California Town Fights Meth Problem with Help of Federal Government

By Alison Gonzalez

Published on September 25, 2007

The Redding Police Department and Shasta County Sheriff's office received more than $400,000 in federal money to crack down on meth dealers and users in what Sheriff Tom Bosenko called a 'methademic' in the area.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California McGregor Scott, who announced the grant, said meth was the number one problem while he served as Shasta County district attorney. But there was never any funding to deal with the issue.

Since 2000, the number of meth labs in the area has dropped from 17 to one, making the primary source for meth from outside the area. And with tighter restrictions on pseudoephedrine, a main ingredient, the drug is mostly made outside of the U.S. and smuggled in.

Although the number of labs is down, Shasta County District Attorney Jerry Benito said the grant, which is the first of its kind, was needed to keep it that way.

According to the budget, more than half of the grant will be used for law enforcement overtime pay. Another $40,000 will be spent on community education and $37,000 is set aside for the district attorney. The rest is allocated for projects created by the youth violence prevention court.

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