County's methamphetamine cases continue to decrease
Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter has announced that methamphetamine cases in Putnam County have dropped for the second year in a row.
"The meth epidemic peaked in 2005 in Putnam County with 75 cases. We implemented our new meth program in the middle of 2005, and by 2006 the total number of meth cases dropped to 25, a 66 percent decrease," Bookwalter said. "2007 to me was the important year to see if the numbers would stay down or shoot back up. The total number of meth cases in 2007 was 22, a 10 percent decrease from 2006."
Bookwalter said he attributes four factors to the drop in meth use in Putnam County:
* Many dealers have been convicted and sent to prison.
* Users are now required to get treatment in a specific meth program monitored by the courts.
* The new law restricting ephedrine sales which takes away a key ingredient to make meth.
* Public awareness.
"This is really good news. Most counties have not seen a drop like this. It really shows what the community can accomplish when we all work together," Bookwalter said.County's methamphetamine cases continue to decrease