Behaviors Expected To Follow Suit

ATTITUDES ON METH CHANGING, SURVEY SHOWS

Editor's note: This is the first article in a series about
methamphetamine use in Hawai'i. The next piece, on treatment, will be
published in Monday's edition.

LIHU'E - Cindy Adams of the Hawai'i Meth Project is heartened that
teen and young-adult attitudes about methamphetamine use are moving
against such usage.

But it won't be until those negative attitudes about the highly
addictive drug translate into similar behaviors that her
very-personal war on drugs will seem winnable.

The 2010 Hawai'i Meth Use & Attitudes Survey shows that teens and
young adults are more willing to talk about the problem and less
likely to try meth even once, and more likely to discourage friends
and family members from trying or continuing to use the drug,

Buoyed by these results released earlier this month, Adams said she
knows the work of the 1-year-old Hawai'i Meth Project still has a
long way to go.

"We are just at the beginning stages," she said in a phone interview
between meetings while traveling around the state sharing the
anti-drug message. "I hope it translates to change in behavior. ...
It was just really great to see changes in attitudes."

The survey shows 54 percent of teens and 67 percent of young adults
see great risk in taking meth once or twice, up 10 points for each
group from a year ago, and that 87 percent of young adults (ages 18
to 24) surveyed said they strongly disapprove of trying meth even
once or twice, up six points from 2009's benchmark survey.

"This research demonstrates we are making significant progress in our
efforts to prevent meth use among Hawai'i's young people," said Dr.
Kevin Kunz, president of the American Board of Addiction Medicine.

"Teens and young adults are considerably more aware of the risks of
methamphetamine, increasingly disapprove of its use, and are taking
action by telling their friends not to try meth," he said. "These
changes in attitudes are key to reducing meth use so I am greatly
encouraged by this new data."

Graphic TV ads showing how meth use can lead to other dangerous
behaviors have translated into survey results wherein youngsters in
Hawai'i are even less likely to try meth even once.

While Adams said there are no Kaua'i-specific numbers of survey
results, she has interviewed one young Kaua'i meth addict whose name
was not released due to privacy reasons.

There are others across the state, though, young addicts who have
lent their names and voices to a new round of ads wherein they admit
to losing everything they used to love because of their addiction to meth.

"Meth will destroy their health, rob them of their futures and ruin
the lives of those they care about most," state Senate President
Colleen Hanabusa said. "The ads have sparked much-needed parent-child
dialogue which is key to preventing meth use among teens."

Still, as survey results indicate meth is easy to very easy to get
for young people in Hawai'i, many youngsters remain at risk for meth
use, said state Rep. Calvin Say, House speaker.

Survey results show both teens and young adults understand getting
hooked, losing control, suffering brain damage, leading them to
become violent and steal, and other negative impacts could result
from meth use, and that 82 percent of young adults said their friends
would give them a hard time for using meth.

"Influences are so important. Increased social pressure means a lot,
carries a significant amount of weight," Adams said.

The project is aimed at teens and young adults because "experimenting
with risky behavior starts with the teen years," and the part of the
brain that allows one to make judgment calls doesn't fully develop
until a person is 20 to 25 years old, Adams said.

It is then that sound judgments, decisions and consequences are fully
understood, she said.

"I would like to commend Cindy Adams for her work on the Hawai'i Meth
Project and her work with our state," said Theresa Koki, Kaua'i
County anti-drug coordinator. "Prevention campaigns such as hers are
a great way to raise awareness about drugs and are important
components of our 2008-2013 Drug Response Plan.

"Media campaigns with compelling TV ads are effective, to be sure.
Key, however, is covering not just prevention, but enforcement,
integration and treatment," she said. "By addressing the
aforementioned four elements, symbiotic and of equal value, I believe
we will be closer to putting our drug and alcohol use and abuse
problems to rest."

Visit www.hawaiimethproject.org/research for survey results including
the executive summary.