GUV WANTS TO TWEAK ANTI-METH EFFORTS

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Unveils A $10.2 Million Campaign Focusing On
Prevention And Rehab

Wendy Ahlgren grew up in a middle-class, Mormon family of seven where
drugs and alcohol were considered taboo, but rarely discussed. The
47-year-old, who describes herself as "naive," has struggled with
depression for as long as she can remember.

For Jodi, flirting with drugs and alcohol was a teenage "rite of
passage." Her grandfather was a bootlegger during the Prohibition
era, several of her uncles dealt drugs and her father was an
alcoholic. They considered it a lifestyle filled with romance, not danger.

The two are among the tens of thousands of Utah women who have fallen
victim to methamphetamine over the past decade - many of them young
mothers. Both women say they had "no idea" meth would ravage their
lives, that their addictions would rob them of their children, jobs
and dignity.

"That's the constant refrain" of women seeking help at public
treatment clinics, said Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. at a Wednesday
unveiling of his $10.2 million anti-meth campaign.

The plan focuses on treatment and prevention - a departure from law
enforcement-driven strategies of the past. It has the backing of the
governor's anti-meth task force, consisting of county, charitable and
religious leaders, law enforcement officials, treatment experts and
researchers.

"This is an all-hands-on-deck undertaking, as well it should be,
because if we miss the mark on fighting methamphetamine, we've failed
[as policymakers]," said Huntsman, calling upon legislators for support.

Huntsman is calling for a crackdown on meth labs, including: enhanced
criminal penalties, restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter
medicines containing ingredients used to make meth and legislation to
add homes where meth was smoked to a state registry of meth labs.

But the governor's top priority is on-demand treatment for women with
children. He proposes opening 600 residential treatment slots,
costing $2.5 million.

His spending plan also includes:
* $2 million for an anti-meth ad campaign
* $1.5 million to expand a statewide gang task force
* $2 million to expand Utah's drug courts
* $1.6 million for the second year of an underage alcohol prevention campaign
* $600,000 to grow an anti-meth law enforcement task force

Over the years, police have successfully slowed the production of
meth, but they have been unable to stop the "supply side" of the
equation, said Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff at Wednesday's
news conference. Mexican drug cartels continue to import the drug at
higher purity levels.

Since 2001, methamphetamine has been the No. 1 illicit drug of choice
for Utahns seeking treatment at public clinics. For women, it
surpasses even alcohol as the leading substance of abuse. About 60
percent of women in treatment have at least one child.

Salt Lake County substance abuse director Pat Fleming says the
criminalization of drugs, coupled with the stigma of addiction, have
driven many young women underground. Others have sought help, but
didn't know where to go or couldn't afford it. Fleming would like to
see laws mandating that insurance companies pay for addiction treatment.

But more immediately, there's a need to expand the public treatment
system, which caters mostly to people who have run-ins with the law.
Waiting lists in Salt Lake County for residential, in-patient
treatment slots average four to eight weeks. Statewide, unmet demand
for treatment exceeds 90,000 people.

Both Ahlgren and Jodi wish they had entered treatment earlier, but
are grateful they eventually did.

"I didn't know how to get help. I thought something was wrong with
me," said Jodi, who now works helping refer families to treatment.
"Back then, treatment wasn't an option. The system was punitive. It
was, 'bad parent, take the kid away.' " Jodi has been in recovery for
five years and asked that only her first name be used, preferring to
put her 11-year battle with meth behind her.

Ahlgren has fought meth for 13 years, relapsing "more times than I
can count." She graduates from an outpatient program on Jan. 24 and
says she's "scared" to be on her own, but hopeful. Until forced into
treatment, Ahlgren said, "I was planning on using meth forever. It
was my medicine. It gave me energy and helped me lose weight." But
that didn't last, and "the price you pay is too dear," she said. "It
was the biggest nightmare I ever lived."

Mothers And Meth

* Methamphetamine was tied to the removal of 53 percent of the
children entering foster care over the past six months.

* Admissions to public treatment for meth have increased by about 400
percent in 11 years.

* 41 percent of all women in treatment list meth as their primary
drug of choice, 60 percent of whom have at least one child.