METHAMPHETAMINE: INSIDIOUS DRUG REQUIRES A DIFFERENT APPROACH

The First Step

When facing up to substance abuse, the first step is not only to
admit that you have a problem, but that your old ways of dealing with
it won't work any better tomorrow than they did yesterday.

Gov. Jon Huntsman's announced approach to the problem of
methamphetamine abuse in Utah admits that the state has a problem
with this harshly addictive chemical. More importantly, it admits
that the traditional approach to drug abuse - jail - doesn't work.

The abuse of meth, a super-stimulant that wrecks bodies, families and
futures, is a big problem for law enforcement. But it is not a law
enforcement problem. It is a public health problem.

That is true, more or less, for all illegal and misused drugs. But
meth takes that truth to a much higher and more important level.

Meth is the drug of choice for more and more abusers, most notably
and most horribly women of child-bearing age. It is a cheap and
towering high, pushing people to stay awake for days and function
with a euphoric feeling of endless energy - until they crash.

Without treatment - not wastefully expensive punishment but real,
effective treatment - the only answer to the crash is to get high
again. And again. And again. Until the final crash ends in prison or the grave.

Meth's insidious appeal is much broader than just to the clearly
irresponsible recreational abuser. It is also a too-often
irresistible temptation to previously responsible professionals,
workers, mothers and teens who feel the need to operate at full speed
for days on end - working, playing, dating and taking care of
children - until the crash causes the addict to lose all those things
they were working so hard to acquire and maintain.

That's why meth is, as Huntsman says, not just a social or behavioral
issue, but a health issue. That's why his newly announced task force
includes not only people in law enforcement and corrections but also
specialists in mental health, education, substance abuse treatment
and child welfare.

As satisfying as it can be to bust meth dealers and confiscate their
wares, the fact is that the law of Utah is powerless before the law
of supply and demand. As long as there is demand, there will be supply.

And, without such approaches as drug courts, education and serious
treatment made available throughout the state to all who need it,
there will be far too much demand.