By Sarah Shepherd
Methamphetamine has replaced marijuana as the drug of choice in Utah County.
The Utah County Major Crimes Task Force has noticed an increase of hard drugs like cocaine and meth in Utah County.
'The drug we''re really fighting right now in Utah County is meth. Last year, we shut down 49 meth labs in the area,' said Lt. Stan Eggen, a field director on the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force. 'This drug is Satan himself. It does horrible things to people.'
Eggen said meth is a central nervous system stimulant and is a very powerful upper.
Meth is cheaper than cocaine, and is sometimes referred to as the 'poor man''s cocaine.'
The highs from meth last much longer than those of cocaine and the effects of the drug are much more devastating, Eggen said.
The Utah County Major Crimes Task Force is a group of 21 officers who represent cities throughout the valley.
The force spends the majority of its time and efforts fighting narcotics and gangs in Utah County. It also spends a great deal of time educating parents about drugs like meth.
'What makes our force different - and successful - is that we go after the people involved with the drugs and the gangs, we don''t just analyze the problem,' Eggen said.
Education is another key role in the task force''s fight against drugs.
'Besides tracking drug activity, another big part of our force is education,' said task force member Sgt. Guy Gustman. 'On the task force we spend a lot of time educating parents and kids about drugs. Education and awareness are crucial.'
However, Gustman said he feels the police alone cannot be the only ones responsible for raising drug awareness.
'We really need to have parental and community support to fight the war on drugs,' Gustman said.
With recent drug busts taking place in Springville and Provo, many questions are being asked about drug prevention and about whose responsibility it is to raise awareness in youth.
While local police departments assign officers to the task force, police departments also devote officers to local education programs designed to teach children drug awareness.
Programs such as D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) educate children in local schools about drugs.
Some parents said they feel D.A.R.E. is a beneficial program, but drug awareness cannot be the sole responsibility of police officers and educators.
'I think it''s great that there are programs like D.A.R.E. in the schools, but I think the most important place for a child to learn about drugs is in the home,' said Mary Taylor, a Utah County resident and mother of two.