msn.com.
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