And a task force is still looking for ideas to curb the problem that's plagued the county.

"I'm not naive enough to think we're going to eradicate the problem," said Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson, co-chair of the task force.

"We are having some good success, but the problem won't ever be gone completely."

Half of a $1-million provincial grant has already been used to finance a variety of new programs and the task force is looking to spend the balance in the new year.

The money arrived in 2005 after 12 of 19 methamphetamine labs raided by police in the region were found in Perth.

The province decided the task force would oversee a pilot project to evaluate different approaches to curb the problem.

"We wanted to be in the forefront by trying to deal with the issue and be proactive," said Mathieson.

"Along the way we've seen a drop in the number of busts, possession and trafficking charges and the petty crimes committed by addicts have also gone down."

New programs are in place, such as peer mentoring at schools, community centres and the courts.

For instance, a restorative-justice program sees those convicted of related offences given an opportunity to go through assessment and rehabilitation programs and their success taken into consideration when sentenced.

Applications for the last round of program proposals close Feb. 1 and should be forwarded to the Perth District Health Unit.

The task force, with 35 to 40 members, includes representatives from police, health care, social agencies, school boards, the Crown Attorney's office and drug experts, such as counsellors.

They will evaluate the programs and prepare a final report for the province by March 2009.

The proliferation of methamphetamine across rural North America has caused concern among law enforcement agencies.

Although it's been around since the 1970s, it has become more common mostly due to easy access to recipes found on the internet.