Published: September 18, 2007 08:42 pm      

Fight against methamphetamine gets boost from federal funding

GRUNDY, Va. — A significant federal funding award announced Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., will allow the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department to combat the manufacture, distribution and use of methamphetamine.

Boucher said at his urging the U.S. Department of Justice through its Community Oriented Policing Services program awarded a $449,926 federal grant to the sheriff’s department. The sheriff’s department is hoping to work with the University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy in Grundy and the Virginia Institute of Forensic Sciences in Richmond to develop a coordinated and regional response to the methamphetamine problem.

“Methamphetamine abuse exacts a severe toll on communities, families, and individuals,” Boucher said. “The federal funds I am announcing today will assist in the fight against meth by helping to curtail its manufacture and distribution.”

The grant funding will enable the sheriff’s department to provide training and classes at the pharmacy college that will also serve Tazewell, Russell and Dickenson counties.

Sheriff Ray Foster said the funding will enable the sheriff’s department to tackle the meth problem before it gets out of control.

“That is the only way you can combat drugs is to try to stay a step ahead of it,” Foster. “With these grants we do get to stay ahead of it. I really do appreciate what Congressman Boucher does for us.”

The sheriff’s department will partner with the new college pharmacy to provide the advanced classes and training, Vicky Jones, an administrative staff specialist with the sheriff’s department, said.

“It’s going to be open not just to Buchanan County, but the classes are going to be open to the area — Tazewell, Russell, Dickenson and Buchanan,” Jones said. “We feel that prevention is the key to any successful endeavor. It’s just all in the training and that is what we hope to do — to make it safer for our law enforcement and EMS.”

Jones said the sheriff’s department also will form a new task force to tackle the methamphetamine problem.

Boucher said the federal funds are intended to increase the capacity of training and provide technical assistance in order to develop a more informed and engaged community with regards to meth use and abuse. Boucher said the projects encourage and promote the use of community policing and problem-solving strategies to combat meth and its’ harmful criminal, social, and environmental impact.

Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Methampheta-mine Remediation Research Act, legislation co-authored by Boucher, which authorizes $2.5 million to fight meth labs. The legislation provides funding for the development of meth detection equipment specifically for use in the field, as well as funding to ensure that officials at all levels of government are aware of best practices for meth lab recovery and remediation, according to a press release from Boucher.

“I am pleased that the Department of Justice is providing this significant measure of federal funding to Buchanan County,” Boucher said. “The destructive effects of methamphetamine are all too well known, and we must continue to provide the resources necessary to fight its production and use in our communities.”

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com