Other LanguagesOLYMPIA…Attorney General Rob McKenna will award a grant to the Citizens for Safe Yakima Communities (CSC) for consumer education about methamphetamine. Meth is the primary drug threat to Washington. CSC’s Meth Reduction Action Team will receive a $25,000 grant to educate youth, parents and the public about the dangers of meth in the community.
CSC is a private, not for profit, volunteer group that seeks to involve and unite all aspects of the community in a collaborative effort to reduce crime and the causes of crime in the Yakima Valley.
When: 11:30 a.m.., Friday, October 5
Where: Attorney General’s Office, 1433 Lakeside Ct #102, Yakima, WA 98902-7354
Who:
• Attorney General Rob McKenna
• Carol Holden, Executive Director, Citizens for Safe Yakima Communities
• Ron Shepard, Detective, Narcotics Division, Yakima County Sheriff’s Office
• Tina Moss, VP, Client Services, Enigma Marketing Solutions
• Linda Iasella, Community member
Background
According to the 2004 National Drug Threat Survey, 92.3% of law enforcement agencies in the region reported that methamphetamine is the greatest drug threat in their jurisdictions.
The Legislature unanimously approved the Operation: Allied Against Meth bill (Senate Bill 6239) during the 2006 session. The bill created a funding through 2010 to be split across three new multi-jurisdictional pilot enforcement areas. It also provided funding for existing multi-jurisdictional drug task forces and local government drug prosecution assistance.
The bill outlined strategies in public education, clean-up and governance and sentencing to:
• Reduce the number of people addicted to meth
• Increase treatment
• Make sentencing and incarceration more effective for meth addicts.
The bill also outlines strategies in public education, clean-up and governance and sentencing to reduce the number of people addicted to meth, to increase treatment and to make sentencing and incarceration more effective for meth addicts.
It was unanimously approved by the Legislature and takes effect 90 days after it is signed into law.
In May 2007, Attorney General Rob McKenna announced a $19.5 million multi-state settlement with Purdue Pharma. As part of the agreement, Washington received $719,500, which resolves the allegations the company aggressively marketed its painkiller OxyContin to doctors while downplaying the risk of addiction. Part of the settlement may be used for drug education and outreach programs.
-30-
Contact: J. Ryan Shannon, Media Relations Manager, (360) 753-2727