Impact of meth abuse outstrips other drugs in many communities

Results from two new NACo surveys substantiate what some county leaders have suspected for several years: The use of methamphetamines devastates lives and increasingly strains county police and child welfare services.

Researchers contacted 500 counties in 45 states for the survey, The Criminal Effect of Meth on Communities. Their results, released at a NACo news conference July 5, show an uptick in crime and incarceration, and a threat from meth use unrecognized at the national level where marijuana appears to reign as the drug-of-danger.

photo by Allison Mall NACo President Angelo Kyle reports on results of NACo's survey at a July 5 news conference in Washington, D.C.

The states reporting the highest percentage increase in meth-related arrests over the past five years are Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, all reporting a 100 percent increase in the rate; Georgia reporting a 96 percent increase; Colorado and Missouri, both reporting a 95 percent increase; South Dakota and Kansas, both reporting a 94 percent increase and Idaho, California and Montana, all reporting a 90 percent increase.

In a separate survey, The Impact of Meth on Children, NACo asked county child placement officials if there had been a major increase in the out-of-home placement of children due to the use or manufacture or methamphetamines starting five years ago.

The question was asked of counties in the 13 states where child welfare activities are performed at the county level. Survey results show:

• During the past five years, 71 percent of the responding counties in California reported an increase in out-of-home placements because of meth and 70 percent of Colorado counties likewise reported an increase.
• Forty percent of all the child welfare officials in the survey report increased out-of-home placements because of meth in the last year.
• More than 69 percent of counties in Minnesota reported a growth in out-of-home placements because of meth during the last year, as did 54 percent of the responding counties in North Dakota.
• County officials were asked if the particular nature of the meth-user parent has increased the difficulty of family reunification and 59 percent said yes.

The survey reports points out that "for counties, meth abuse causes legal, medical, environmental and social problems. County governments and their citizens must pay for investigating and closing meth labs, making arrests, holding lawbreakers in detention centers and then trying them, providing treatment for those addicted to the drug and cleaning-up lab sites. "

Helping counties deal with meth abuse is a special focus of NACo President-elect Bill Hansell, Umatilla County, Ore. He will speak on his initiative at NACo’s Annual Conference, July 15–19 in Honolulu. A special meeting on the topic of meth abuse, Methamphetamine and Your County: A Town Hall Meeting to Address a National Epidemic, is also scheduled for the conference on Monday July 18, 8 a.m.–11 a.m.