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Washington Counties

WSMI

Meth Action Teams/
Community Mobilization

Drug Endangered Children (DEC)

Proactive Law Enforcement

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Meth Action Teams/Community Mobilization

Under the leadership of the local County Sheriff and the Community Mobilization Coordinator, County Meth Action Teams bring together business owners, law enforcement, prosecutors, children and family service providers, prevention drug treatment specialists, media, community leaders, and youth.

Even though the meth epidemic has profoundly affected all of these groups, they often worked in isolation. When they came together, compared notes, and coordinated their actions, Washington began to make real progress tackling its meth problem.

Headquartered at Safe Streets in Tacoma and at the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Action Council in Spokane, the Meth Initiative’s Technical Assistance Team has helped to start Meth Action Teams in all 39 Washington counties. As of 2003, nearly 6,000 people were involved in a local Meth Action Team.

Today, Meth Action Teams across the state speak with a single voice. They have real power to get new legislation passed, attract federal funding, and start drug court and treatment programs. They change lives and create healthier communities. The Meth Initiative and Meth Action Teams from all over the state won passage of an important new law in 2004 that requires identification and better tracking of purchases of wholesale chemicals that can be used in manufacturing meth.

Meth Action teams have hosted summit meetings, undertaken community awareness campaigns, sponsored speakers at service club meetings, created youth anti-drug education activities, and even created paper placemats for restaurants within information about the dangers of meth.

Tech Team

The Tech Team, along with a Meth Action Team, in every county are hard at work educating the public about methamphetamine and promoting prevention to help people but also to make the communities a safer, better place to live. Currently, the Tech Team is supporting at least 20 counties to develop local guidelines for dealing with Drug Endangered Children.

The Tech Team can help a county Meth Action Team develop a strategy to mobilize their community members, private sector, and governmental entities to address methamphetamine in their community in a coordinated and collaborative way. When asked to assist, the Tech Team will work with the convener of the local Action Team to develop strategies to help bring diverse disciplines together to work toward a common goal.