Montana says its 2007 YRBS shows a 45 percent drop in reported methametaphine use among high schoolers from 2005 to 2007, from 8.3 to 4.6 percent. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that meth use among teens nationally remained unchanged over the same period. The YRBS is sponsored by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention and is conducted in about 40 states.
Officials credit ads introduced two years ago by the Montana Meth Project, a national nonprofit organization aimed at significantly reducing first-time meth use through public service messaging, public policy and community outreach. The campaign has garnered national attention, but some experts are debating its impact.
See story, November 2007. Free, 4 pages. (406) 444-3095, www.opi.state.mt.us.
