Methidaho's Weblog

Meth Use in the state of Idaho

methidaho — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:33:22 +0000

The main points of this movie is to create awarness of meth use, its implications on the drug users themselves as well as the community. People who watch this, I hope, if they know anyone who uses meth or is currently addicted to meth would want to get help. Meth is devastating not only to themselves, but the community as well. Being addicted to meth tears apart your life and the lives of those around you.

http://www.youtube.com/v/GU1_MbdefR8“> http://www.youtube.com/v/GU1_MbdefR8” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”425″ height=”350″>

the impact of meth use in rural areas

methidaho — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 05:30:10 +0000

During in class presentations, someone in my group asked me if meth abuse was more prevalent in rural areas versus urban areas? I hadn’t thought about that angle of my project which in hind sight makes perfect sense to touch on because I am studying hte meth problem in the State of Idaho, which has a predominant rural population. Montana, another predominantly rural state had a very similar meth abuse problem and launched the same anti-meth campaign that Idaho is in the midst of launching. The following article talks about meth use in rural areas versus urban areas. Some points it hightlights is that people tend to start using at younger ages and they are less likely to have access to proper treatment.

Study: Meth use in rural areas riskier

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OMAHA (AP) — Methamphetamine abusers in rural areas have more medical and psychiatric problems that may inhibit recovery than their urban counterparts, according to a new study that compares the two groups.

Experts say the findings are unsettling because rural addicts have limited access to treatment facilities and health professionals.

“Rural methamphetamine is worse in a lot of respects,” said lead researcher Dr. Kathleen Grant, who works at the Omaha VA Medical Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Meth is an addictive stimulant that can be prepared or “cooked” in makeshift labs with over-the-counter cold tablets, common household chemicals and fertilizers.

According to the 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 11.7 million Americans ages 12 and older said they’ve tried methamphetamine and 1.4 million said they’d used it in the past month.

The study, funded by the state, compared addicts from a 20,000-square-mile region who sought help at the nearest treatment facility in Grand Island with those living near and seeking help in state’s two largest cities, Omaha and Lincoln. In all, 172 meth abusers were interviewed between July 2004 and July 2005.

The study showed that rural addicts began using meth at a younger age, were more likely to use the drug intravenously and were more likely to also be dependent on alcohol or cigarettes. They also exhibited more signs of psychosis than urban addicts — 45% vs. 29%, according to the study.

Grant said the findings, released in the March/April edition of The American Journal on Addictions, suggest rural addicts are at higher risk for psychiatric and medical problems such as infectious diseases and lung and liver cancer.

That’s troubling, she said, because addicts living in rural areas have less access to care — because of distance and transportation issues — than those living in cities.

“These people continue to slide into addiction and are not able to get the treatment they need,” said Dr. Jennifer Sharpe Potter, an opiate specialist at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass.

She said meth addiction is difficult to treat because there are few treatment options available, and often the options that work best are not available in rural areas. That points to what she calls a long-standing problem that reaches beyond drug treatment: the availability of health care services in rural areas.

Recovering meth addict Barry Schmidt, 49, said he had to move from Fort Dodge, Iowa, to Omaha in order to get the help he needed to overcome a lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse. He left his wife and gave up seeing his father, who lives in a nursing home there.

“I changed my playground, playmates and playthings,” he said.

It was hard, but something he said was necessary to get over his addictions.

Schmidt said he’s been in treatment 19 times over the past 30 years, the first time when he was 19. His environment and a lack of recovery support were obstacles to staying clean, he said.

But things have been different in Omaha. Schmidt said he’s graduated from the VA hospital’s treatment program and attends six to seven recovery meetings a week.

He credits those meetings and the people he meets there with his success so far.

“I know that if I called any one of them at any given time and said I’m thinking of using and I’m in a bad place, they’d be there for me.”

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In response to the comment on my last post

methidaho — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:04:14 +0000

I completely agree with the comment made about my last post. Yes, these costs are seemingly necessary but when you asked does the high cost of these efforts to reduce meth use in our neighborhoods really work? I decided to find out how the high cost of the anti-meth campaign in idaho is being paid or and how effective will it be. The following is an article that explains the answers to these questions.

http://www.methproject.org/documents/070302-Times-News-Idaho.pdf

(Idaho)

Tell the truth: A $12 million anti-meth lesson

March 2, 2007

By: Cassidy Friedman

FILER – Idaho is bracing itself for a 10-year,

$20 million-plus war of propaganda against meth that paints the drug as menacing as the anti-pot advertising of the 1930s and 1940s portrayed marijuana. But unlike “Reefer Madness,” “Marijuana Girl” and cartoonists’ depictions of beady-eyed demonic fiends, new media campaigns such as one Idaho will soon borrow from the Montana Meth Project, slam the senses with real images and stories of actual meth users. “Anti-marijuana campaigns were based on fictions. They were trying to get the shock out there,” said Brent Evans, drug-free workplace coordinator at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Regional Medical Center. “But kids are smart.” The traditional drug ad, Evans said, entails an adult who has never tried drugs warning against its many ills. So, Evans takes before-and-after photos with him to visit middle school and high school classrooms, and sometimes actual recovering addicts. Sending moral warnings, as in Reefer Madness, and raising health issues, as in the infamous “this is your brain on drugs” TV ad featuring eggs sizzling in a frying pan, are not what kids voted for in Montana’s $12 million privately funded project. “Kids told us – and they are our target population – having an adult stand up in front of them really doesn’t work,” said Peg Shea, executive director of the Montana Meth Project. “Kids in Montana really wanted to hear from other kids in Montana.” Idaho is raising $2.7 million in private money to copy the campaign in Montana. In 2005, the Montana Meth Project bombarded newspapers, billboards and airwaves with graphic images and firsthand stories of recovering addicts aimed mainly at youth ages 12 to 17. “It reaches a target audience better than more traditional forms of drug awareness could,” saidJohn Hanian, a spokesman for Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter. “They are actual kids talking about their lives after meth. We want to replicate that here because we have got lots of these stories in our Times-News photo illustration by Meagan Thompson and Cassidy Friedman state.” In half a month of fundraising, Idaho has raised more than $276,000. Idaho is scrambling to raise funds to import Montana’s aggressive statewide media campaign that took Montana from ranking 5th for workers testing positive for amphetamines in 2005 to 39th in 2006, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Idaho fell from 18th to 28th during that same period. The Magic Valley has already produced several like-minded initiatives on a smaller scale. Sharon Lutkehus has begun showing her seventh-graders at Filer Middle School a video produced by Dr. Mary F. Holley, the director of Mad Mothers Against Methamphetamine. “High is a Lie” is a graphic, 40-minute video that centers on Holley’s meth-addicted brother who, six months after filming, killed himself. “There’s a lot of shock on their behalf,” Lutkehus said. “They are surprised at how quickly the addiction happens.” And also how hard it is to break, she added.Evans said the only weakness of the video is that it was filmed outside Idaho. “Unfortunately, in our society we see everything glamorized so much,” Evans said. “We need to see the true downside of what meth is doing to our family, our friends and our community as a whole.” Western States College in downtown Twin Falls distributes its own video called, “Meth in the Valley,” free of charge. And it is working on a sequel. The organization’s founder was out of state on a family emergency and unavailable Thursday. But Evans, who has seen the video, said it follows local meth users. “It talks to our people here locally,” Evans said. “When they see this they are not saying, ‘Oh, that’s Ohio.’” When the statewide program arrives in Idaho, expect to hear the voices of addicted kids on the radio. However, the TV and newspaper ads will use paid actors. “I have been in the business of substance abuse for nearly 29 years and I have never seen anything to this degree,” Shea said. “Meth in Montana is out of the closet. In Idaho, like it was in Montana, many teens don’t understand how ravishing this drug is. Absolutely, be totally and completely honest.”

Common Household items

methidaho — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 04:53:16 +0000

The problem with catching people who make meth is that it is, as you know, made with products that are easily accessible to anyone. Common household items from batteries to cold medicine can be found as ingredients in common meth labs. All of these items are obviously not illegal to buy, which makes it difficult to catch a meth user/dealer. States, such as Idaho, have had to enforce new laws regarding over the counter pills. Sudafed, a common over the counter drug now has restrictions on how many packages you can buy at one time and how many times you can purchase them a month. Other drugs have been taken off the counter and put back behind the pharmaceutical window. This has now put a new financial burden on the pharmacists and the stores they are in because the costs obtained by the new measures to log certain drug sales and monitor others are swallowed by the stores themselves and not that states. Below is a link to an article with more information on this topic and where I got some of my information mentioned above.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/handle/story.asp?ID=229977

Recent News

methidaho — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:04:17 +0000

I decided that my post this week would be of different links to fairly current news articles on teen related meth use along with videos that are created to pursuade teens from trying meth.

methbenefits12308.pdf

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297286,00.html?sPage=fnc/health/mentalhealth

http://www.idahomethproject.org/documents/appealtoteens12308.pdf

Who is using?

methidaho — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:38:49 +0000

Last week I addressed the appeal of meth and why people use it but also undressed the ugly truth to what is in meth along with the emotional and physical effects of using. So knowing all of that, who actually uses meth? Here are some striking statistics to look over

Take From: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/methamphetamine/index.html

according to the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 5.77% of the U.S. population aged 12 or older used methamphetamine at least once in their lifetimes for nonmedical purposes. Further data indicate that past year methamphetamine use was higher in the West (1.6%) than in the Northeast (0.3%), Midwest (0.5%) or South (0.7%) in 2006. The rates of past year use in 2006 were similar to those in 2002 in each respective region.³

In 2006 there were an estimated 731,000 current users of methamphetamine, aged 12 or older, representing 0.3% of the population. Among persons aged 12 or older, there were 259,000 recent, new users of methamphetamine taken for nonmedical purposes during 2006. These estimates do not differ significantly from estimates for 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005.⁴

Results of the 2007 Monitoring the Future survey indicate that 1.8% of eighth graders, 2.8% of tenth graders, and 3.0% of twelfth graders reported lifetime use of methamphetamine. In 2006, these percentages were 2.7%, 3.2%, and 4.4%, respectively.⁵

Percent of Students Reporting Methamphetamine Use, 2006–2007 ⁶

	8th Grade		10th Grade		12th Grade
	2006	2007	2006	2007	2006	2007
Past month	0.6%	0.6%	0.7%	0.4%	0.9%	0.6%
Past year	1.8	1.1	1.8	1.6	2.5	1.7
Lifetime	2.7	1.8	3.2	2.8	4.4	3.0

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveys high school students on several risk factors including drug and alcohol use. Results of the 2005 survey indicate that 6.2% of high school students reported using methamphetamine at some point in their lifetimes. This is down from 7.6% in 2003 and 9.8% in 2001.⁷

Percent of Students Reporting Lifetime Meth Use, 2001–2005

	2001	2003	2005
9th grade	8.1%	6.7%	5.7%
10th grade	9.7	7.5	5.9
11th grade	9.2	8.0	6.7
12th grade	12.8	8.0	6.4
Total	9.8	7.6	6.2

Approximately 2.9% of college students and 7.3% of young adults (ages 19-28) surveyed in 2006 reported lifetime use of methamphetamine.⁸

Percent of College Students/Young Adults Using Methamphetamine, 2005–2006

	College Students		Young Adults
	2005	2006	2005	2006
Past month	0.1%	0.2%	0.7%	0.5%
Past year	1.7	1.2	2.4	1.9
Lifetime	4.1	2.9	8.3	7.3

According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 23.5% of State prisoners and 17.9% of Federal prisoners surveyed in 2004 indicated that they used methamphetamine at some point in their lives.⁹

Percent of Prisoners Reporting Methamphetamine Use, 1997 and 2004

	State Prisoners		Federal Prisoners
	1997	2004	1997	2004
At time of offense	3.5%	6.1%	3.7%	7.2%
In month before offense	6.9	10.8	6.5	10.1
Regularly*	11.2	14.9	9.6	12.8
Ever in lifetime	19.4	23.5	15.1	17.9
* Used drugs at least once a week for at least a month.

Just a spoonful of sugar…

methidaho — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 07:37:32 +0000

The ingredients in meth are hardly just a spoonful of sugar coined by the Disney movie Mary Poppins, however for some reason people still decide that putting things like paint thinner into their systems is a good thing. I know sniffing battery acid, shooting up gasoline or better yet, snorting drain cleaner all sound appealing to the average person that its no wonder meth addiction is growing in the state of Idaho. I say this all facetiously because I really do not think any of this sounds appealing and leaves me wondering why would anyone want to try meth in the first place? Meth is not just an Idaho problem, it’s so widespread that states all over the nation are launching, about to launch or have launched an anti-meth campaign. I chose to focus on Idaho because that is where I am from and they are in the midst of launching their campaign. Again, all of this brings me back to my question of why? Why try meth? Here is what I found.

“People who try methamphetamine do so for a variety of reasons. Some are looking for an adrenaline rush, energy, and confidence. They might want to stay awake or have the energy to dance all night. Others might want to use it because they think it will help them fit in with their friends. Or they might think it will help them lose weight. Some people try it because they’ve heard about it and are curious about how it will affect them. Or they might be feeling down about themselves and think and hope that meth will help them feel better.” http://www.no2meth.ca/students/WhyTryMeth.aspx?lvl=1

When reading over this list of why people try meth I can pick out a couple of reasons why young people would be so tempted to try meth despite the ingredients. The ability to stay awake and losing weight are the first two to pop into my mind as big sellers. With our lives becoming more and more busy, the need to “buy” more hours in the day is in high demand and with meth, you can get just that. The energy to stay awake and “dance all night”. I can see how that would be perfect if I had exams I needed to study all night for. How about the weight loss issue, I’ve tried all the other shakes and powders to lose weight fast, what’s trying one more miracle drug going to hurt? Women especially fall victim to this aspect with the desire to be skinny and wanted by men like we see in the media, can you blame someone for wanting to get thin quickly? However, the sad reality to all of this is that using meth isn’t just a quick fix. According to the Idaho Press Tribune nearly 1/4 of teens believe meth will help them feel happy and help them lose weight and 20% see little to no risk in trying meth. What they don’t know is that, the high is never as high as what you achieve the first time. It’s not a glamorous drug. If it doesn’t end up costing them their lives, it will cost them what’s most important to them: relationships, family, friends, job and home”

http://www.idahomethproject.org/documents/methbenefits12308.pdf

Introduction to my blog

methidaho — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 02:22:09 +0000

The purpose of this blog is to taker a closer look into the meth addiction in the State of Idaho and what is being done about it. I’m interested in researching what demographics are primarily using; i.e. wealthy vs. poor, educated vs. non-educated etc… Meth is a highly addictive drug even more so than heroin, it’s no wonder that 52% of Idaho’s prison mates are there due to their meth addictions. Currently the state of Idaho is in the process of launching a “Not Even Once” campaign against the use of meth, the primary focus is targeting teens since statistically 77% of teens try meth before the age of 15. The state of Idaho, from schools to hospitals are rallying behind the battle against meth as they have recognized the growing use of meth in the state. The opponents to this issue and the campaign are going to be those that are current users/are making money at the exploitation of those who are addicted.

Hello world!

methidaho — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 22:44:35 +0000

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!