August 12, 2003 - State Methamphetamine Conference To Be Held

Topeka - The Kansas Methamphetamine Prevention Project (KMPP) will hold a state conference on September 22^nd and 23^rd at Maner Conference Center in Topeka. The conference, Methamphetamine: From Prevention to Treatment- Current Trends, Promising Approaches, Challenges and Lessons Learned, features Dr. Rizwan Shah, a nationally recognized expert on the effects of methamphetamine on children. Experts will also review footage of a meth lab in Kansas and discuss the issues involved. Other topics will include how to start a drug endangered children program, treatment issues and promising approaches, a methamphetamine-specific legislative update, challenges in the criminal justice system, and success stories from communities throughout Kansas that have implemented meth prevention programs.

The Kansas Meth Prevention Project began in October, 2002, and is funded through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Project was created in response to the serious methamphetamine problem in Kansas, which ranks fifth in the nation for meth lab seizures and has an increasing number of residents seeking treatment for meth addiction (81% increase from 1997 to 2002). Partner agencies include: Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services, Kansas Regional Prevention Centers, K-State Research and Extension, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kansas National Guard, Kansas Family Partnership, Midwest HIDTA, Kansas Farm Bureau, U.S. Attorney's Office, Kansas Grain and Feed Association and Prevention and Recovery Services in Topeka.

For registration information, contact Laurie Harrison at (785) 266-8666 or lharrison@parstopeka.com.