Pubdate: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT) Copyright: 2006 The Billings Gazette Contact: http://www.billingsgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/515 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?143 (Hepatitis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) METH ABUSE CHALLENGES STATE, NATION A miniscule percentage of America's population of 300 million lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina, so therefore it's not really a national problem. Forest fires don't happen in New York City, so the federal government shouldn't be terribly concerned about them. That is the kind of faulty reasoning used in a conclusion of a report released earlier this month by the Sentencing Project, an organization that promotes alternatives to prison. The report stated that national scope of methamphetamine abuse has been exaggerated by the media and government officials. The erroneous conclusion reflects an Eastern perspective. In fact, the problem of meth varies across the nation. Because it has generally affected Eastern communities less than Western, it hasn't received the national attention that the Sentencing Project criticizes until the past couple of years. Montanans have been coping with the ill and increasing effects of meth for more than a decade. The majority of Yellowstone County children placed in foster care because of abuse or neglect have parents who are addicted to meth. For those who choose treatment, it is a long process that usually requires a year of work. The Gazette has told of some of these successful recovery stories, but there are also many tragedies -- lives wasted and families permanently broken. The Gazette advocates primary prevention (encourage people to avoid illegal drug use) and secondary prevention (make effective treatment accessible) along with supporting law enforcement. Montana's prisons are overflowing because so many offenders fail to follow requirements of probation and parole and wind up behind bars. The No. 1 reason for their failure, according to state corrections officials, is continuing meth abuse. Meth presents public health risks that some other illegal drugs don't. Clandestine labs have created thousands of small toxic waste sites in houses, apartments and motels. The Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that up to 7 pounds of toxic waste is generated for every pound of meth produced. The fumes generated from cooking are poisonous. Many labs have been found when they exploded. In Yellowstone County, scientific research has found that meth users here are were far more likely than those in other communities studied to inject the drug. Injecting drug use opens up a whole other range of public health threats, including the risk of spreading AIDS and hepatitis. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, an annual survey of U.S. public and private high school students, gives an indication of how the extent of meth use varies. Comparing responses of students by state, the percentage who said they had used meth ranged from 2.6 percent to 11.7 percent. The percentage of students saying they had used cocaine ranged from a low of 2 percent to a high of 7.9 percent. This doesn't mean that cocaine is a lower risk; it means that the predominant illegal drug varies from place to place. Meth is epidemic where we live. Montanans are working together to reduce the manufacture and use of illegal meth. They should expect that federal policy and national debate recognize that this drug is a significant part of the U.S. drug problem. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath