KINGMAN - Representatives from two of Kingman's most active anti-drug councils are meeting to see if their missions need to be realigned.
Both the Kingman Meth Coalition and the Mohave County Substance Abuse Treatment Education Prevention Partnership (MSTEPP) agree that each group's biggest goal is getting a treatment facility somewhere - anywhere - in Mohave County.
Many in the groups feel they are also duplicating each other's efforts. More than 75 percent of people involved with the Kingman Meth Coalition are involved with MSTEPP, and it isn't only membership that overlaps. The groups meet on many of the same issues and help organize many of the same events, such as Walk Away from Drugs.
"Everyone gets meeting-ed out," said Bonnie Cole, chairwoman of MSTEPP.
MSTEPP was formed in 2007 and was intended to facilitate the efforts of the meth coalitions that had already been established two years earlier in Kingman, Bullhead City and Lake Havasu City.
Both MSTEPP and the Kingman Meth Coalition are non-profits, although the Coalition does not have a 501(3)(c) federal tax exemption.
Everyone in the groups agree that drugs - and particularly methamphetamines - have become a growing problem in the community. The Mohave County division of Child Protection Services removes three times the number of children from their homes than the state norm, according to the agency.
More than 80 percent of removals are the result of substance abuse by the parents. Half of the cases involve meth.
In January, MSTEPP printed 7,500 resource guides and distributed them to clinics and other outlets. Only 700 are left.
Kingman Police Capt. Scott Wright is the chair of the Kingman Meth Coalition. He said the individual city coalitions could take care of specific community issues and events, freeing up MSTEPP's energy to focus on securing grants and funding for a treatment center.
"Both groups agree that is our end goal," Wright said.
MSTEPP has suspended its December elections for vacated board positions until a more formal plan for its and the Meth Coalition's missions are ironed out.
Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2010
Article comment by:
Johnathon marin
I am a ex-meth addict. I am the hopeless addict that some of these article comments are speaking of. I used meth for over ten years. During which time i was in and out of several rehabs some volunteer, some court ordered however, it was in a rehab when i started my soberity. I have been clean from all drugs, including alcohol for over five years now. I am currently studing chemical dependency therapy here in the mohave county. Next year i will be getting my licence in the state of az as a LSAT, and from there continuing my education to the masters level. I do not have any satisitics on the over all rehabitation of meth addicts, however, i have heard some and they are low. But, just because they are low, does not mean they are a waste of societies time. People can, and are getting and staying sober through inpatient rehabitation faculities. If it was not for these inpatiet rehabitation centers I for one would have never find soberity.
Posted: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
"Meth rehab, LoL. Thanks, but no thanks. I am more than willing to pay taxes for jail cells for those losers. If you want low success rate rehab for friends or family, pay for it yourself. It would be cheaper to just give them all the free meth, they want, and watch the problem disappear through overuse. And before you ask, no, I don't care about them."
You have a point when one considers that prohibitionist policy has a way of making the very problem it seeks to alleviate WORSE than the actual problem of drug use. Here in the United States we have five percent of the world’s population yet we incarcerate twenty five percent of the world’s inmates. And drugs are still everywhere and the percentages of our drug using population remain fairly consistent decade after decade. The only changes we tend to see in percentages are in drugs of choice.
Posted: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
That link only referred to the report in general terms. You need to actually read the report for the data you're looking for. Would you like me to link the report or do you think you can goggle it?
The efficacy of treatment and education over incarceration for drug addicts of any persuasion has been well documented by the medical community. We need only recognize this fact and respond to this issue in a cost effective manner. Drug abuse is not an issue we can solve through a primary focus on incarceration. We realized this in our experience with alcohol prohibition in this country. We need only apply the same principles to many of our other substance abuse issues and in a cost effective manner.
Posted: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
@No Name Provided
"A recent UCLA study of California’s Proposition 36 (2000) appears to contradict this assumption." (On treatment for meth addiction)
Thanks for the link which proves your claim to be massive B.S.
The info there studiously avoids any mention at all of actual success rates, recidivism rates, etc. for rehab programs. It does, however, crow about the savings to the taxpayers from not jailing "Non-violent offenders". Which of course leaves them free to rob houses, people, steal cars, and pretty much doing anything that the justice system catagorizes as a "non-violent crime".
I also visited 3 other sources during my internet search on Prop. 36 and came across the following:
"Savings related to SACPA (Prop.36) were largely due to reductions in jail and prison time, while cost increases were due to drug abuse treatment and to subsequent arrests and convictions primarily related to later drug offenses."
I gleaned the above nugget from a study done by (Gasp!) UCLA on the effectiveness of Prop 36. The study ended in June of '06
The report you cite only applies if you cover your eyes and pretend that rehab actually works on methheads in large numbers. And I defy you or anyone making a buck of that growth industry to prove me wrong with actual numbers on long term success.
[Deleted].
Posted: Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
@Anonymous
Meth rehab, LoL. Thanks, but no thanks. I am more than willing to pay taxes for jail cells for those losers. If you want low success rate rehab for friends or family, pay for it yourself. It would be cheaper to just give them all the free meth, they want, and watch the problem disappear through overuse. And before you ask, no, I don't care about them.
Posted: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Article comment by:
Lynn
I felt compelled to write a response to what I have read.I have known people who's friends have died before age 30 by using 'Meth'.That scared some enough to quit and build a life.Some moved away from Kingman to be away from the temptation.One young woman left for 3 years only to return to be near the children she left and fell back into her old habits with the people she was familiar with.She hated herself.I know of a young man who did prison time because of Meth...He served his time and was court ordered to return to Mohave County..the very place and the very people and the old lifestyle he wanted to leave.There are some souls out there that want to sever ties to our community not because it is a bad place to live,rather to leave and put the past behind them....with as little damage as possible to their loved ones.Before anyone feels the need to attack me..allow me this:I do not and never have condoned the use of drugs and this problem has been around since the early 70's.Make sure you tell your kids/grandkids/.
Posted: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
"Some observers of drug addiction trends have noted that treatment for methamphetamine addiction is often assumed to be less effective than treatment for other drug addictions. A recent UCLA study of California’s Proposition 36 (2000) appears to contradict this assumption."
Posted: Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
@NNP
You got it. Court ordered rehab. What a joke. Any methhead will say "Oh yes, I wanna go to rehab and straighten out my life, your honor" when they are standing in court. And they are holding in the laughter as they walk out the door thinking....suckers.
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
I would really like to see figures and facts on the success rate of any meth rehab program being considered. Some followup, like how many are still clean one year after treatment. If the program is not shown to be successful, pay for it without ripping off taxpayers.
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009
Article comment by:
Anonymous
The meth rehab need here has been such a no-brainer issue that isso long overdue. I question why this has not been set up yet by community leaders. The crime rate here would drop dramatically if effective rehab or controls on the drug situations were addressed quicker. Let's just get a large lock-down rehab facility up now people!!! We have the will, now let's find the way - NOW!!
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009
Article comment by:
No name provided
mohave county probation makes people go to rehab but m.c.m.h doesnt do drug testing,there just meetings,how do you justify that
