Pubdate: Sun, 25 Jun 2006 Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) Copyright: 2006 The Arizona Republic Contact: http://www.arizonarepublic.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24 Authors: Benton Davis and Tom Ambrose Note: Benton Davis is chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Arizona chapter, and CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Arizona. Tom Ambrose is the founding chairman of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Arizona chapter and senior vice president and executive director of Phoenix Suns Charities. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) ARIZONANS MUST WORK TO BUILD AN INTOLERANT CLIMATE FOR METH Sam is visiting his doctor and suffering from respiratory problems. But what he doesn't know is that he has moved into a house where methamphetamine was cooked. The public service announcement concludes: "So, who has the drug problem now? Find out how meth affects you at drugfree.org/meth." It seems everywhere you turn, the headlines in the newspaper or on television feature a story about methamphetamine. Meth grabs our attention because of its unique "secondhand" impact beyond the individual user. The manufacture and distribution of meth have been shown to cause significant damage to the environment and infrastructure of communities, and is a drain on community resources. Meth users are prone to violence and neglectful behavior, and so they inflict physical and psychological harm not only on themselves but on their children, their families, neighbors and on local law enforcement agencies. But is meth overshadowing even more urgent issues? Arizona research shows that stimulant/meth use among our children is low (past month's use is reported at 1.6 percent for eighth-graders, 2.8 percent for 10th-graders and 3 percent for 12th-graders, according to the 2004 Arizona Criminal Justice Commission Survey). "Based on current measures of adult and youth substance use, methamphetamine is one of the least-used drugs relative to alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. Inhalants and cocaine are used slightly more than methamphetamine," according to an October 2005 report by the Arizona Epidemiology Work Group. If local and national studies indicate that youth meth use is decreasing (and we anxiously await ACJC's next survey later this year), should we continue to devote such resources to preventing teen meth use? Absolutely. The average age of first drug use in Arizona is 13, and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Arizona chapter, strongly believes that any drug use by our children is unacceptable. Methamphetamine is highly addictive and dangerous. To have an impact, any meth public awareness campaign must not only target teens but parents and the concerned adults in our children's lives. And with meth, the community must be engaged. The goal of our community strategy is to awaken a sense of outrage among all of us that our community should not be subjected to the scourge of meth. We want to motivate you to find out what action you can take to help build a climate of intolerance for meth. This will make it difficult for meth cookers and traffickers to gain a foothold, and difficult for citizens, especially adolescents and young adults, to drift into meth use. The non-profit Partnership for a Drug-Free America has 20 years of prevention experience and is highly regarded for its effective media campaigns and public awareness programs. We are best known for our first public service announcement in 1987: "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?" The partnership has always used a consumer marketing approach to "unsell" drugs, developing persuasive messages based on the extensive research of our consumers: teens and parents. The partnership's effective campaigns have helped reduce cocaine, inhalant and Ecstasy use. Now, there is a new threat to the children of Arizona. Valley resident Stacy Hall's family is just one example of that new threat. Her son Adam tragically died of a prescription-drug overdose, and the drugs that ended his life were not prescribed to him. Our most recent survey shows that 2,700 children try a prescription drug to get high every day. One out of five children has used a prescription painkiller to get high, and one out of 10 has used an over-the-counter product to get high. The National Institute on Drug Abuse is calling the misuse and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs by teens "an epidemic." This summer, we will release public service announcements to address this new trend. Yes, meth is a threat to our teens. But so is prescription and over-the-counter drug use, increasing inhalant use and the continued high level of teen marijuana and alcohol use. Arizona can count on the partnership to continue addressing the trends affecting our children. We will lead the way with our community partners to educate Arizonans about all the drug threats to our children through a comprehensive prevention approach. We will continue to provide the highest-quality public service campaigns in English and Spanish. We will continue to encourage parents to talk with their children about drugs early and often because research shows that children who learn about the risks of drugs from their parents are up to 50 percent less likely to use. We are proud to serve as volunteer leaders of the partnership's first chapter. We have our own local board of directors made up of key business and community leaders and a local operating budget to devote to Arizona and its communities. Our chapter is young, yet volunteers have supported the partnership here in Arizona since the early '90s, and we have made extraordinary progress. Our campaigns are built on a pro bono model for sustainability, and we are grateful for the generosity of the communications industry with more than $3.7 billion in donated advertising to date here in Arizona and across the country. We recognize that there is a lot more work that needs to be done and the reality is that additional resources can help us accomplish so much more and build on the successful work to date. Thanks to the Legislature, House Bill 2554 passed last week. The bill will provide counties with $3 million to address meth. We urge the counties to devote funding to prevention. It works! We also urge our public officials to evaluate their approach to meth prevention, to spend public dollars wisely, to not duplicate resources and to invest and partner with local organizations. We want what's best for Arizona families. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake