METH PLAGUE: METH EDUCATION BEING CULTIVATED IN THE SCHOOLS

When she visits schools, drug counselor Darcy Jensen hears kids tell
stories of how meth provides a burst of energy and causes dramatic
weight loss. Then she tells the part the kids don't hear -- where you
often become hooked on the first hit and eventually die.

"In the beginning, you have more energy because meth is a stimulant.
You are changing the brain chemistry. People are not sleeping for two
or three days at a time," Jensen said. "You lose weight because you're
not eating when you are high. When you have more of a patterned (meth)
use, there is weight loss that could be anywhere from 20 to 40-plus
pounds (in two months)."

With rising meth usage found at younger ages, Gov. Mike Rounds kicked
off the "Face Facts: Meth Makes You Ugly" campaign about a year ago.
Jensen's agency, Prairie View Drug and Alcohol Prevention of Sioux
Falls, has coordinated the Meth Awareness and Prevention
Project-South Dakota (MAPP-SD) since 2000 and has taken on the "Face
Facts" campaign in schools across the state.

Tammy Scott, a MAPP-SD member, will discuss the dangers of meth during
a public forum at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Roncalli Dining Hall at
Mount Marty College. Scott will also speak Friday to Yankton high
school and middle school students. Scott's program is sponsored by the
GFWC Yankton Woman's Club.

The campaign is one of many efforts in South Dakota and Nebraska to
reach a younger audience to head off meth use. South Dakota has
recorded a meth patient as young as 12. A poll of South Dakota
students has shown 9 percent of sophomore girls has tried meth, with
the number climbing to 12 percent of junior girls, Rounds said.

The meth story needs constant telling, and "Face Facts" has been
effective in its short lifetime, Jensen said.

"Face Facts" receives funding from the South Dakota governor's office
and the state Division of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Jensen said. "Face
Facts" offers a free service to schools around the state and has made
presentations at Yankton, Vermillion, Lake Andes and Marty during the
past year, she added.

"I think it's great the governor, the Division and the communities
support this in the schools. The Legislature is also supporting
(funding) because they see (the problem) in front of them," Jensen
said. "You can have programs, but it doesn't help if there isn't
funding and if the communities are not willing to embrace or welcome
it."

Meth takes over every aspect of life, as addicts crave the initial
high they will never again experience, Jensen said.

"I hear about meth clients who don't eat, sleep or go to the bathroom
for three or four days, then they sleep for two days," she said. "Then
they get up and eat. They are intaking food a couple times over seven
days."

That's the side that never gets told when people of all ages -- one
South Dakota addict is 77 years old -- are lured into the false
promises of meth, Jensen said.

"All you hear is the street talk, and the truth is not necessarily the
street message," she said. "What we have created with our presentation
is the rest of the story."

That same message is spread across Nebraska by the community service
officers (CSO) of the Nebraska State Patrol, said NSP spokeswoman Deb
Collins.

"We are very active in our six troop areas all across the state with
community service officers," she said. "They spend hours and hours
visiting classrooms and giving presentations on the dangers of meth
and what it can do to a young person's body."

While the State Patrol focuses on stopping the flow of meth, the
agency also sees the value of heading off drug use before it starts in
the schools, Collins said.

"Law enforcement and education go hand in hand," she said. "The CSO
are educating not only the children but the parents and
grandparents."

Often, young people become victims of meth use even if they never use
the drug, Collins said. Meth becomes an insidious part of a dwelling,
and parents and other adults who use meth affect the children who live
with them, she said.

"We have the Tmeth endangered kids' focus. If people have a meth lab,
we look for signs that children are in that home," Collins said. "The
kids are affected by their parents who are doing it. We contact health
professionals if the kids need care."

In the same manner, people -- particularly children -- need to become
aware of meth use when they visit a house, Collins said.

"It's absolutely important that parents know who their children's
friends are and the homes they are visiting," she said. "If meth is
made or used in the home, it gets into the walls, ceilings and carpets."

Children also need to be aware of people who are using meth and the
danger that meth addicts can represent to those around them, Collins
said.

The MAPP-SD program also helps young people understand tough personal
situations involving meth, Jensen said.

"If you think someone you love is using meth, what do you do? Are
there safe people to go to, and how do you approach that?" she asked.
"You may go in and bust a house, and it has four kids and five adults.
The kids are in need of services."

Children need to be educated on the dangers of meth in all settings,
even the unexpected, Jensen said.

"I just read of where some kids who found light bulbs that had meth in
them. They took it to grandma, and she knew something was wrong with
it," she said. "I do training with all of these daycares in the area,
what they can in turn teach to kids. We had a Twalk safety' course,
with kids like Boy Scouts (who walk ditches for trash)."

While such programs are conducted at the state level, the Yankton
School District has conducted its own drug awareness program since the
1960s, said Activities Director Bob Winter.

"All of our classes for a long time have incorporated the drug,
alcohol and tobacco education in a combination of science, health and
physical education classes," he said. "If you are in fourth grade, it
is in the science classes. When you get to the seventh and eighth
grade level, you have a combination of PE (physical education) and
health classes. At the ninth grade, it may be in their science
classes. And we do drug education in our physical education and health
classes."

At the high school level, instructors incorporate drug education into
a variety of classes as part of the school's cross curriculum effort,
Winter said.

"Every class in the Yankton School District offers something relative
to drug and alcohol education. It might be value learning or role
playing, or it may be a high powered guest speaker," Winter said.

"Over a long period of time, the Yankton School District has had a lot
of different programs. There was a time in the 1970s when we showed
films. We had daylong sessions at one time at the high school. As time
goes on, we have continually changed and updated how we handle things."

A number of Yankton teachers have taken drug education courses for all
grade levels, Winter said. "Our curriculum is a continuous process,"
he said.

Students can also take advantage of elementary, middle school and high
school counselors, Winter said. "Our counselors talk to kids
continually about peer pressure and their ability to say no," he said.

The school district's drug effort has also benefited from parental
involvement and the work of area law enforcement and the DARE (Drug
Abuse Resistance Education) program, Winter said.

"We have a great relationship with our juvenile system and our sheriff
and police departments. We are continually trying to work on all
situations so our lines of communication are really open," he said.
"DARE speakers make kids aware of what they should and should not do.
They talk to the kids and build good relationships instead of the fear
factor. Chief (Duane) Heeney and Sheriff (Dave) Hunhoff really promote
that."

The MAPP-SD program has bolstered local efforts by training
professionals for the "Face Facts" program, Jensen said. The past
year's training has doubled the number of available "Face Facts"
professionals for school visits, she said.

The individuals create consistency across the state by using the same
Power Point presentations, curriculum, games and activities, Jensen
said. The program offers a variety of information to meet a school's
needs for various grade levels, she said.

Another option would be to have a professional visit a health class
one or two times to discuss meth's impact on the body, Jensen said.
The instructors could leave behind assigned activities, such as
looking for news articles to see how the media deals with the meth
issue, she said.

"Face Facts" has literally helped young people face the facts of meth
use, Jensen said.

"We have comments from kids who said, I didn't realize meth can change
the way a person looks," she said. "We ask, do you think meth is a
serious problem in South Dakota? Some kids, in the beginning, didn't
think it was. But after our presentation, they see it is a serious
problem. We also ask, what did you like best about the presentation?
They will say, I liked the pictures of the before and after. They see
how much damage meth can do."

Fighting meth is not a one-shot deal, and Jensen is already planning
future projects. "Meth has not gone away, and we need to be vigilant
in getting the message out," she said.