Stop Utah's meth spiral

The downward spiral of methamphetamine abuse can begin the first time a user gets high. Meth is an especially insidious drug because it is so highly addictive, readily available and relatively inexpensive. Abusers strive to replicate that first high or keep the rush going for hours at a time. Seeking that high becomes their central ambition. They will sacrifice every worthwhile aspect of their lives to get it, whether it's their children, their relationships, their health, their financial security or their self-respect.

In a six-day series titled "Generation Meth" published this past week, reporters Dennis Romboy and Lucinda Dillon Kinkead provided Deseret Morning News readers with a comprehensive view into the lives of a growing number of young people in Utah — mostly young women — who are meth addicts.

The short-hand version of the series is that methamphetamine use in Utah is overwhelming law enforcement, child welfare agencies and drug-abuse treatment centers. On a personal level, it is destroying the lives of users and the lives of their children.

The solution lies in more resources for all segments of society touched by this problem and a collaborative approach to prevention, treatment, law enforcement and drug interdiction.

Meth is a vexing law-enforcement problem because the stimulant is made in "meth labs" in residential neighborhoods. It is also imported from other states and "factories" in other countries such as Mexico. Many states track the purchases of large quantities of meth-making materials such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, but more needs to be done to trace bulk sales of these ingredients on an international basis. Congress needs to make meth interdiction a higher priority.

The Utah Legislature also must play a role. Public substance-abuse treatment centers need more beds, particularly the programs that strive to keep children with their mothers. The Division of Child and Family Services needs more resources to help children who are abused and neglected because their parents are addicts. The division needs more services for these children as well as the adults who shelter and foster them until permanent placements can be arranged. Law enforcement needs more money for drug interdiction efforts as well as the latest equipment to help protect public safety workers to bust and take down meth labs. Drug courts need to be expanded to address the growing number of meth addicts in Utah. Public substance abuse agencies need more money for prevention efforts. Finally, more resources are required to coordinate these efforts.