INMATE DRUG USE STUDIED

The results of a drug and alcohol abuse study revealed that 80
percent of all women booked into the Washington County Detention
Center during a two week period last year had used methamphetamine
within the past 12 months.

"Our female numbers are increasing much faster than the rest of the
population," said Washington County Chief Deputy Jay Cantrell.
"Methamphetamine knows no bounds."

The study was compiled by professor Brad Myrstol, who works in the
Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of
Arkansas, at the request of the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
The goal was to provide law enforcement officials with a reliable and
accurate assessment of illicit drug use among those arrested and
booked into the Washington County Detention Center.

"I really have to commend Sheriff [Tim ] Helder for putting this
together, " said Washington County Circuit Court Judge Mary Ann Gunn.
"This is something we really needed and it's going to be useful to a
lot of people."

Gunn, who heads the Washington-Madison County Drug Court Program,
said the study revealed several surprising statistics.

"What was really disturbing to me was the fact that 20 percent of all
people arrested for any crime tested positive for meth," she said.
"Unlike marijuana, meth only stays in your system for 72 hours. That
tells you there's a problem."

The survey was con-ducted over a two-week period in September 2007.
Myrstol, along with a team of researchers from the UA, interviewed a
sample of inmates booked into the Washington County Detention Center.
Using a protocol developed by the National Institute of Justice, the
team collected drug and alcohol use information from inmates booked
into the facility within 48 hours of their arrest. "It was completely
confidential and voluntary," Cantrell said. "In fact, we even gave
them a candy bar for participating."

The study cost about $ 29, 000 and was funded through federal drug
forfeitures and seizures.

Results of the study showed that heavy drinking and use of illicit
drugs were common among inmates. The survey further revealed that 78
percent of all inmates had used illicit drugs at least once.

Additionally, nearly two-thirds of all arrestees admitted to binge
drinking within 12 months of their arrest, and more than half
admitted to using illicit drugs.

"I think the results were startling, but not surprising," said
Project Right Choice Chairman Jess Smith. "What we've found is that
drugs, especially methamphetamine, are touching an abnormal number of
people in Northwest Arkansas. It cuts across all economic and
societal divisions and it's one of those things that seems to have no
respect for who you are."

Project Right Choice is a methamphetamine awareness committee that
was spear-headed by Fayetteville police nearly three years ago. The
group has since been taken over by local community members and
anti-drug coalitionists.

"Through education and awareness, we're working on programs for youth
groups and families," Smith said. "We've had three town hall meetings
in Huntsville, Fayetteville and Springdale; and we're working on
another one for western Washington County. We're trying to work with
businesses so employers will be aware of how great a problem it is."

Gunn said the results of the study were consistent with her own suspicions.

"When I first started in April 1999, Judge William Story was sitting
as the criminal judge who handled all the drug cases," she said.
"During that time, he told me that meth was an incredible problem. He
called it a cancer in our society and said that we needed to cut it
out in any way possible."

Prevention efforts, Gunn said, are the best way to address the
inflation of meth abuse.

"The majority of the cases I deal with are meth-related," she said.
"It usually starts out with drinking. We have people as young as 6
drinking alcohol. We've seen kids smoking by age 9. After that, they
usually start experimenting with other drugs like marijuana. The
majority start using meth when they are 17 or 18. Most say they
become addicted after the first one to three times."