Governor gets report on fighting meth use

CARSON CITY -- A 55-page report detailing ways the state can help eradicate the abuse of methamphetamine, from improved information sharing among law enforcement agencies to providing early intervention services to families, has been forwarded to Gov. Jim Gibbons.

The report is the result of 11 months of work by the Governor's Working Group on Methamphetamine Use in Nevada.

Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto called the report "a working document intended to guide all Nevadans committed to eradicating methamphetamine in our state."

First lady Dawn Gibbons, who has made the fight against meth use one of her priorities, said too many Nevada families have been affected by the drug.

"Nevadans must unite to ensure that this devastating drug is not in our homes, schools or communities," she said.

Recommendations in the report include:

• Extend the authority of the working group through 2009, and expand its study to include all types of drug abuse.

• Establish information sharing systems between state, local and tribal agencies to ensure that law enforcement participates in drug courts to avoid drug traffickers from being allowed into that process.

• Fund early intervention services that use a "whole family" system of prevention for children and families.

• Review school-based substance abuse prevention curriculum and establish minimum requirements for K-12 prevention education, while encouraging collaboration with local community partners and law enforcement.

• Replace federal funding lost by the Nevada Juvenile Justice Programs Office over the past five years for critical substance abuse intervention and substance abuse and mental health treatment services.

Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie, a member of the working group, said the report makes clear that a multi-disciplinary approach to the problem is needed.

"It is clear to me as sheriff that in order for us to effectively combat the use of this drug, law enforcement working in partnership with education and treatment programs is essential to our success," he said.