There a couple of key factors.  First, Oregon has gone a different route that the old "war on drugs/scared straight approach" and is actually giving the facts and educating the citizens.  The key here is educating, not criticizing.  Just the facts and an educated population are making a big difference in the views of individuals with respect to the dangers of Methamphetamine.  Along with education, is the use of drug courts and drug rehab centers being used to help people addicted to meth.

Next, and most important, Oregon is the only state in the country to completely ban the sale of pseudoephedrine as an over the counter drug.  In Oregon, the drug is only able to be gotten by prescription.  Pseudoephdrine is the key ingredient in the production of meth and the decrease in the availability of the drug is crippling the ability for Meth to be produced.  No other state has done so and the rates of Methamphetamine abuse and crime associated with it keep increasing.  The logical question from all this is, "why dont other states do the same thing and ban pseudoephedrine as well?".  The answer is easy, money.  Drug companies make a lot of money from the sale of the drug that gets so many people addicted and that makes Oregon’s legislature’s stand even that more impressive.

Now, the fight with meth is far from over as it continues to be, by far, the most used illicit drug in the state.  Nevertheless, the change in the right direction is nothing short of amazing and is very well received.  Along with the decrease in Meth production and usage, the crime rates have dropped as well.  Not to say that this is due to the reduction in Meth production solely, but it surely has to be a huge factor in this as well.  With a big fight still ahead of the state, at lease Oregon is heading in the right direction.

Oregon residents can sleep lighter after this week due to the DEA’s task force assigned to disrupt the distribution of methamphetamines in an operation called Black Ice. Fifteen suspects was arrested for possession and conspiracy intent to distribute with many more arrests on the way, according to the report release in mid June by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Right now the citizens of Oregon’s Coos and Douglas counties will be pleased to know that the methamphetamine trade is being looked at as a big problem. Unfortunately this will not be the final solution and will only prove to show that the cunning and fortitude of the drug dealers to hide their drug trade from law enforcement and will begin the game of cat and mouse again.

The small amount of drugs being seized by the government is a good start and hopefully they get as far as they can with it. But, it will come down to the choice of the person using drugs for a determination on whether they will allow drugs to effect their lives continually. The choice for treatment is the most successful way for people to stop using and get clean. The importance of getting clean can be seen in the crime and physical harm it does on the people who have felt the wrath of them. Stealing, lying, and cheating are all common outcomes for the habitual drug abuser.

If there are more and more proponents of drug treatment in a family, the more likely it is to have an effect on someone who needs it. The most important thing is getting better. When a family is in need of drug rehab or drug detox for a loved one, the best way to figure out the first step is to contact someone who knows what they are doing and have dealt with these types of situations before.