UNO releases meth study, calls for additional rehab efforts

Methamphetamine availability in Nebraska is expected to decline over the next few years, but there is an even greater need for rehabilitation centers and funding, according to a joint study at UNO.

Timothy Robinson, director of the Juvenile Justice Institute, headed the Methamphetamine Treatment Study. Research participants included professors from the UNO Department of Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice Institute, School of Social Work, Center for Public Affairs Research and the School of Public Administration.

Researchers presented an initial report last December. The report had the specific aim of providing the Community Corrections Council with information and recommendations for tackling Nebraska's meth problem. The council focuses on rehabilitation efforts for low-risk offenders.

The study published its final report in May to clarify its initial report and present the best treatment and rehabilitation options available for Nebraska.

The Nebraska Legislature, through the Community Corrections Council, commissioned both reports.

"Our first report stressed the importance and the great need for more community-based treatment," Robinson said. "Community-based treatment lets addicts and their families recover in a supportive and realistic environment."

It is estimated in the report that approximately 20,000 Nebraskans abuse or are dependent on meth. When these numbers are combined with the estimated number of alcoholics and other drug addicts, Nebraska requires substance abuse treatment services for more than 100,000 people.

The study cites tighter controls on the key ingredient of meth, pseudoephedrine, as the primary reason for the expected decline in availability. Pseudoephedrine is an ingredient commonly found in over-the-counter cough syrup.

A former UNO student who uses meth on a daily basis and wishes to remain anonymous, said she agrees with the report's conclusion that users can be rehabilitated, and believes that proper treatment and support are absolutely necessary for Nebraska.

"I dropped out of UNO because of my drug usage, mainly smoking weed, taking acid and using meth," she said. "Before I knew it, I couldn't quit. I used meth every day for a couple of years, as often as possible. It took me three years to realize I had a problem."

She went on to say that meth addiction is different from other drugs, such as marijuana, in the extent it takes over a person's life.

"I have never lied, cheated or robbed anybody for a sack of weed, but I've done those things for meth," she said. "We would always pick out drug dealers who were stupid, who were high all the time and rob them. With or without weapons, the threat of bodily harm to someone who's been up for a month and a half is more than enough."

Paul Kosel, the assistant manager of Campus Security, said that his office has seen little meth use on campus. The last drug arrest he was aware of was for marijuana possession.

"It's never been a problem in the past," Kosel said.

The report also addresses many of the myths surrounding meth, including creation of the drug and the statistics of its users.

"We want Nebraskans to know that people can and do recover from meth addiction," Robinson said. "An addict needs treatment; removing drugs is not treatment."

The report is available in its entirety at www.ncc.state.ne.us/documents/other/meth.htm.