Film explores how meth devastates small towns

The unique attributes of the American West make it fertile ground for methamphetamine production and abuse.

"Small Town America has become a high-stakes venue for methamphetamine trafficking," said documentary filmmaker Kathy Weiler.

Weiler's new documentary examines how the insidious drug ruins small towns, Native American culture and families. "Aftermath of Meth" airs tonight at 8 on KUED channel 7. A pre-taped show called "Hope after Meth" exploring treatment and support avenues with a panel of recovering addicts, law enforcement and treatment providers will follow.

The 60-minute program is broken into four segments focusing mostly on the meth epidemic in rural areas.

In 2001, a Mexican drug ring based in Ogden targeted Wyoming's Wind River Indian Reservation with more than 100 pounds of meth — enough for 45,000 doses. Three members of the ring rented houses near the reservation and formed romantic relationships with young Indian women to gain access to the tribes. Within five years, assaults tripled, thefts doubled and child abuse increased 85 percent.

"It almost crushed the culture of the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes," Weiler said.

The oil and gas boom in Eastern Utah has fueled a young, roughneck workforce addicted to meth. "They make a lot of money and that's how they spend it," she said.

An estimated one-third of drilling rig crews in the Uintah Basin have meth-related problems that raise new health and safety concerns. While some rig operators do periodic drug testing, others look away to keep production on schedule, according to the program.

The documentary also will delve into the ripple effects of meth abuse, including sick and neglected children, environmental damage, thinly-stretched police departments and overburdened health-care facilities. It culminates with the story of a 17-year-old girl who dropped out of school to raise her younger brother because her parents were addicted to the drug.

Weiler, who previously produced KUED's "Substance of Denial" about drug abuse in Utah, said meth knows no boundaries and does not discriminate.

"A meth addict is not just a guy on the street with a needle in his arm," she said. "An addict is your next-door neighbor."

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