Whitfield Secures $350,000 for Methamphetamine Battle | News | Congressman Ed Whitfield

News | Congressman Ed Whitfield | United States Representative

Whitfield Secures $350,000 for Methamphetamine Battle Nov 9, 2005

Congressmen Ed Whitfield announced Wednesday that he has secured $350,000 to combat the methamphetamine drug epidemic in Kentuckys First Congressional District.

The $350,000 is administered by the United States Department of Justice, which in turn dispenses the funds to the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force for training and equipment for officers involved with the cleanup and investigation of meth labs. Funds are also distributed to local police departments and Sheriffs offices for overtime pay and equipment.

This money is very important for local law enforcement as they continue to battle the meth problem in our area , said Whitfield. The task force has trained over 200 lab certified officers and conducted more than 300 meth education classes for first responders, schools, and church groups in the First District.

Currently, the Task Force is participating in the Walk your Land program, the result of a partnership between the Task Force, the Kentucky State Police, Eastern Kentuckys Operation UNITE program, and the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. Walk Your Land provides law enforcement officers and landowners with a photo guide and fact sheets to assist in the identification and disposal of hazardous materials used to manufacture meth on rural farmlands. This program is innovative in that it represents the first time law enforcement and cooperative extensions have joined forces to address the public health implications of producing and using meth in a rural state, like Kentucky.

In addition, the Task Force has founded Operation Kids, a program which provides a collaborative, multi-disciplinary response to children discovered in meth labs. Increasingly, children across the First District are exposed to serious toxicities and dangers in home meth labs which can be threatening to a childs health and well-being. Through Operation Kids, local coalitions are formed between law enforcement, social services, and health care providers to ensure that endangered children receive the proper care and attention they deserve.

After hearing from local law enforcement about the meth problem, Whitfield began requesting targeted funding to combat it. Including this $350,000, he has obtained a total of $4.9 million for the First District over the past six years. The funds announced today are contained in the FY 2006 Science, State, Justice, and Commerce Appropriations Conference Agreement, which passed the House today by a vote of 397 to 19. The Senate is expected to approve the measure shortly and President Bush has indicated he will sign the bill into law.

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