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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- The state's leading public safety advocates are getting together to talk about ways to prevent drug abuse in South Carolina.

The South Carolina Drugs of Abuse Conference will be held Tuesday through Thursday in Myrtle Beach.

The conference is sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services and is hosted by the South Carolina Methamphetamine Action Group.

Attorney General Henry McMaster will address the conference on Tuesday. Also scheduled to speak are U.S. Attorney Walt Wilkins, Public Safety director Mark Keel and DAODAS director W. Lee Catoe.

Organizers hope the conference will help educate people on the effects of drugs and how drug use is connected to other crime in the state.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)