Attorney General Goddard is main speaker

By Diane Saunders, Staff Writer

Users of methamphetamines endanger themselves and their children and create a law enforcement crisis for the entire state of Arizona.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard talks to Ray Boes about computers at the Graham County Senior Citizens Center. Photo by Diane Saunders

“Meth is the number one law enforcement problem in Arizona,” Terry Goddard, Arizona attorney general told a group of educators, counselors and law enforcement officials.

Goddard was the keynote speaker at the second annual Graham/Greenlee Meth Awareness Conference on April 4 at the Eastern Arizona College. He said Arizona will officially kick off the Arizona Meth Project on April 18.

Meth usage spawns violence, theft and child abuse. The attorney general said one-third of the lawyers who work in the Attorney General’s office handle child abuse cases, and at least 65 percent of those cases are related to meth usage.

Children are endangered on several different fronts. Parents under the influence of the drug often neglect and physically abuse their children. In addition, kids are harmed because of exposure to meth.

“They are literally small sponges,” Goddard said.

Children removed from the homes of meth users often exhibit respiratory problems and are frequently drug-dependent, he said.

To reach children and teens, Arizona has planned a $5-million advertising blitz designed to capture the attention of children and teens.

“We need to be on MTV; we need to be on programs kids are engaged in,” Goddard said.

The ads are not designed to sugarcoat the meth problem.

“They’re tough,” God-dard said. “They’re not pleasant, but neither is meth.”

Goddard believes it’s better to put money into prevention. He said studies show the success rate of people treated for meth addiction is 5 to 7 percent — meaning a failure rate of up to 95 percent.

The Arizona Meth Project is modeled after the Montana Meth Project, which reports encouraging statistics. Awareness was raised by 20 percent; hospital emergencies connected to meth dropped by 74 percent, and the amount of drugs in the workplace was reduced by 73 percent, Goddard said.

He said he is optimistic that the people of Arizona can rein in meth usage in the state.

“As bad as it looks, I think it (Arizona Meth Project) will be successful,” Goddard said.

Prior to Goddard’s speech, Stacy Kramer, a Phelps Dodge health and safety trainer, offered a few statistics. She said $400 million a year is spent annually on drug-related issues.

She said the Arizona Youth Survey, published by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, shows 8 percent of the eighth-, 10th- and 12th-grade students surveyed in Graham County admitted using meth. Another 15 percent abused prescription medicines, and 58.9 percent said they used alcohol.

After the luncheon, the conference attendees moved into Lee Little Theater to hear a presentation about “meth mouth” by Dr. Eric Curtis, a local dentist. They also saw a demonstration by a drug-sniffing dog.

The attendees also heard a presentation about drug-endangered children by Department of Public Safety Detective Jim Smith.

He listed the dangers of children near methamphetamine labs and in drug houses.

The labs and drug houses are at risk of explosions and fires.

Drugs and paraphernalia are kept within reach of children.

Children are exposed to toxic chemicals.

Children are at risk of ingesting chemicals used to make meth and other drugs.

Children live in unsanitary and neglectful conditions.

Children are at risk of absorption of drugs through the skin.

Smith said often the utilities have been turned off at these houses.

“We’ve (seen) rooms full of containers of human waste,” Smith said.

He said statistics show that children who are neglected or abused are 50 percent more likely to be arrested as juveniles and 40 percent more likely to commit a violent crime. They also are 33 percent more likely to abuse illegal substances.

About 250 people attended the conference, which included a luncheon, several sessions addressing a variety of topics and Goddard’s speech.