Meth Use Down

Sweetwater County is seeing a decline in meth use. Laura Schmid-Pizzato of Southwest Counseling Service says that admissions related to methamphetamine use have dropped 22 percent in the past seven years. Schmid-Pizzato manages SCS’s recovery programs. During the agency’s 2003-2004 fiscal year, 43 percent of all Southwest Counseling Service’s addiction treatment admissions were for methamphetamine, while last year, meth-addicted clients only added up to 21 percent of total admissions. Schmid-Pizzato said many of the so-called super labs, large-scale clandestine laboratories dedicated to the manufacture of meth, have been shut down -- resulting in lesser quantities of the drug available to consumers. Campaigns in Wyoming high schools is being credited for part of the declie through posters that show meth users with open sore on their mouths and bodies. Sarah Harris, a student from Green River High School, said she often thinks about the “nasty” open sores. Fred Moczulski, a detective with the Green River Police Department, said high school students and young adults are typically very concerned about their appearance and messages targeting how the drug affects the body are effective with those groups.