Study Finds Use Of Both Drugs Among Phoenix-Area Teens Above National Averages

Phoenix, AZ - A new health education campaign launching in the Phoenix area today seeks to respond to data from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America® (PDFA) that finds usage rates of methamphetamine and Ecstasy among Phoenix-area teens are above national averages.

The campaign unveiled today by the Partnership - with support from the Partnership for a Drug-Free Arizona, the Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AzAAP) and Consumer Healthcare Products Association® (CHPA) - is dedicated to reducing methamphetamine and Ecstasy use among teens in the Phoenix area. The campaign consists of a pediatrician-driven media outreach effort designed to educate parents and teens about the dangerous health consequences of these drugs, and includes an intensive public service advertising campaign in the Phoenix market. Phoenix is one of two U.S. cities where the campaign is being introduced.

"The disturbing number of teens in the Phoenix area who already are experimenting with these drugs makes this a health problem that must be addressed," said Dr. Peggy Stemmler, president of the AzAAP, a key partner in the new health education campaign. "Pediatricians are in a unique position to help close the gap between perception and reality about the real consequences of these drugs."

In the Phoenix area, 14 pediatricians will serve as primary spokespeople for the media communications effort. Campaign coordinators believe the voice of the medical community will resonate with parents in particular in order to motivate them to take an active role in persuading their teens not to use these drugs. HMA Public Relations, a local public relations agency, will coordinate media efforts for pediatricians participating locally.

"More than one of every three teens in the Phoenix area has been offered Ecstasy or 'meth,' and teen use of both drugs is above national averages," said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership, the national non-profit organization best known for its media-based drug education campaigns. "Phoenix needs the facts about the real risks of using these drugs if we're going to turn those numbers around."

The Partnership is providing the local effort with hard-hitting public service ads for television, radio, print and Internet, as well as with research to measure the impact of the effort. PDFA's state affiliate, Partnership for a Drug-Free Arizona, has an ongoing drug prevention speakers bureau program and will continue to provide brochures and other resources to parents and teens who want more information. Drug-Free Arizona also has provided local pediatricians with brochures that they can use in their offices.

"This campaign represents the collaboration of resources and expertise at the national, state and local levels to address an issue critical to Arizona families," said Rick Romley, Maricopa County Attorney. "Everyone involved in a child's life needs to understand the dangers kids are facing with these drugs so they can be part of helping them make good decisions."

The campaign is funded by a grant from CHPA, the trade association representing U.S. manufacturers and distributors of over-the-counter medicines and nutritional supplement products. CHPA has been involved in combating methamphetamine abuse for many years, with a particular interest in ensuring that over-the-counter medicines are not diverted to manufacture the drug. The Phoenix Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration also is supporting the effort. The campaign is slated to run in Phoenix for at least two years.

Survey of Local Teens & Parents Reports Disturbing Findings
Top-line findings of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's study include:

• 13 percent of Phoenix-area teenagers report having used methamphetamine (meth), compared to nine percent of all teens nationwide; 13 percent report having used Ecstasy, compared to 11 percent of all teens nationwide;
• 33 percent of teens report having been offered methamphetamine, and 35 percent report being offered Ecstasy;
• 61 percent of teens report knowing someone who uses Ecstasy, and half (50 percent) report knowing someone who uses methamphetamine; and
• Just one to two percent of Phoenix-area parents surveyed (one percent for Ecstasy, two percent for meth) agree that it's possible their kids may have tried these drugs.

Methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant. Often called "speed" or "crystal," meth is a crystal-like, powdered substance that sometimes comes in large rock-like chunks. Meth is usually white or slightly yellow, depending on the purity. The drug can be taken orally, injected, snorted or smoked. Once a threat largely in the American southwest, production and use of the drug, which is cheaper and longer lasting than cocaine, has moved steadily eastward in recent years, finding willing users in a generation unlikely to remember the phrase, "speed kills." Long-term use and/or high doses of methamphetamine can bring on full-blown toxic psychosis, often exhibited as violent, aggressive behavior.

Ecstasy -- chemically known as 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or MDMA -- is a psychoactive drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties. It can be extremely dangerous, especially in high doses. Usually taken orally in pill form, the drug accelerates the release of serotonin in the brain and provides users with an intense high, characterized by feelings of love and acceptance, as well as a general sense of well being, decreased anxiety and enhanced sensitivity to touch. Ecstasy can cause dramatic increases in body temperature, muscle breakdown, and kidney and cardiovascular system failure, as reported in some fatalities.

For more information on methamphetamine and Ecstasy, or for tips on how to talk to kids about drugs, visit Drug Free AZ's Web site at www.drugfreeaz.com or visit the Partnership's Web site at www.drugfreeamerica.org.

To get help for a child who may have a substance abuse problem, contact the Treatment Assessment Screening Center (TASC) helpline in Phoenix at (888) 412-8272. Outside of the Phoenix area, call the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's National Drug and Alcohol Treatment Routing Service at (800) 662-4357 for referral to a treatment program near you.