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Whit Johnson Reporting The state of Utah is stepping up the fight against meth and it's going to need help from the public. That's the message coming from the Utah Joint Methamphetamine Task Force. The force met today to make plans.
To fight the meth problem, it's going to take funding, awareness, prevention and recovery. It sounds simple, but Utahns will have to play ball. The task force has laid out their new goals and recovering users are lending their support. You've heard the stories: crime, broken families, addiction, etc. Methamphetamine has become more than just a drug, it's an image.
Rich Haight, Recovering Meth Addict: "When you're on meth that's what you do. You go out and you steal. You do what ever it takes to stay high."
The year-old Utah Methamphetamine Joint Task Force has set high goals for 2007.
Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.: "We have a problem and we've got to solve it."
With the help of Governor Jon Huntsman Jr., the Task Force is pushing legislation that will fund enforcement and treatment.
Rich Haight is only 24-years-old. He's been battling meth addiction since high school.
Rich Haight, Recovering Meth Addict: "In every family there is at least one person that is on drugs that does meth, that does something and so everybody is affected."
Rich is now on his way to recovery, but he's just one story, one piece, of a growing Utah problem.
More and more people are seeking treatment. Public admissions have increased from about 8 percent in 1995 to more than 30 percent in 2006.
Dr. Glen Hanson, Methamphetamine Expert: "This drug causes serious damage to a variety of systems with in the brain that are critical for good decision making."
Doctors are now calling meth addiction a disease, comparing the effects to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. And to fight it people have to understand it.
Rich Haight, Recovering Meth Addict: "If your kids have weird Pyrex in their room with a bunch of chemicals in their closet and you don't know what's going on and you're okay with it, you better check yourself."
Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.: "This is an all hands on deck undertaking as well it should be."
There are definitely some interesting developments just around the corner. Doctors are researching medications such as anti-seizure drugs that may actually help people overcome their meth addictions.
