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Major Cities in Oklahoma with Drug Rehab and Treatment Centers:
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866-407-4380
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Drug Rehab Oklahoma
is here to help people with drug and/or alcohol abuse problems in Oklahoma. find treatment options. Due to our diverse networking system we can find a treatment option tailored to each individuals specific situation and needs. We are able to provide all phases of recovery included but not limited to, alcohol and/or drug intervention, drug and/or alcohol detox, in-patient treatment, out-patient treatment, short term treatment (30 days or less), long term treatment (90 days or longer).
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We design personalized treatment programs to provide each abuser with the greatest chance of a successful recovery outcome. Our comprehensive networking system works hand in hand with all of the drug treatment centers in Oklahoma. At Drug Rehab Oklahoma we know that each individual is unique and are treated as such. Deciding upon a treatment option in Oklahoma, or anywhere can be a daunting task for any individual or family, we will guide you through each step of a comprehensive treatment plan for you or your loved one. We are determined in our mission, that every drug and/or alcohol abuser in Oklahoma. that has a desire to change their life will be given a chance to recover from their addiction and we are dedicated to ensuring that they are given the opportunity to do so.
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We realize that each individual in Oklahoma. is in a different financial situation and we will find treatment options for each individual regardless of their financial situation. No matter what your financial situation everyone will receive the treatment help they are looking for.
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866-407-4380
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Oklahoma: News is mixed at meth awareness forumRepresentative Alan Brown (R-Newport), in foreground, listens as Senator Joanne Verger (D-Coos Bay) addresses the small but dedicated group attending the meth awareness forum hosted by the two legislators Friday evening at Newport City Hall. (Photo by Gail Kimberling)
Some of the most effective ad campaigns about the dangers of methamphetamine show the ravaged faces of people who use the highly addictive and dangerous drug.
A public information forum in Newport on Friday featured the faces of men and women dedicated to eradicating meth here in Lincoln County and beyond.
" This county has really come together," Lincoln County District Attorney Bernice Barnett said. "Have we attacked this? Yes. Have we won? No."
Hosted by Senator Joanne Verger (D-Coos Bay) and Representative Alan Brown (R-Newport), the evening forum related a mix of good and not-so-good news to the two dozen or so citizens gathered at Newport City Hall. The majority of audience members were law enforcement and county officials and employees involved in the fight against the manufacture, sale and use of methamphetamine.
The good news gets better
At the request of Governor Ted Kulongoski, the Oregon Pharmacy Board tightened the rules for the display and sale of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine - a main ingredient in making meth - in October of 2004. The new rules require stores to stock pseudoephedrine-containing medicines behind the counter, and require identification for limited purchases. The Oregon law will become even more restrictive this coming May, when medicines with pseudoephedrine will be limited to behind-the-counter sales at pharmacies only.
And it's working. Since the first of this year, DA Barnett reported, not one meth lab has been found in Lincoln County.
"It's a huge thing, and we attribute it to the behind-the-counter rule," she said Friday.
Rob Bovett, Lincoln County Assistant Counsel and a member of the Governor's Meth Task Force, added, "It's not that (labs are) not being reported to us; they're not there because pseudoephedrine is not available."
This is a long way from 2001, when Bovett first approached Rep. Brown asking for a comprehensive bill to help law enforcement deal with the growing problems created by the drug. After attempting to work cooperatively with major pharmaceutical companies - who were adamantly against any restrictions for pseudoephedrine sales - a watered-down meth bill finally passed the Oregon Legislature.
"There was no 'big bang,'" Bovett recalled - and there was no significant reduction in the manufacture and use of meth, either.
Another bill was introduced in the 2003 legislature to control the sale of pseudoephedrine, but the idea died again after pharmaceutical lobbyists "fought it big time," Bovett said.
Then, in March 2004, tragedy struck in Oklahoma, where a law enforcement official was gunned down in cold blood by a meth user - and the entire incident was recorded on the officer's microphone. Incensed, the governor of Oklahoma called for behind-the-counter-only sales of pseudoephedrine; he signed legislation to that effect one month later. There was an almost immediate 63 percent reduction in meth labs found in Oklahoma; one year later the percentage of reduction is more than 80.
Buoyed by Oklahoma's success, the Governor's Task Force in Oregon asked for similar behind-the-counter restrictions, which were endorsed by Kulongoski and adopted by the pharmacy board last fall. Statewide, the decline in meth labs is about 50 percent - and at or near 100 percent in counties in Oregon's interior.
A number of states have now followed the lead of Oklahoma and Oregon; especially as meth makers cross state lines to find the ingredients they need.
Even drug companies are now "flip-flopped," Bovett said. Pfizer announced last week the company will convert its entire line of pseudoephedrine-containing cold products to phenylephrine - which cannot be used in the manufacture of meth.
Also last week, Target announced it would no longer carry pseudoephedrine products in its stores.
Perhaps, Bovett said, these small steps may eventually lead to the closure of the only nine pseudoephedrine factories in the world.
Changing fronts
Even with the eradication of "mom and pop" meth labs, property and identity theft by meth users remains high, and the infiltration of higher-grade meth from "super labs" in California and Mexico is rising.
In 2004, the Lincoln County District Attorney's office prosecuted 592 felonies - and of those, nearly 300 were meth-related, Barnett said. In just the last three months, she added, her office dealt with four "serious property cases" - again, all meth-related.
The Lincoln Interagency Narcotics Team (LINT), Bovett remarked, "probably solves more burglaries and robberies than anyone else" in their pursuit of meth labs.
"They've done an amazing job," Bovett said, referring to LINT and noting 80-85 percent of LINT's case load is meth-related. Bovett praised county and local officials for keeping the Lincoln narcotics team going when those in other, larger areas have been dissolved due to lack of support.
"It's important to keep LINT - they're not just good law enforcement folks; they're good guys, they care," Bovett stated.
The LINT team will also be critical in stemming the growing flow of meth from the south. "We're trading meth for marijuana, up and down I-5, Highway 99 and Highway 97," Bovett said. "We need to change focus rapidly."
Not only is the meth produced in super labs of higher concentration (50-60 percent pure, compared to the 15-28 percent purity produced in mom and pop labs), but it's coming in larger quantities as well.
One year ago, Bovett said it was "very rare" to find a pound or more of meth during a drug bust; now it's not uncommon. One pound of meth has a street value of about $14,000, he added, while a gram goes for about $90.
Residual effects
The extreme toxicity of meth labs - to the site itself and nearby surroundings - is just now becoming known, thanks to a recent study by the National Jewish Medical and Research Center.
Oregon State Police Lieutenant Craig Durbin, another member of the Governor's Meth Task Force and regional vice-president for the Oregon Narcotics Enforcement Association, called the NJC study - the first of its kind - a "huge wake-up call" that is driving much of the anti-meth legislation now being considered in Oregon and elsewhere.
Durbin said the study found exposure to hazardous substances in meth labs far exceeded safe occupational levels. In addition, contamination and exposure were much more far-reaching than originally believed - putting children, law enforcement officers and others who come in contact with meth labs at much greater risk.
"It's pretty scary," admitted Durbin.
The lieutenant also said it was imperative to "get into schools and make (students) aware of the dangers of meth. Some of the crystal "big bulk" meth now coming into Oregon can be up to 90 percent pure - and very lethal and addicting.
"It's not an experimental drug any longer," Durbin cautioned.
Law enforcement officials try to keep the addictive nature of the drug in mind while doing their jobs. One Newport Police Officer said Friday that he tries to mix aggressive enforcement with compassion. Throughout a day, this officer said up to 80 percent of his calls are meth-related - from speeding and burglary to ID theft.
"It's a bad deal. People get addicted and can't get off of it. Users are not a problem; the sellers are the problem," the officer said.
Meth's trail
Most meth cooks, Bovett said, have been addicted about five or six years before they start to make their own drugs. Each meth-maker will "cook" a batch of meth about 49 to 72 times per year to produce slightly more than 11 pounds of the stuff. And, unfortunately, like most traditions the trade is passed from person to person: a meth cook will teach another addict the process about every 90 days.
"They're mixing things together that were never meant to be mixed," Bovett said, adding the meth residue can stay on site for years.
Bovett, for one, is glad to see the decrease in mom and pop labs - even if it means a new fight on a broader scale. "Labs are stinking, dirty places and the children that come out are stinking and dirty and very contaminated," he said. "Children don't deserve it; they deserve to be children."
To this end, a Drug Endangered Children's program has been initiated by Paulette Sanders of the Lincoln County District Attorney's office. The goal of the multidisciplinary team is to intervene on behalf of children who have been exposed to methamphetamine or toxic chemicals as a result of residing in a home that was used to make, sell or use meth. Bovett is even seeking the donation or purchase of recreational-type vehicles so exposed children can receive immediate detox, testing and treatment when taken from a meth lab site.
"I hope to have one for each narcotics team in the state," Bovett said, adding, "We really have made a difference, but we still have a lot to do. We need more money, especially for prosecution."
Legislative help
Dollars might not fall from the 40 meth-related bills introduced at the 2005 Legislature; however support in terms of wider enforcement, stiffer penalties and recovery and treatment programs will result from some "very comprehensive" legislation," Rep. Brown said Friday.
He added the bills have been funneled into one proposal - "the full truckload" - House Bill 2845, the bill originally proposed this session by Bovett.
"The community and state owe Rob a debt of gratitude for his leadership on this issue," Brown continued. "I feel the momentum on this is very strong, very positive."
Sen. Verger, meanwhile, said it has long been her dream to have a 90-day residence treatment facility in every county in the state. Unfortunately, she said, a 90-day treatment program might not be long enough for those addicted to methamphetamine.
Recovery, however, is possible - and OSP's Durbin said it was recovering meth addicts who made the biggest impression on the Governor's Meth Task Force.
"We heard from them it is possible to come clean," Durbin said, adding criminal justice and enforcement systems were "keys" to getting people into treatment.
But while Oregon ranks fourth among all 50 states in the nation for treatment demand, Oregon is 49th in the nation when it comes to access to treatment.
No one knows this better than South Beach resident Tom Gravon, who attended Friday's forum to push for treatment and recovery programs.
"There was a lot said here tonight, but it was all about law enforcement," Gravon, a recovered drug addict, said. He commented that cuts to the Oregon Health Plan have severely limited options for treatment, especially residential treatment, in Lincoln County.
And Gravon has a larger concern, as well. "We can make the chemical (meth) go away, but there will be other drugs. We need to find ways to help people get clean and stay clean and find a new life," he said.
Drug Rehab by County
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