By Lisa Harding

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah seems to have a handle on curbing meth use but still needs to attack prescription drug abuse.

That was the message White House Deputy Drug Czar Scott Burns had Thursday when local and national leaders gathered at the state Capitol to publicly discuss the state's fight against methamphetamine usage. Burns highlighted the state's recent progress in the fight against drug use in Utah and honored the governor's efforts in reducing the meth usage that has reached pandemic proportions in years past.

"We are creating an extraordinary battle for other states to look for in the fight against methamphetamines," Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said.

The governor said Utah has spent $15 million dollars in the last few years focusing on awareness and treatment of the meth problem, which has translated into lower use.

"Meth impacts real people, good people," Huntsman said. "It takes them down a road that rarely has a favorable outcome."

In the same breath that Burns praised the state for its progress again meth use, he turned his attention to Utah's burgeoning struggle with prescription drug abuse.

"Utah has a prescription drug problem," he said. "Fifty to sixty percent of pain killer abuse comes from the medicine cabinets at home for free."

When it comes to illegal drug use, meth has been the drug of choice in Utah for the last seven years, surpassing marijuana. It was estimated in 2004 that 36 percent of those treated for use of illegal drugs in Utah were meth addicts. Nearly 6.2 percent of high school seniors reported trying meth in 2005, double the number from 10 years ago.

Utah's meth problem is especially prevalent among women, and female meth addicts have begun to rival the number of male addicts in treatment. The predominant meth user in Utah is a woman of childbearing years.

Huntsman focused on the women who have been caught in the snare of meth addiction, referring to the vast number of women he has encountered in the battle against meth. "These are our mothers," he said. "They have innocently stumbled upon the hellish lifestyle that meth brings."

Burns honored the governor and his team Thursday for the "multidisciplinary effort" in the war against meth amphetamine use.

"In Washington we keep score," he said. "The days of an epidemic of meth labs are over."

Burns said the number of meth labs in Utah has dropped from 272 in 2006 to just three in 2008.

"Who would've thought in Utah, there would be [just] three meth labs? That's incredible," he said.

Burns also said Utah's efforts can be labeled a "success story" for other states to follow.

Two years ago, an ounce of methamphetamine sold for $650 in Utah. Currently, meth sells for $1,800 an ounce.

"If prices continue to go up and purity continues to go down, that shows you something is working [in the fight]," Burns said.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Utah has come a long way since the project began in 2001 when Utah led the nation in meth labs per capita.

"It has been a statewide multidisciplinary effort," he said. "We knew we would never win this war on meth without educational programs."

Shurtleff stressed that the best way to fight the war on drugs was a three part strategy of prevention, intervention and rehabilitation.

Comments from state and local leaders suggested satisfaction with the recent success but also indicated efforts were nowhere near over.

"We have made a dent in the problem," said Lisa-Michele Church, director of Utah Human Services. "It has made a difference in the lives of real people."

With the trench war on methamphetamine use under control, leaders have already begun planning the next battle against the rampant abuse of prescription drugs in the state. According to Burns, Utah is in the top five in the nation for prescription drug abuse every year.

"We will attack the problem with the same intensity and dedication that we have in the war against meth," Shurtleff said.

Huntsman said the war on prescription drug abuse would receive the same priority and focus that he gave to the fight against methamphetamines.

"I think we are doing pretty well as a state to do what needs to be done," Huntsman.

Copyright Brigham Young University 13 Mar 2008