[yeahright]

Study: Meth use rare in most of the U.S.

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press WriterWed Jun 14, 10:25 PM ET

Methamphetamine use is rare in most of the United States, not the raging epidemic described by politicians and the news media, says a study by an advocacy group.

Meth is a dangerous drug but among the least commonly used, The Sentencing Project policy analyst Ryan King wrote in a report issued Wednesday. Rates of use have been stable since 1999, and among teenagers meth use has dropped, King said.

"The portrayal of methamphetamine in the United States as an epidemic spreading across the country has been grossly overstated," King said. The Sentencing Project is a not-for-profit group that supports alternatives to prison terms for convicted drug users and other criminals.

Overheated rhetoric, unsupported assertions and factual errors about the use of the drug — including frequent, misguided comparisons between meth and crack cocaine — lead to poor decisions about how to spend precious public dollars combating drug addiction, King said.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy did not immediately comment on the report.

The report cites statistics compiled by the government to make its case, including a 2004 survey that estimated 583,000 people used meth in the past month, or two-10ths of 1 percent of the U.S. population. Four times as many people use cocaine regularly and 30 times as many use marijuana, King said.

A separate survey of high-school students showed a 36 percent drop in meth use between 2001 and 2005.

The report acknowledged that methamphetamine is more widely used today than it was 10 years ago. Data from the jail populations of a handful of cities on the West Coast also show what King called a "highly localized" problem.

Among men arrested in Phoenix, 38.3 percent tested positive for methamphetamine. Figures for other cities are: Los Angeles, 28.7 percent; Portland, Ore., 25.4; San Diego, 36.2 percent; and San Jose, Calif., 36.9 percent.

But nationally, just 5 percent of men who had been arrested had meth in their systems. By contrast, 30 percent tested positive for cocaine and 44 percent for marijuana, the report said, citing government statistics.

Treatment programs for meth also have been portrayed inaccurately, with news reports suggesting that meth users do not respond as well to treatment as users of other drugs, King said. The Bush administration's recent methamphetamine control strategy also referred to a "common misperception that methamphetamine is so addictive that it is impossible to treat."

Programs in 15 states have had promising results, King said.

"Mischaracterizing the impact of methamphetamine by exaggerating its prevalence and consequences while downplaying its receptivity to treatment succeeds neither as a tool of prevention nor a vehicle of education," he wrote.

King called for a tempered approach to the problem, keeping the focus on local trouble spots and using federal money to beef up treatment programs.

___

On the Net:

The Sentencing Project: The Sentencing Project

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov

[DAdams91982]

SO WRONG!!! Not only is it NOT a misconception about the epidemic of Meth... But I have also seen first hand how strong it is raging through our country.

Meth: America's Most Dangerous Drug - Newsweek Society - MSNBC.com
FRONTLINE: the meth epidemic | PBS
Meth Epidemic Devastates Children
BBC NEWS | Americas | Rural US gripped by meth epidemic

Now alot of what is claimed and blamed on Meth is obviously false, and made up.. BUT the use, and abuse is rediculous. Its to easy to make, and make a buck off of.

Adams

[kwyckemynd00]

Originally Posted by DAdams91982

SO WRONG!!! Not only is it NOT a misconception about the epidemic of Meth... But I have also seen first hand how strong it is raging through our country.

I would agree based off of my personal feelings about meth, BUT that's exactly how people think AAS are running "rampant" and "wreaking havoc" among our communities.

I hate meth, but I agree with Michael Crichton's premise in his latest book "State of fear". We are living in state of fear because the goverment and media make it so. Meth has made some major rifts in our family (well, the family members absing meth did, not the meth). So I am no advocate, but it doesn't surprise me that the goverment and the media blow things waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of proportion with just about everything you can think of.

[dannyboy9]

Meth for the most part is in the gay scene. Not really heard of alot of with straight people down where I'm at. Could be different with other places.

This study is kind of off IMO.

[DAdams91982]

Originally Posted by kwyckemynd00

I would agree based off of my personal feelings about meth, BUT that's exactly how people think anabolic steroids are running "rampant" and "wreaking havoc" among our communities.

I hate meth, but I agree with Michael Crichton's premise in his latest book "State of fear". We are living in state of fear because the goverment and media make it so. Meth has made some major rifts in our family (well, the family members absing meth did, not the meth). So I am no advocate, but it doesn't surprise me that the goverment and the media blow things waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of proportion with just about everything you can think of.

I believe the some of the consequences are exaggerated... but the usage, and amount of addiction is not.

Adams

[kwyckemynd00]

Yeah... the level of addiction is insane, I'm not disagreeing there. But, it all comes down to choices again.

[DAdams91982]

Originally Posted by kwyckemynd00

Yeah... the level of addiction is insane, I'm not disagreeing there. But, it all comes down to choices again.

Thats the part of addiction.. Choice is completely thrown out the window. The choice to partake in the first time, is the only time you have choice.

Adams

[kwyckemynd00]

Originally Posted by DAdams91982

Thats the part of addiction.. Choice is completely thrown out the window. The choice to partake in the first time, is the only time you have choice.

Adams

I disagree you don't only have one choice. People quit drugs all of the time, including nicotine based drugs which are basically one of the hardest drugs to withdrawal from on the planet!

Even then, one decision is all that SHOULD be necessary.

[DAdams91982]

Originally Posted by kwyckemynd00

I disagree you don't only have one choice. People quit drugs all of the time, including nicotine based drugs which are basically one of the hardest drugs to withdrawal from on the planet!

Even then, one decision is all that SHOULD be necessary.

I've been through Ciggarette, and meth addicition. And trust me... quiting the white... is 100 Times harder to do, than nicotine. After you get hooked, your body NEEDS it to function... you dont have a choice in the matter if you want to get through to day.

And yes I agree... with your statement of one decision is all that SHOULD be necessary... but if you have every read the quote to error is human... you know, decisions of the right nature are not always made.

Adams

[anabolicrhino]

There physical symptoms of meth abuse are so shocking..,hairloss tooth loss and skin lesions with general ambivulance of the user, That it is easy to make an example of the meth user....nothing like a good visual aide to prove a point...although there is something intriguing about staying up for 72 hours, the chemical composition of meth is close to mdma so there is a bit of euphoria involved. The quality of the chemical manufacture is very suspect it is hard to tell what your getting..and you don't want to be around when the s**t
wears off...remember what goes up must come down!

[max-rot98]

Meth is an absolutely horrendous drug. I lived in tennesse when I was 18 for about 6 months and let me say I was shocked to find out just how many young and old people smoked pot. It shocked me even more so to see that meth was still the by far most popular and the most easily accessible drug there. If you haven't seen what it does to people firsthand than you really have no idea how bad the drug really is. That being said I have to admit back a few years ago I experimented with many recreational substances and meth was the least fun and made me feal the worst after coming down.

If you want to get an idea of what a meth addicts life is like, check out the movie SPUN I think is what its called. I warn you now its a depressing movie.

Edit: the movie is called SPUN with John Leguizamo and Brittany Murphy

[CDB]

Originally Posted by DAdams91982

I've been through Ciggarette, and meth addicition. And trust me... quiting the white... is 100 Times harder to do, than nicotine. After you get hooked, your body NEEDS it to function... you dont have a choice in the matter if you want to get through to day.

And yes I agree... with your statement of one decision is all that SHOULD be necessary... but if you have every read the quote to error is human... you know, decisions of the right nature are not always made.

Adams

True. But the only way to be truly free is if you are free to make mistakes and make essentially the wrong decisions. Plus, the fact that you quit is evidence in and of itself that even after a person has made several wrong decisions in this regard, it's still possible to make the right one. That is, if you quit of your own volition which is how I took your meaning.

[JonesersRX7]

Here in AZ a meth lab is being busted seems like every other week on average. When they do the raids it can be 5-10 in a week. Or if the news is reporting a house fire I would say 25% of the time it's because of meth labs.

The images of the buckets of chems with children being taken by CPS... it's very sad.

We have laws that drugs containing psuedoephedrine need to be bought at the pharmacy with drivers license, name and address logged in a sheet. And you can't purchase more than I think 2 boxes at a time. This way if they go from city to city purchasing allergy medicines they are red flagged.

[BigVrunga]

The government will never stop drug use handling it the way they currently do. If they make it so difficult to manufacture methamphetamine (a nasty compund, for sure) - then people who are weak enough to give their lives over to a chemical will just find something else.

Young people need education, and truth. What about someone's personality or genetic make up makes them prone to drug addiction? Why is drug addiction so prevalent in poor, disparate communities? These are the questions and problems that need to be addressed.

The only thing we get with the current system is an increase in drug-related crimes and violence.

BV