Officials urged to rid communities of meth

Utah's $17 million methamphetamine public education campaign shifted focus Wednesday as local government leaders and communities were asked to not only recognize the problem but sign a pledge to do their best to get rid of it.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. called on county commissioners, city council members and Utahns statewide to endorse the new phase of the endmethnow campaign. He then set the example by signing one of the campaign's posters.

Standing in the entryway of the House of Hope, a drug use treatment center for mothers getting off methamphetamine where Huntsman first met users in person two years ago, Huntsman said he had revisited the house several times to ask residents how his office could best help users stop and prevent others from ever starting.

Calling the treatment center a "house of hope, pride and also urgency," Huntsman pledged to get the message about what he believes is the most self-destructive and community damaging substance "to every corner of the state, to every county, even those who don't want to talk about it."

Making the education/prevention effort a local concept is necessary to make what has been a successful campaign really take root, said Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank before signing the poster.

Meth is such a "scourge" on society that doesn't just drain the user but the user's loved ones, friends and communities in general, Burbank said.

"It affects all of us, and it's going to take this kind of unprecedented cooperation of government and everyone to increase awareness and improve prevention efforts across the state," he said. "This is exactly how we need to approach this."

Stopping someone from ever trying the drug is the ultimate goal and the ultimate answer, Burbank said after the news conference when asked about options to jailing those who do use and are caught with the illegal substance. Between 60 to 80 percent of people in local jails in Utah were arrested for possessing meth or other illegal street or pharmaceutical drugs.

One of those in jail this past March was Melanie Rhynsburger, now a House of Hope resident. She smoked methamphetamine for 10 years, has two children and always had a job before she was jailed for a positive urine test for the stimulant while on probation.

Rhynsburger spent three and a half weeks in jail, a place she says she never wants to see again. But, she added, the heavily punitive nature of the current approach to helping users does much more harm than good.