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The Informant (June 06)

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THE INFORMANT

Meth Watch Member e-Letter     

Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council’s (GSSAC) Prevention Center & Spokane County Meth Action Team (M.A.T)

Welcome to YOUR Meth Watch Member e-Letter!!!

Upcoming Meth Watch Breakfast Meeting – August 17, 8am

Did you know that an estimated 80% of crime in Spokane is related to Meth? 

Or that 90% of check fraud is drug related? 

Is your company or institution feeling the effects of fraud, theft, and abuse? 

Be proactive and join the Meth Watch group!  We are linking retailers, financial institutions, and law enforcement together to defeat the effects of meth and drugs in our community.   We will meet August 17, 2006 from 8-9am at 8104 E Sprague (GSSAC Prevention Center) – 2^nd  driveway west of Vista on the south side.

ID THEFT

Study: “Companies Should Do More to Protect Employees' Personal Information”
Computerworld (06/01/06); Weiss, Todd R.

Less than 50 percent of employees believe their employers are doing a good job protecting the privacy of their personal information, according to the "Americans' Perceptions about Workplace Privacy" survey conducted by Ponemon Institute, which studies information and privacy management practices in business and government. The survey questioned 945 U.S. adults who work at companies with at least 1,000 employees. Only 46 percent of the respondents said they "strongly agree" or "agree" that their employers are dedicated to protecting their privacy, while 20 percent said they are unsure. The other 34 percent said they "disagree" or "strongly disagree" that their employers are committed to protecting their privacy. "Perhaps the organizations can do a better job of letting people know what the privacy policies are," says the Ponemon Institute. The study also found that 67 percent of those surveyed said they know their companies have privacy policies that affect their customers, even though their companies may not do a good job of communicating them. The study found that the top five categories that employees want their companies to protect are sexual orientation, credit reports, performance histories, Social Security numbers, and health records.

Attention Members:  Keep your Meth Watch materials “FRESH” looking.  Additional or replacement materials are only a phone call away: 922-8383.  We are currently supplying: 4X7 door stickers, shelf/register stickers, employee posters, customer information pads, and suspicious transaction pads.

Global Facts on Meth

Methamphetamine trafficking and the movement of its chemicals are now a global epidemic. More than 26 million people worldwide use amphetamines- largely methamphetamine- which is more than worldwide users of heroin and cocaine combined. Meth chemists from China have moved into the Philippines to set up mega meth/ice labs. In a more disturbing trend, we have begun to see Chinese organized crime groups in Canada who are selling thousands of pills that look like and were marketed as Ecstasy- but instead were 100% methamphetamine. Those meth pills are now turning up in the U.S. If this Ecstasy “bait and switch” marketing trend continues, we will start seeing a new host of unwitting meth addicts at potentially younger ages. –Administrator, DEA- Karen P. Tandy, May 18, 2006 speech at the National Methamphetamine Chemical Initiative Conference

Closer to Home

In just 1 year of tough state legislation, we have seen mom and pop meth labs slashed 40% nationally. That downward trend should continue across the county. New state laws and the passage of the Combat Meth Act-are preventing America from becoming a toxic waste dump, saving thousands of children from contamination. U.S. Attorney General Gonzales stated that for the first time, DEA will be publicly posting the thousands of sites where toxic chemicals and meth labs have been seized so that innocent citizens will not be victimized.

Upcoming Events

2006 Washington State Meth Summit                         Sept. 14-15, 2006

Bellevue Hilton Hotel, WA

Washington State Youth Summit                                     Feb. 13, 2007

Everett Events Center

2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett, WA

PH:  425-388-3430                                              

Interested In Becoming A Member?  Doing your part is only a FREE packet away!!!  We have all the materials you will need, including informational resources, immediately available.  We are also available to do a variety of company presentations on Meth and the Meth Watch Program!  Be aware that this program is not limited to only Retailers; Meth is a community-wide problem that requires a community-wide effort!

Heads Up!!!  Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend the monthly Meth Action Team meetings held every third Tuesday at the Spokane Regional Health District, 1101 W. College, Rooms 320-321, 8:30-10:00am.

Feel free to forward this mailing out to others interested!  If you know of anyone who would like to be added to the recipient list, please forward their names and e-mail addresses to Julie Alonso at jalonso@gssacpreventioncenter.com

The Informant is copyrighted material, all rights reserved. You may copy it for

distribution but you may not edit it in any way with out the express written permission from:

Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council (GSSAC) Prevention Center admin@methwatchwa.com

If you would like to contribute to this publication or would like more information, please contact:
Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council (GSSAC) Prevention Center
8104 E. Sprague, Spokane, Washington 99212
Phone: (509)922-8383 Fax: (509)922-7716
Email:jalonso@gssacpreventioncenter.com