"Meth is almost like a body snatcher. It reaches out and grabs these kids almost overnight." - Dr. Jim Lewis, Blaine County School District superintendent
"This is a wonder drug for kids. They feel smart, strong and invisible, and then they crash." - Barge Levy, Silver Creek Alternative School director
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Recognize teen meth use
Indications your teen may be using methamphetamine include:
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Change in grades
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Change in attitude
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Change in attendance
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Sudden shifts in peer groups
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Deteriorating health conditions
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Weight loss
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Nervous behavior, scratching
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Staying up late
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Breaking curfew
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Lack of hygiene
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Possessing unusual amounts of money
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Irritable behavior
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Secretive conduct
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In December 2005, a Wood River High School student tested positive for methamphetamine.
The result marked the high school's first positive methamphetamine test this school year. Now, Blaine County school officials are worried about teens' use of and access to the highly addictive white powder.
"Boy am I worried about the kids in this community ... I see more and more meth. That is very disturbing," said Barge Levy, Silver Creek Alternative School director.
Similar concerns echo up and down the Wood River Valley.
"I see kids that I have known or worked with since they were in sixth grade that are basically going down the tubes because of meth use," said Tod Gunter, Wood River Middle School and Silver Creek Alternative School social worker.
Alarm mounts, given the dangerous nature of the substance.
"If you use meth, you are playing Russian roulette with a really deadly drug," said John Blackman, vice principal of Wood River High School, in Hailey.
Blackman speaks openly about his disgust with the drug. His brother is a meth user. As vice principal, he relays his personal experience to students who come to his office.
A handful of students have entered Blackman's office at the high school to take a drug test. Blackman's responsibilities include administering drug tests to students as set forth by the district's policy.
During the ongoing 2005-2006 school year, Blackman has given 19 tests. (Wood River High School did not provide total statistics for the school.) The urine test can detect traces of cocaine, opiates, THC (marijuana) and methamphetamine. Of the tests given by Blackman, 10 were positive—one tested positive for meth.
Jon Maksik, headmaster of The Community School in Sun Valley, said he has not seen evidence of meth use at the private school.
Although it is limited, evidence of meth use in the schools indicates the popular drug is slowly seeping into the teenage community.
"Definitely in the last two years I have seen a huge increase in meth," Gunter said. "To be honest, some of it may be that our policy as a school district has become stricter. We are doing a lot more drug testing ... but I think there has been an overall increase in meth use."
Alarm among educators
The notion that use of the drug is increasing is disturbing to Dr. Jim Lewis, Blaine County School District superintendent.
"Meth is almost like a body snatcher. It reaches out and grabs these kids almost overnight," he said.
The school district responded to meth-related fears in the community by organizing the first Community Drug Summit Nov. 21, 2005, to discuss drug use among students. The group plans to reconvene this month.
"The alarm has come through the school district. The school district volunteered to be the vehicle to bring entities together," said Tom Bailey, Hailey Elementary School principal. Bailey served as the chairman of the summit.
The school district gathered health professionals, law enforcement officials, faith-based organizations and other entities together to identify and attack the problem.
"We brought the entities together to say, 'What can we do?'" Bailey said.
Bailey believes meth may not be prevalent at the high school, but he does see a need for action.
"With meth, you don't have the opportunity to just try it, because it is so highly addictive," Bailey said.
Called the "poor man's cocaine," the highly addictive stimulant threatens to hook users on the first try.
"That's the scary thing about meth. You don't get to dabble," Bailey said.
Highly addictive and physically annihilating, meth's long-term effects include brain damage, dramatic weight loss, skin sores and corroded teeth.
Derek Brown, the Wood River High School resource officer and a part-time officer with the Bellevue Marshal's Office, sees all of the signs of meth use in the greater community. He and others report observing students exhibiting the symptoms associated with meth use, specifically extreme weight loss and skin sores.
The physical effects come with a long lasting high and a depressive crash that make recreational use virtually impossible.
"Students can't party on Friday and be ready for school on Monday," said Julie Carney, Wood River High School social worker.
Attraction to young users
So, why does meth attract young users?
"This is a wonder drug for kids. They feel smart, strong and invincible, and then they crash," Levy said.
The long lasting euphoric high and endless energy for a relatively cheap price appeals to adolescents. School officials said weight loss allures female students.
Availability of the substance also accounts for the attraction. Educators blame the increase in teenage meth use on easy access to the drug.
"They can get it any time they want. It is very accessible," Levy said.
The absence of drug-dealing violations at schools indicates that distribution occurs away from school. Wood River High school reports no drug-dealing incidents on campus this year.
"Most kids are buying and selling off school grounds," Blackman said.
Although the numbers indicate dealing and use occurs away from school, officials agree that students seek out avenues to drugs through peers at school.
"The high school is the ripest pickings for drug dealers because (students) are all right there and young and vulnerable," Lewis said.
Lewis said the times away from school, particularly after school and weekends, emerge as the likely windows for use.
Partying as a precursor
Away from school, teens in the valley like to party.
"Is there a problem with drinking? Absolutely, it has been there for years," said Graham Hume, Wood River High School principal. "Is there a problem with pot in the valley? You bet."
The concern over alcohol and marijuana abuse arises in relation to meth. School officials say those "recreational" drugs serve as a gateway to methamphetamine.
"Parents will say, 'My kids won't do that,' but if you impair (an adolescent's) judgement enough they might," Blackman said.
Blackman and Hume said that among their students alcohol is the primary abused substance, followed by marijuana.
A survey of students in 2002 gave the same indications.
The Blaine County School District offered an Asset Survey in March of 2002 to measure risky behaviors among teens. The survey conducted by the Search Institute, a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization, surveyed 1,396 local students in grades six through 12.
The survey found that 31 percent of Blaine County students reported using alcohol once or more in the previous 30 days. Forty-nine percent reported attending a party where peers were drinking in the previous year.
"These kids will be pressured to drink alcohol," Blackman said.
Drug tests given at the high school show marijuana is the most abused substance.
"I don't think it's so much of an overall meth problem as an overall drug problem," Brown said.
The ski-town lifestyle also affects teens' choices.
"In Blaine County, we are a resort community, a lot of our focus is on parties," said Frances Nagashima, Youth Adult Konnections (YAK!) director.
The party atmosphere contributes to social acceptance of alcohol and drugs.
"There are more excuses made here in the valley, like 'It's a resort area, we came to party,'" Hume said.
At the same time, adults' acceptance of drugs and alcohol seems to trickle down to teens.
"There is a drug problem at the high school," Gunter said. "There is a drug problem at the alternative school. But there is a drug problem in this community ... and the kids are a reflection of what they are seeing in the community."
