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For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 21, 2003                                                       

          Regional Conference Held on Methamphetamine

OLYMPIA -- Law enforcement officers, treatment providers and community activists from five counties will gather June 20^th to coordinate efforts to fight the methamphetamine epidemic in southwest Washington.  The one-day conference is co-sponsored by the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office, the Thurston County Methamphetamine Coalition, Rochester Weed and Seed and The Skokomish Indian Tribe.  Attendees will come from county, city and Tribal governments in Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Grays Harbor and Cowlitz Counties.  This is the first such multi-jurisdictional conference held on Tribal land in the nation.

Lennea Magnus is organizer of the conference for the Chehalis Tribe.  She says the conference is a logical reaction to developments in methamphetamine manufacture and use in the area.  “As law enforcement in one location cracks down on “mom and pop” meth labs, some of the cooks simply move to other areas and that includes Tribal lands and adjacent counties.  It’s wise then for all of us to gather to discuss the situation and to come up with plans to address the problem.  We can all teach each other and learn from each other and that’s why the Tribe was interested in hosting this conference at the Lucky Eagle Casino.”

Featured speakers at the conference include Washington Lt. Governor Brad Owen, who has been a leader in statewide anti-drug activities.  Also attending the conference will be noted expert on drug-endangered children, Susan Webber Brown and Robert Hendricks of the Executive Office of the Weed and Seed program of the federal Department of Justice.

Attendees can visit several informational sessions including ones on-

·        Recognizing and responding to the challenge of meth manufacture and abuse.

·        Cross-jurisdictional enforcement strategies.

·        Assisting the drug-endangered child.

·        Treatment alternatives.

The South Sound Methamphetamine Conference is set to run from 8 AM to 4:00 PM Friday June 20, 2003 at the Lucky Eagle Casino, Chehalis Indian Reservation, 12888 188^TH Ave SW Rochester, WA.