NCJ Number
189362
Journal
Prevention File Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: Winter 2001 Pages: 2-4
Date Published
2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the various activities U.S. cities have mounted to counter the increasing problem of methamphetamine manufacturing and abuse.
Abstract
At a national conference in Portland, OR, in the fall of 2000, Brent Coles, the mayor of Boise, Idaho, informed the conference that since he became mayor in 1993, the police and hospital statistics on methamphetamine incidents had increased from virtually nothing to hundreds of arrests in the year 2000. The city had mounted a campaign that encompassed prevention, law enforcement, and treatment and recovery services. Preventive measures in Boise as well as other U.S. cities include an outreach program to owners and managers of rental property that combines education and code enforcement. Boise city officials train property managers in ways to screen prospective tenants and monitor the environment for signs of illicit activities, such as manufacturing and storing methamphetamine and its precursor chemicals and byproducts. In addition, any Boise apartment complex that warrants two police actions due to illicit drugs in a 6-month period is subject to an aggressive response of health and safety inspections, which may prevent the occupancy of vacant units that fail to meet relevant municipal codes. This article also includes information on the adverse social consequences of methamphetamine use, which includes fetal toxicity as well as explosions and toxic wastes from manufacturing labs. This article also outlines the contents of a Federal task force's report on a comprehensive national action plan for limiting future methamphetamine use and dealing with the effects of current use.