Survey finds 1 in 5 Idaho teens see no risk with meth

By REBECCA BOONE
Associated Press
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 10:58 AM PST

BOISE — A survey of nearly 4,000 teens and young adults across the state found one in five believes using methamphetamine will provide significant benefits and little risk, Idaho Meth Project officials said Tuesday.

The drug has been blamed for many of Idaho’s woes, and a gritty campaign launched earlier this month hopes to persuade young people to avoid the drug with the slogan, ‘‘Not even once.’’

The survey found that about 22 percent of teens think the drug will make them happy, one-quarter believe it will help them lose weight, and one-fifth see little or no risk in trying meth.

The survey also found that four out of 10 young people have not tried to dissuade friends from trying meth, and that one in four believes their friends would tacitly approve using it.

‘‘Our youth are at grave risk,’’ said Idaho Department of Correction Director Brent Reinke in a prepared statement. ‘‘This survey, for the first time, proves what many of us in the criminal justice community have long known — many Idaho teens do not understand the dangers of meth and see great benefits in doing this dangerous drug.’’

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Nearly a third of young adults say someone has offered them meth or tried to get them to try the drug, according to the survey, and half of young adults say they’ve never discussed meth with their parents. But those parent-child talks pay dividends. Teens who have talked with their parents about meth are more likely than other teens to tell their friends not to use meth, according to the survey.

The numbers suggest there are complicated personal and peer opinions about the drug. Though 80 percent of Idaho teens and 85 percent of young adults say they ‘‘strongly disapprove’’ of trying meth even once or twice, one-quarter of teens say their friends wouldn’t give them a ‘‘hard time’’ for using the drug.

Roughly 40 percent of teens and young adults say they haven’t tried to dissuade their friends from taking the drug.

‘‘All evidence suggests that education and communication are critical in preventing meth use,’’ said Megan Ronk, Meth Project executive director. The anti-meth television, radio and print advertising campaign will ‘‘achieve significant, positive and measurable results to reduce the frequency and prevalence of methamphetamine use among youth in our state,’’ she said. Ray Carleton, a group facilitator at Crossroads Mental Health Services in Boise, said he was surprised by some of the results.

Crossroads provides drug addiction counseling and treatment for teens and adults.

‘‘Teens in our programs look at meth as a pretty harsh drug, most of them. They view it as dangerous. Most of the problems we deal with are the marijuana people, and alcohol probably second. Meth is something that’s kind of a third-stage type drug,’’ Carleton said. ‘‘For the most part, I don’t think teens are using methamphetamine as much as the press wants us to think.’’