Combating meth on the reservation

By Brian Hassler
Staff Writer

AZTEC — With U.S. Senator Jeff in attendance, the table was set for a discussion on meth in New Mexico and on the Navajo Nation reservation.

Bingaman, who scheduled the meeting to discuss with area officials and leaders what could be done to combat meth, cosponsored the Combat Meth Act of 2005 and is now waiting for the full senate to consider the bill.

"I've been going around the state the last few months to understand the problem and to learn what can be done both statewide and nationally to combat meth," said Bingaman.

And while officials in different cities have approached the challenge of stopping meth, the results have been the same and officials have all seen the number of meth abusers increase.

"There are 500-600 pounds of coming into the area every year," said Ken Christensen, Director of Region 2 Narcotics Task Force. "San Juan County has become the hub for dealers to ship meth elsewhere. Most of the meth here is from Mexico. The availability and quantity of it is increasing and it is worth $16,000 per pound."

Even more complicated is the fight against meth on the reservation with Navajo Nation officer's spread thin and with no official task force to investigate and arrest against possible meth distributors.

"The communities predominately affected by the trafficking of methamphetamine are in the rural areas of the Navajo Nation," stated a report written by Alvernon Tsosie, of the Window Rock Criminal Investigation Unit. "These rural communities have less or no law enforcement presence's to reduce drug trafficking activities."

"The law enforcement presence's within the larger populated communities report an active drug trafficking of methamphetimine among the youth and middle aged adults," said the report.

As the discussion moved towards answers for the increase in drug activity, the sections of the Combat Meth Act were discussed.

Within the meth act will be the restricting of sale of necessary ingredients to make meth, providing critical resources to local law enforcement and prosecutors and expanding the ability of local prosecutors to bring methamphetamine distributors to justice.

"The number one law enforcement problem faced by many of our communities is meth," said Bingaman. "I don't think we've awakened to the seriousness of that problem and we haven't yet looked at prevention programs in place or the education programs in place."

Other items involved in the Combat Meth Act include the increased awareness and involvement of businesses that legally sell pseudoephedrine, providing services children affected by the spread of meth and enhancing treatment options.

"We don't have real treatment capacity for people that have become addicted," said Bingaman. "It needs more resources and attention and that's why I'm trying to focus on it."

In addition to looking for more funding to fight meth, Bingaman added that the need for the area schools to educate children is great.

"I think everywhere I've gone around the state, we tend to keep things in separate categories which works to our disadvantage," said Bingaman. "Law enforcement is law enforcement, schools are schools and when you've got people saying that 80-percent of crime is related to meth use. Clearly we ought to be in the schools talking to kids and not just law enforcement but the schools should having programs to educate the children."

Combat Meth Act will make funding available to states for additional equipment, training for law enforcement agents and to allow funding to clean up meth labs.

— Brian Hassler is The Independent's Four Corners reporter based in Shiprock. Contact him at (505) 360-7862 or via email at brianhassler@hotmail.com