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Home > Archive > Oct 3, 2007

Governor’s Anti-Meth Campaign Kicks Off in St. George
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
Representatives for Governor Jon Huntsman visited St. George Sept. 24 to roll out a new, statewide campaign targeting methamphetamine use among Utahns.
In a public address at the Dixie Center, Lieutenant Governor Gary R. Herbert, along with members of the governor’s cabinet and others associated with the new “End Meth Now” campaign, discussed widespread meth use problems in the state and measures Huntsman and others at the state level are taking to address the issue and fight back against methamphetamine.
“Methamphetamine is the most commonly abused illicit drug in Utah – number one,” Herbert said.
According to statistics cited by Herbert, among those admitted for substance abuse treatment in Utah in 2006, 68 percent were admitted for drug dependence, as opposed to 32 percent for alcohol dependence. This statistic is the reverse of what people commonly suppose, Herbert said, and many Utahns simply aren’t aware that meth use has become so prevalent in the state; it’s a problem that knows no social or economic boundaries.
“Meth cuts across all sections of our state, both from the rural and the urban areas. It cuts across all sections of classes, as well, from poverty to the very wealthy. It affects everyone’s lives in one manner or another,” said president of the Utah Association of Counties Bill Cox.
But the governor and others in the state hope to turn this tide of meth use, and “End Meth Now” is part of that effort.
Utilizing print media, television and radio commercials, the campaign is now rolling forth throughout the state to raise awareness about meth, those who use it and what can be done to help them.
A recurring theme in the “End Meth Now” ads, some of which were shown at the meeting, is the fact that meth use occurs among those who may seem unlikely to be abusers.
“These are our friends, our family, our neighbors – people that we care about,” Herbert said.
One of the most startling discoveries – and among factors that spurred Huntsman to appoint a taskforce to address meth use in Utah – was that, of those in the state currently abusing meth, 41 percent are women in their childbearing years, Herbert said.
“As I’ve learned in working with folks involved in this, for some of our women, they feel good; there’s pressure in our society to be ‘super mom,’ and it helps them control their weight or even lose weight. So they feel good, they look good, and before you know it, they’re going down a wrong path,” he said.
Among women using meth in the state of Utah, 60 percent are mothers, he said. Part of the governor’s statewide crusade against meth use involves making treatment resources more readily available for women and children throughout the state.
In keeping with this, the Southwest Behavioral Health Center in St. George will soon expand its substance abuse treatment services to provide specialized treatment specifically for women and children, including off-site housing for clients during their treatment. This measure has been taken specifically to address the problem of methamphetamine use, said Angi Graff, a team leader over the adult substance abuse program at Southwest Center.
“It just broadens our existing array of services,” she said.
In addition to providing increased treatment resources for meth users and raising awareness about meth, the “End Meth Now” campaign is also targeted at raising awareness of the drug’s early indicators, so that family members and friends can identify meth use in their loved ones and get help for them. It is also aimed at putting an end to silence where meth abuse is concerned and putting a “human face” on the problem, Herbert said, so Utahns become alerted to the fact that meth use is everywhere.
Some early indicators of meth use, according to www.endmethnow.org, include hyperactivity, erratic sleep patterns, sudden mood changes, weight loss, irritability and isolation from family and friends.
Some former meth addicts were present in the audience at the Dixie Center and were recognized and applauded for their courage to step forward and help in the “End Meth Now” campaign. Among them were St. George brother and sister Cody and Robin Kahus. Both used methamphetamines for 10 years before seeking help and kicking their addictions.
“We were the ones that people said would never make it,” Robin Kahus said. “That was the stigma that we got put on us constantly – that we would never make it, that we weren’t worth it, that they needed to lock us up, that we needed to have our kids taken away from us. We proved them wrong, and now that I’m in recovery, people look at me and they’re in awe that I was ever a meth user.”
Robin Kahus is now an advocate for women in recovery and works in substance abuse treatment at Southwest Center, helping others like her and her brother. She is also part of the “End Meth Now” campaign.
“I think it’s an awesome campaign,” she said.
She and her brother hope, along with others involved in the campaign, that through “End Meth Now,” Utahns will begin recognizing the signs of meth abuse, and that they will support the abusers they know and encourage them to get help.
The most important thing for family members and friends to remember if a loved one is struggling with meth addiction, Robin Kahus said, is to love them, help them and never give up.
“To the family of meth users, don’t give up on them. Do all you can to try to get them out of the cycle of addiction. When they do come out of it, they’ll be so much better,” Cody Kahus said.

For more information about the “End Meth Now” campaign, visit www.endmethnow.org. To contact Southwest Behavioral Health Center, call 634-5600 or visit www.southwestcenter.com.

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