Idaho Mountain Express: New brochure details dangers of meth use

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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

New brochure details dangers of meth use

Publication cites high use of meth in area schools

By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

The Blaine County Sheriff's Office and the Community Drug Coalition has prepared a new brochure that contains some startling information about the use of methamphetamine in the county.

For example, the publication reports that one out of 20 Wood River High School students claim to have used the drug, but high school officials estimate "that the real number is closer to one out of seven students."

"The popularity of meth among high school and middle school students is a particular concern in Blaine County," the brochure says. "One out of six county juveniles on probation admit to using meth and 60 percent of those consider themselves addicted," the publication reports.

"One of the biggest dangers of meth is how quickly people can become addicted to it," the brochure says. "The National Methamphetamine Awareness Campaign says that 99 percent of people are hooked on meth after using it the first time."

The publication further cites a National Methamphetamine Awareness Campaign claim that says "teens in small towns are 104 percent more likely to try meth."

The four-page, full-color brochure was funded by a grant from the Safe and Drug Free Schools organization, said Holly Carter, a sheriff's office command staff assistant who researched, wrote and coordinated publication of the brochure.

Five thousand copies were printed and are currently available through the sheriff's office or other member organizations of the Community Drug Coalition, including the Blaine County School District, the Blaine County Probation Department, St. Luke's Center for Community Health, the Walker Center and Advocates for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Other members include various local churches and businesses and private citizens.

Carter said that fighting meth use in Blaine County is a high priority of Sheriff Walt Femling.

"Walt has been doing presentations around the county and we wanted him to have something to hand out," she said. "We want people to know that we do have a problem in this county. We wanted to provide some information to the people of our community because people sometimes think we're isolated here."

The brochure offers information on the negative health effects of meth use, which can include brain damage, cardiac arrest or strokes, high blood pressure, rotting teeth, skin ulcers, chronic fatigue, extreme anorexia, seizures or death.

Physical and mental symptoms of meth use are also detailed, as are behavioral signs, which can include withdrawal from family and friends, poor school performance, long periods of sleeplessness followed by long periods of sleep, decreased appetite, erratic attention span, twitching or itching, irritability and aggressive or violent behavior.

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There are 4 comments

The comments below are from the readers of mtexpress.com and in no way represent the views of Express Publishing Inc.

Tom

05/19/07 - 01:56

Brochures like this are important. Meth use has dramatically increased over the last years, and brochures that show the actual effect have more impact than lectures alone. Teens are especially aware of their looks, and pictures may impact them more than statistics.

Anita

05/19/07 - 01:20

So what are the specifics on getting copies of this brochure? There is no phone number, email, or web site. Some of these statistics cited from the brochure do look startling, but their references should be listed on the brochure itself.

Arne Ryason

05/17/07 - 20:51

The real drug menace, legally available to teenagers, is tobacco. Many studies prove it is the leading "gateway" drug. Raising the legal smoking age to 21 would get this highly addictive and deadly drug out of the high school peer group. If fewer teenagers smoke cigarettes, fewer will try to illegal drugs.

The effects of methamphetamine are seen more quickly, but cigarettes kill more people and cost more to society.

Reply to

Erin

05/16/07 - 18:19

There's absolutely no verifiable evidence that "99% of people become addicted to methamphetamine after using it one time." Meth comes in various purities, has several different methods of ingestion, and doesn't affect every individual trying it in exactly the same way neurologically. So are we to believe that if ten people try meth that's 15% pure, and ten people try meth that's 90% pure, then 99% of both groups will become addicted after one try?

And if "One out of six county juveniles on probation admit to using meth and 60 percent of those consider themselves addicted," what happened to the "99% become addicted after the first try statistic?"

The real seduction of meth is that with most people, they CAN try it a few times without becoming addicted. And that's why many keep doing it until they DO become addicted.

Ultimately, the real facts about methamphetamine are far more disturbing than the sensationalism. Let's stick to the facts.