RENO -- More than a third of addicts treated in state-funded programs last year were hooked on methamphetamine, making it the most-abused drug in Nevada, a newspaper reported Sunday.
An investigation by the Reno Gazette-Journal found that meth use is clogging courts, jails and treatment centers, destroying families and fueling a boom in petty crime.
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In 2002, more meth users than alcoholics were admitted to state-funded programs for the first time in Nevada, according to the newspaper.
Thirty-five percent of those treated in 2005 were meth addicts, up from 29 percent in 2004, the biggest one-year increase since 1995. Meth users accounted for 17 percent in 1996.
The percentage of adolescent meth addicts in the state doubled from 1996 to 2005.
"Meth is a huge problem in Nevada and the nation," Attorney General George Chanos said. "I don't believe Washington yet realizes the scope of the problem. The significance of the problem can't be overstated."
The percentage of Nevada high school students who have tried meth has been the highest in the country in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance.
In 2003, the last year for which complete statistics are available, Nevada ranked first in the United States with 12.5 percent of high school students using meth at least once.
Nevada ranked 11th among male students at 8.9 percent but first among female students at 16.2 percent, the report found.
The prevalence of meth addiction among pregnant females in the state is growing. Nearly 66 percent of pregnant females seeking treatment in state-funded programs listed meth as their drug of choice.
Since 2001, the percentage of pregnant female drug users who are abusing meth has grown more than 40 percent.
"Absolutely, it's pandemic," said Nevada Highway Patrol Capt. Scott Jackson, who used to lead the Tri-Net narcotics task force in Carson City. "It is pandemic because I think you'll see the trends sweeping the nation and reaching the Eastern seaboard. I'm not sure how much worse it can get."
