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INDIANAPOLIS (October 12, 2005) ? Indiana?s initiatives to combat methamphetamine production and abuse ? including the state?s new law that restricts the sale of cold medicine containing commonly used meth ingredients, increased enforcement, and attention to the drug-testing backlog ? are beginning to show results.
Since March, when Governor Daniels announced his first meth initiatives:
? Drug lab seizures have decreased dramatically. For example, between July and September, compared to the same three months in 2004, the number of meth labs seized by Indiana State Police declined 32 percent (243 to 166). In September, 53 labs were seized, compared to 90 a year ago, a 41 percent reduction.
? The drug-testing backlog at the Indiana State Police forensics lab has been cut by nearly half. The backlog was 8,413 in February; it has been reduced to 4,404 as of September.
? The first 22 inmates will complete the Department of Correction Clean Living is Freedom Forever (CLIFF) meth rehab program this Thursday.
? The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, in conjunction with the Meth Free Indiana Coalition and other partners, will launch Indiana?s participation in the national Meth Watch Program later this week.
The governor also announced today he will host leaders from 13 states in December for the first Midwestern Governors Association Regional Meth Summit. Governors, agency heads and policy leaders will be invited to the December 13-15 event in Indianapolis that is being coordinated with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
?This event recognizes that Indiana is making unusual headway against the methamphetamine plague that has hit every Midwestern state,? said Daniels. ?Our initiatives are beginning to make a difference, but we need to share what we?ve learned and learn all we can from others, because the damage is enormous.?
The Criminal Justice Institute (CJI) will coordinate the event locally. Governor Daniels will lead a roundtable discussion focused on meth initiatives implemented by various states, and White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Director John Walters has been invited to give the conference introduction.
?The governor?s meth strategy is producing measurable results for Indiana, and this summit will be a great opportunity for us to share the progress we are making,? said Heather Bolejack, CJI executive director.
Summit participants will tour the Miami Correctional Facility, where 22 inmates will complete the CLIFF program this week. The governor, with Correction Commissioner David Donahue, opened the 204-bed treatment program for meth addicts at the facility in April.
?We are making positive changes in the lives of meth-addicted inmates who are housed in our facilities. We?re committed to providing inmates with the help they need to start a new life free of this drug,? said Donahue.
Meth arrests are down 55 percent compared to the same period in 2004. Law enforcement officials report that meth arrests are lower than meth seizures because they are locating abandoned or semi-active labs that prompt investigations that have yet to result in arrests.
?With the governor's leadership, state resources have come together effectively and we are seeing a marked and continued decrease in meth labs and meth lab seizures,? said Paul Whitesell, Indiana State Police superintendent.
Among other state accomplishments to protect Hoosiers from meth:
? The Meth Free Indiana Coalition, chaired by the governor, has created new policies to fight meth by creating a partnership of more than 30 state agencies, departments and non-government organizations.
? Indiana?s Drug Endangered Children Protocol, developed by the Department of Child Services, is being used as a model by at least one other state. Child Services received a federal grant of just over $72,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice, with matching state funds of $24,250 from the CJI, to pay for printing, lamination and statewide distribution of the protocols. Grant funds also will help pay for disposable emergency blankets. Children are wrapped in these blankets when they are removed from homes containing meth labs.
? In addition to the Miami facility, DOC has opened meth rehab units at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility and the Rockville Correctional Facility, which is the first unit in a women?s prison in the country. The department plans to open a unit at a juvenile facility yet this year.
? CJI, with the Meth Free Indiana Coalition, DOC, and the Indiana State Police will initiate the Indiana Meth Watch Program to educate retailers and the public about the dangers of meth production. The program is being funded through a $50,000 grant from the Consumer Healthcare Protection Association.
? The Coalition is preparing an environmental cleanup and remediation program to deal with abandoned meth labs that cause severe contamination from the hazardous materials used in manufacturing the drug.
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Office of the Governor media contact: Jane Jankowski, 317/232-1622, jjankowski@gov.in.gov
Criminal Justice Institute media contact: Roxanne Butler, 317/232-1292, rbutler@cji.in.gov
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