Anyone who reads The Herald regularly must be alarmed by the methamphetamine epidemic that continues to ravage Snohomish County neighborhoods. Every few days, The Herald documents yet another tragedy or horror bred by meth labs, dealers and users:
How can we stop the drug dealers and reverse the meth epidemic before it does more harm to our communities?
No single solution will work. Education, law enforcement and the health-care system must all be part of the answer. Environmental clean-up is also crucial, because meth labs generate six pounds of toxic waste with every pound of meth.
Experts from every front in the war on meth agree on one anti-meth strategy that should be implemented as quickly as possible: a law enforcement strike team to shut down drug houses in Snohomish County where the meth plague is festering.
Our sheriff’s office, prosecuting attorney, County Council and community organizations such as Lead On America and Families for Kids have united to urge creation of a sheriff’s strike team that is specifically dedicated to eradicating local meth houses and meth labs.
"Our ability to provide quality service to our communities is mired by a growing workload of street crimes and drug-abuse cases," Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart recently told me. "A meth strike team would make Snohomish County safer."
Armed with support from local leaders, I am leading the effort in the state House of Representatives to request $600,000 in state funds to help us launch the meth strike team. Thirteen lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans, are now involved in this effort. Together, we represent virtually every part of our county and represent a wide variety of political perspectives. We all are in complete agreement with respect to Snohomish County’s need for a law enforcement strike team to combat the producers, dealers and users of methamphetamine.
Funding the strike team would be a cooperative effort. Snohomish County government has already indicated a willingness to match up to $600,000 of state funds for the purpose of creating the strike team.
It must be understood, however, that success in the Legislature is not assured. The state budget has yet to fully recover from the economic downturn and there are more requests for funding other good causes than can possibly be met.
We will have a much better chance of succeeding if Snohomish County citizens make their voices heard on the meth strike-team issue. I encourage our community to get involved by calling the toll-free legislative hotline at 1-800-562-6000. Operators at the Legislature will ensure your call is routed to your own lawmakers. Tell them Snohomish County needs state help to get our strike team up and running as soon as possible.
If you have any doubts about the urgency of this issue, there is an easy way to resolve them. Go to the web site of The Herald (www.heraldnet.com) and do a search on the word "meth."
If you do, you will see story after story documenting the devastation methamphetamine is inflicting upon our neighborhoods, streets, schools, families and children. You will see why we must shut down the drug houses and meth labs before they hurt more people and further degrade our quality of life.
Examine the problem. Think about what is at stake. Then, please, join the call for state funding to help Snohomish County launch a law-enforcement strike team against the meth houses and labs that are destroying our community. Together we can make a difference.
Rep. Brian Sullivan (D-Mukilteo) represents the 21st Legislative District, which includes Mukilteo, Lynnwood and much of Edmonds.
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