Tagged: Oklahoma Watch

Millions across the nation are still having trouble finding work. But the growing town of Guymon, OK is different. There are more jobs than people to fill them. As Graham Lee Brewer reports, the burgeoning Hispanic population is responsible for not only the upturn, but the changing face of the agricultural town.

The numbers are staggering: drug abuse is estimated to cost employers $276 billion a year and three-fourths, or 76 percent, of people with a drug or alcohol problem are employed.

During the same week that KWGS, Oklahoma Watch and other select media outlets in the state are presenting a series of reports on Oklahoma’s “State of Addiction”, Tulsa Police bust another meth lab. It happened this morning in north Tulsa.

Tulsa Police officer Leland Ashley says three people were taken into custody after officers got a tip about a rank odor coming for a house near Archer and North Lewis.  He says officers got a phone call for someone in the area complaining about the odor. When officers arrived they found the one-pot meth lab working inside the home.

Genes play an important role in whether a person becomes addicted to drugs or alcohol, experts say, but they don’t guarantee anything.

Scientists studying the role of genes in addiction believe that a single gene is not responsible for addiction. They say it's more likely the interaction of several genes, combined with other factors, which lead a person toward addiction.

Addiction costs Oklahoma and its residents an estimated $7.2 billion a year. That’s more than the state government’s budget of $6.7 billion. That’s enough to build 900 miles of highway. Enough to create 190,000 salaried jobs, with benefits. Enough to erect nine skyscrapers like Oklahoma City’s new Devon tower. That’s roughly $1,900 for every man, woman and child in the state. It’s not just a matter of money, either.