Pubdate: Fri, 16 Jun 2006 Source: Helena Independent Record (MT) Copyright: 2006 Helena Independent Record Contact: http://helenair.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1187 Author: The Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) AG DISPUTES REPORT ON METH HELENA -- Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath is taking exception to a report by The Sentencing Project, which said the prevalence of methamphetamine use in the United States has been overstated. "I think these people have their heads in the sand," McGrath said Thursday. The Sentencing Project is a Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit group that supports alternatives to prison terms for convicted drug users and other criminals. The report, issued Wednesday, cited statistics compiled by the government in 2004 that show 0.2 percent of people had used meth in the past month, compared with 0.8 percent who said they had used cocaine within the past month. A separate survey of high school students showed a 36 percent drop in meth use between 2001 and 2005, the group found. Still, the report acknowledged that meth is more widely used today than it was a decade ago. Data from jail populations from cities on the West Coast show what Sentencing Project policy analyst Ryan King called a "highly localized" problem. "While meth use may not be the most serious drug problem in every major city in the East, to the rest of the country -- particularly the West -- it's overwhelming," McGrath said. "Indeed, to say methamphetamine is not a significant problem -- then cite data from Phoenix showing that more than one-third of the men arrested there test positive for the drug is absurd," McGrath said in a statement. The report says nationally, 5 percent of men who had been arrested had meth in their systems, compared with 30 percent who tested positive for cocaine and 44 percent who tested positive for marijuana. The Sentencing Project said news reports have inaccurately stated that meth users do not respond as well to treatment as users of other drugs. King said programs in 15 states have had promising results. "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. In Montana, the Montana Meth Project runs graphic television, radio, newspaper and billboard ads showing the effects of the drug on teens. Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard wants to have a similar program in his state by August. 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. "Although I commend The Sentencing Project for recommending expansion and funding of meth treatment programs, in my view, the report got it wrong," McGrath said. "Meth is unlike other drugs, and this country has a meth problem." Montana is building meth treatment prisons in Lewistown and Boulder. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman