VALLEY FOLLOWS TREND OF DECLINING METH USE

State officials recently reported that fewer students are using
methamphetamine than compared to past years, a trend local officials
are also seeing.

The state Department of Human Services (DHS) reported that 2.2
percent of high school seniors in the Twin Cities metropolitan area
used meth in 2007, compared with 4.8 percent in 2004 and 5.3 percent in 2001.

Carol Falkowski, director of the DHS Chemical Health Division and
author of the report, credited community awareness with the decline
in meth use.

"I think meth represents a special case because it was a drug you
couldn't ignore," said Falkowski, who has analyzed drug abuse trends
in Minnesota for the past two decades.

The drug, commonly referred to as "speed" during the 1970s, attracted
users because it was inexpensive, easily accessible and gave an
instant high, said Dr. Charles Bransford, medical director at
Stillwater's Lakeview Hospital.

Many law enforcement and community service agencies identified meth
use as a significant problem after it re-appeared around the state in
high numbers earlier this decade.

The DHS report is based off a 2007 student survey given to 136,000
high school students in ninth and 12th grades who were asked to
describe how many times per year they use drugs, both illegal and prescription.

At Stillwater Area High School, 99 percent of the 546 seniors who
took the voluntary survey responded that they have not used meth in
the past year. One percent of the 285 males reported that they had
used the stimulant three to five times, while one percent of the 261
females reported using meth one to two times.

That represents a decline from the 2004 numbers among District 834
seniors, when 91 percent of male students and 95 percent of females
reported no meth use.

Falkowski, Bransford, and Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton
agreed that 2005 state legislation that forced drugs containing
pseudoephedrine - a key ingredient in making meth - behind the
counter at pharmacies contributed to the lower numbers of usage shown today.

Hutton said the number of drug labs in the area has fallen
considerably, as Washington County reported only one during 2007.

But the "gateways" for the drug still exist, with the drug coming
from southwest states and Mexico, Hutton said. Washington County
authorities worked alongside the FBI in 2006 to bust a meth pipeline
believed to be linked to Mexico.

However, the DHS study found that meth busts accounted for 34.7
percent of the state's illegal drug drug seizures - more than any
other substance.

"I think we've done a real good job," Hutton said. "But the train is
still moving."

The study also found meth-related admissions to treatment programs in
decline. According to the report, admissions to treatment programs in
which meth was the primary substance problem was 7.6 percent of all
Metro area admissions in the first half of 2007, compared with 8
percent in 2006 and a high of 12 percent in 2005.

Bransford said he has also witnessed a similar trend at Lakeview. The
hospital has two to four intensive care unit admissions related to
drugs and alcohol per week, he said, with meth-related cases "really
dropping down."

"I think what that points to is getting (the drug) so the kids don't
want it," Bransford said. "You've got to stop that desire and get
kids to discover other things in life to find joy from."

While meth use was in decline, the report found a slight increase in
the number of high school seniors across the Twin Cities using
marijuana, MDMA (ecstasy) and LSD over previous years.

"It seems to be part of human nature that we're always seeking
something to make us feel better," Bransford said. "The biggest thing
for kids is to make sure they are educated about the dangers. They
need to find avenues in their lives that make them feel worthwhile.
They can do sports, music, art - things that will give them the
satisfaction they need, so they don't use."

Hutton said the recent meth numbers provide law enforcement agencies
with an example of what to aim for in relation to illegal drug use as a whole.

"Is there still a significant drug problem within the community - not
just in Washington County, but in the U.S.? Yes, but we're making
gains. It's not something that's going to be resolved immediately," he said.