Meth abuse rates alarming

By outward appearances she's a young mother working hard to balance the pressures of family and daily life. She's lost a lot of weight since the birth of her last child, but in a society that rewards thinness, she's received nothing but compliments from friends and family. For the time being, this young woman appears to have the energy to nicely handle the many demands of her life.

Dig a little deeper and the story takes a decidedly ugly turn. This young woman is a methamphetamine user whose seemingly tidy life is about to become unraveled by the ravages of drug addiction.

Perhaps you don't know someone like this. But a growing number of Utah women are entering drug treatment programs for addiction to this insidious drug, which is inexpensive, easy to obtain and one of the main contributors to Utah's crime problem, according to a new report by the state Division of Substance Abuse. Some 2,400 women underwent treatment in Utah for methamphetamine addiction in fiscal year 2001, which ended June 30.

Treatment is a beginning step in coping with such addictions but young mothers have a tough time sticking with the programs if they are separated from their children. Worse yet, some young women will not even attempt treatment if they have to leave their children.

Treatment may be the life preserver that rescues a drug addicted woman and enables her to keep her family intact. Yet, in the face of this troubling trend in drug abuse, Utah has too few residential beds to enable mothers and children to stay together until the mother can complete substance abuse treatment.

When the state of Utah is projecting an even greater spending shortfall than earlier anticipated, it is difficult to contemplate how legislators could help fund more residential treatment facilities. Somehow, Utah must tap into other revenue sources to enhance prevention efforts and expand treatment availability.

Often times, federal money is available but state agencies need a sufficient amount of state funds to secure a federal match. In the crunch to deal with the state budget, legislators must be mindful of the many ways state agencies can leverage federal funds to address drug prevention and treatment issues.

Legislators should also keep in mind the spin-off benefits of drug treatment, which is the apparent effect on reducing crime. According to the Utah substance abuse division report, almost all patients report having been arrested at least once prior to treatment, very few are arrested again after admission.

If Congress follows President's Bush's lead on a renewed effort to cut drug abuse by 25 percent in five years, there should be some new funding available to address prevention and treatment. Bush's budget proposal contemplates spending $19.2 billion fighting drugs, including a 6 percent increase for treatment.

If this funding become available, state officials must work doggedly to recapture the federal tax dollars Utahns send to the Beltway each year that could be used to address what President Bush aptly describes "individual tragedy" that results in "a social crisis."