Community invited to local meth forum

A methamphetamine forum on Tuesday will give parents and other interested members of the community information about the drug and what can be done to combat the growing problem of meth abuse.

The Churchill Community Coalition is sponsoring the town hall-type meeting to raise awareness in Fallon about the drug. It begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Fallon Convention Center. Child care for children up to 10 years old will be provided at St. John's Room to Grow for parents with younger children.

De Vere Karlson, chief juvenile probation officer, said parents are encouraged to bring older children to the forum where youth will perform skits to illustrate conversations parents can have with their children about drug use.

"We'll be giving information parents who want to prevent their kids from using drugs," said Karlson. "We'll also have information for parents who suspect their child is doing drugs, and what they can do about it."

The forum will last about an hour depending on the number of questions asked by the audience.

To encourage older youth to bring parents to the event, the first 100 children who bring an adult will receive free movie passes. There will also be a drawing for a Nintendo DS Light.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, Nevada leads the nation in the number of people who have used methamphetamine in their lifetime, in the past year and in the past 30 days.

Nevada legislators are addressing the problem with proposed laws to restrict the purchase of ingredients used to make the drug and funding for anti-meth programs in the state.

This is the third community forum offered by the coalition to educate the public about the methamphetamine problem.

Karlson said meth use among Fallon teens in the past six months has decreased.

"Maybe we are having some impact," she said about the educational effort.

Methamphetamine abuse was highlighted last month when a 17-year-old local girl was arrested in the fatal shooting of her step-mother.

According to court documents, Joanna Plants had used methamphetamine since she was 11 years old. She is accused of open murder in connection with the death of Ginger Plants, and a mental competency exam is pending in the case.

The coalition is made up of members of law enforcement, schools, businesses, juvenile probation, parks and recreation, city leaders, social services and others. It is funded through grants.