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June 14, 2006
The Next Big Thing-Sentencing Project Report on Meth "epidemic"
The Sentencing Project has released a major new study disproving the popular belief that there exists a growing methamphetamine “epidemic” within the United States.
To the contrary, The Next Big Thing? Methamphetamine in the United States, reveals that methamphetamine is actually one of the rarest of illegal drugs used, with its use declining among youth, stabilizing among adults and demonstrating no increase in first-time users.
The Next Big Thing? documents the sensationalist coverage of “meth” by most media sources that have distorted national trends of the drug’s actual prevalence, growth, dangers and treatment.
Important findings of the report include:
Methamphetamine is among the least commonly used drugs.
Methamphetamine remains a rare occurrence throughout most of the country and is not indicative of a nationwide problem.
Methamphetamine use is declining among our nation's youth.
Drug treatment programs are effective in combating methamphetamine addictions.
The Full Report, complete with recommendations for a more appropriate and evidence-based approach to methamphetamine is available on The Sentencing Project website.
web: http://www.sentencingproject.org
Posted by lois at June 14, 2006 06:12 PM