Developing Effective Methamphetamine Prevention Programs

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• Developing Effective Methamphetamine Prevention
  Programs

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Kansas

• 105 counties
• 2,723,507 residents
• 91 rural
• Ranked 13th in the country in reported lab
  seizures with 168 in 2006
• 1,997 Kansans entered state-funded treatment for
  methamphetamine in FY2006
• 5.3 of Kansas high school seniors report using
  meth at least once in their lifetime

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Kansas Methamphetamine Prevention Project

• Provides
• Training (including training-of-trainers for
  implementation of community meth prevention
  initiatives and Drug Endangered Children
  programs)
• Technical assistance to communities throughout
  Kansas and the United States
• Public awareness through presentations,
  materials, and websites
• Coordination of agencies

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What Was Done Initially in Kansas

• Conducted four statewide trainings of trainers
• Provided small mini-grants to communities for
  start-up funding
• Provided meth prevention resources to communities
• Provided on-going training and technical
  assistance to communities
• As a result, 43 counties implemented meth
  prevention efforts.

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Outcomes in Kansas Communities

• Decrease in theft of precursors (including
  anhydrous ammonia)
• Reduced usage by youth
• Increased arrests
• Increased safety
• Improved collaboration
• Increase in public awareness
• Increased media coverage

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Assess the Meth Problem at the Community Level

• Lab seizures
• Trafficking seizures
• Treatment data
• Student survey statistics
• Arrest data
• Media accounts
• Information from retail stores including visual
  surveys of meth manufacturing ingredients and
  paraphernalia
• Interviews with treatment providers, law
  enforcement, inmates, and recovering meth addicts

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Considerations for Implementing Meth Prevention
Initiatives

• Start with a community assessment and use data to
  demonstrate need
• Determine availability of resources
• Utilize existing resources
• Develop partnerships
• Hold regular meetings
• Create a plan with a timeframe

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Strategies for Addressing Methamphetamine at the
Community Level
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Community-Level Efforts Implemented to Address
Meth Problem

• Public awareness (town hall meetings, educational
  materials)
• Meth Watch
• Drug Endangered Children programs
• Strategies targeting retailers, agriculture, home
  visitor occupations, schools/youth
• Efforts to address drug paraphernalia
• Media campaigns
• Legislative advocacy
• Policy changes (e.g. ordinances targeting
  property owners, paraphernalia, etc.)
• Implementing effective treatment programs

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Public Awareness

• Distribute educational materials
• Create visual aids (mock meth lab, seizure map)
• Town Hall meetings
• Training-of-Trainers
• Presentations tailored to specific audiences

• Audiences to target
• Neighborhoods
• Retailers
• Chance encounter occupations
• Lawmakers
• Hotel/motel employees
• Child protective service workers
• Landlords

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Home Visitor Safety Awareness

• Presentation
• Clothing Personal Items
• Preparation, Parking Pre-surveillance
• Developing relationships w/law enforcement
• Meth Lab Indicators
• Dealing with meth-using individuals
• Excuses to Leave
• Follow-up
• Laminated Tips for Home Visitors card

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Meth Watchwww.kansasmethwatch.com

• Key Components
• Place precursor products in consistently staffed
  areas
• Limit packages on the shelf and packages per
  purchase
• Report suspicious transactions to law enforcement
• Educate customers by providing Meth Watch
  information

• Key Benefits
• Safer stores
• Better customer relations
• Reduced store losses due to theft
• Increased employee awareness
• Better relations with law enforcement

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Rural Strategies for Meth Prevention

• Tank locks
• Tamper tags
• Tank signs
• Surveillance cameras
• Additives
• Education of farmers/ranchers

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Addressing Access to Drug Paraphernalia

• Gather city/county specific data
• Research successful strategies from other states
• Public awareness including educational flyers and
  cards for customers to provide to businesses
• Warning letters delivered to store managers
  and/or owners by law enforcement with a 7 day
  follow-up to seize items
• Propose changes to existing statute

Glass pipe and blunt wrap purchased near a high
school by a 14-year-old
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School/Youth Strategies

• Research-based prevention programs
• Available curricula
• www.lifeormeth.org
• Presentations for students, teachers counselors
• Videos Life or Meth Whats the Cost? and
  Amys Story
• Special events/ideas (contests, youth-planned
  activities)
• Involving existing youth organizations (e.g. SADD)

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The Kansas Alliance for Drug Endangered Children

• Provides technical assistance and resources to
  county-level DEC programs
• Provides leadership, oversight and advocacy at
  the state level
• Provides training on various aspects of DEC
• Develop educational materials, including video
  for providing medical protocol training

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Other Strategies

• Media Strategies
• Press releases
• News conferences
• Website
• Print/broadcast Public Service Announcements
• Billboards

• Legislative Advocacy
• Legislative alerts
• Action alerts
• Testimony
• Contacting Legislators
• One-page policy brief

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Kansas Schedule V Legislation

• Effective June 1, 2005
• Placement Access
• Products containing psudoephedrine/ephedrine sold
  only by licensed pharmacists (3 packages within a
  7 day period)
• Photo identification and signature required
• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Liquids, liquid capsules and gel caps are exempt
• Lab seizures down over 80 since law took effect

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Resources for Communities

• Mini-grant funding (Kansas communities only)
• Ongoing technical assistance and training
• Community Meth Prevention Kit containing
  prevention strategy manual, CD-Rom, videos and
  other materials
• Quick reference safety tip cards for various
  professions
• Educational materials for community distribution
• PowerPoint presentations for multiple target
  audiences
• Videos for retailers, youth, parents, law
  enforcement, and other audiences
• Drug paraphernalia community action materials
• School meth prevention curriculum
• Quarterly E-Newsletter
• Website www.ksmethpreventionproject.org

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Contact Information for the Kansas
Methamphetamine Prevention Project

• Cristi Cain, Coordinator
• Loretta Wyrick Severin, Asst. Coordinator
• 2209 SW 29th Street
• Topeka, KS 66611
• [phone]/Fax [phone]
• ccain_at_parstopeka.com
• lwyrick_at_parstopeka.com
• www.ksmethpreventionproject.org