Extension urged for anti-drug panel

CARSON CITY -- With meth use on the decline, the Governor's Working Group on Methamphetamine Use recommended Tuesday that the governor re-establish their group as a task force fighting all illegal drugs.

Carson City Mayor Marv Teixeira, a member of the group, said that heroin use is rising among adolescents in his community and that the group should be converted to a task force that develops strategies to reduce use of other drugs.

The group was created last winter through an executive order from Gov. Jim Gibbons after studies showed Nevada ranked first nationally in meth use. Under the order, its duties expire Dec. 31.

Before that date, members must prepare a report of recommendations on their successes and failures and how they think meth use can be reduced in Nevada.

Members voted Tuesday to recommend that Gibbons issue a new order keeping them working through June 2009 as a task force looking to reduce use of any illegal drug.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said reports show the number of meth labs operating in Nevada has decreased because of laws cutting off the availability of ingredients used to make the drug.

"It is tougher to get; the cost is up and the purity down," added Cortez Masto, chairwoman of the group.

A Drug Enforcement Administration analysis found that police closed down 35 meth labs in Nevada last year, compared with 125 in 2003.

But the agency said meth is the most frequently encountered drug in Nevada.

A recent Department of Education study, done in 2005, found that 11.7 percent of high school students have used meth at least once, including 3.2 percent who used the drug 50 or more times.

Because meth is harder to get, Cortez Masto said, drug users might be switching to other drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

By concentrating on all drugs, the group can take steps to combat the current drug of choice, she added.

She acknowledged that the group could adopt recommendations calling for the state to increase spending to stop drug use. But Gibbons is preparing to cut state spending because tax revenues have fallen below projections.

"I would hope they not get caught up in the budget issue," she said. "We need to be true to our cause. We should leave (the budget shortfall) up to the legislators and governor."

Contact Review-Journal Capital Bureau chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or (775) 687-3901.