Governor Unveils a New Community Tool to Fight Meth

New ‘Meth Toolkits’ are available to communities throughout the state.

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski

(PORTLAND) - Governor Kulongoski Monday rolled-out the "Target Meth Oregon Toolkit," a new tool that can enable communities to take control of local neighborhoods and fight methamphetamine use and trafficking.

"Today, we’re presenting a ‘toolkit’ that communities can use to help people make a difference in the fight against meth," the Governor said. "In it, you’ll find information about community resources and programs for treatment and prevention. You’ll also find a list of prevention experts in each county."

The toolkit also includes a "Community Action Guide" and a PowerPoint slide library that allows users to customize presentations and help build coalitions in the community to fight meth use.

The toolkits are the result of a joint effort by Oregon Partnership, the Governor’s Meth Task Force, the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, law enforcement agencies and other community, public and private groups.

Even though Oregon has enacted the nation’s toughest meth laws, and has shut down an estimated 77 percent of the meth labs in the state, the northwest still faces a serious meth problem, the Governor said. He referred to a recent study by the state medical examiner, which reports that methamphetamine killed as many people in 2005 as heroin, and more people than cocaine. This has never happened before, the Governor said.

Earlier this month, the Governor announced an effort to provide 24/7 patrol coverage by the Oregon State Police on roads and highways—a strategy to help interdict the flow of meth into the state from super labs outside Oregon.

"These are all strong measures, and they’re necessary measures, because methamphetamine kills," the Governor said. "But there’s more we must do. We must enlist our most effective assets in this effort—our people. We must mobilize our community leaders to build drug-prevention coalitions that work to prevent kids from ever falling into the trap of methamphetamine use."

The Governor announced the dates and locations of several "trainings for the trainers," in which local city governments, activists and other concerned citizens can receive training on using and distributing the resources in the toolkits throughout local communities.

"The purpose of the toolkit is to motivate, enlighten and inspire Oregonians to make the most effective use of their minds and their hands to prevent methamphetamine use and trafficking," the Governor said. "As I said, the best weapon we have is our people. Our people can make a difference when they have the right tools—and that’s what this day is all about."

Training sessions:

Portland:

August 31st

Portland Community College—Sylvania Campus

Albany:

September 14th

Linn Benton Community College

Pendleton:

September 20th

Blue Mountain Community College

Bend:

September 29th

Central Oregon Community College

Medford:

October 6th

Rogue Community College