Drugs in Country Places
Recently ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3675804&page=1) ran a story on the advertisements used to fight the Meth problem in Montana. The segment did an excellent job of highlighting the drug problem that is affecting rural states such as Montana.
Most people do not realize the huge problem Meth causes in rural areas. According to a recent article (June 07) in “Rural Realities” published by the Rural Sociological Society (http://www.ruralsociology.org/), “The abuse of methamphetamine (or meth) is dramatically evident in the ‘before and after’ faces of meth arrestees. Yet these pictures provide only a glimpse of the larger personal, environmental, and community fallout from methamphetamine use and production, an issue that barely existed 15 years ago in rural America, but has since grown into a larger, more serious problem. Increased crime, neglected children, toxic waste, and strained community resources are just some of the costs that rural areas face. Meth use is higher in rural areas, and a recent study finds that rural users have more medical and psychiatric problems that may inhibit recovery than their urban counterparts. Rates of psychosis, for example, are approximately 1.5 times higher among rural meth users. And few rural areas have the necessary services to combat the addiction.”
Another study from the Maine Rural Health Research Center published June 2007 found that(http://muskie.usm.maine.edu/ihp/ruralhealth/), “Young adults (age 18-25) in the smallest rural areas use meth at a rate that is nearly twice the rate of young urban adults (2.9% vs. 1.5%). This pattern is similar for Oxycontin (a prescription synthetic narcotic pain reliever), with 2.8 percent of young adults in the smallest rural areas using as compared with 1.7 percent of urban young adults. Children aged 12-17 from the smallest rural areas are more likely to have used alcohol, engaged in binge drinking, heavy drinking and driving under the influence (DUI) than urban children.”
In my travels as Executive Director, I have personally seen this in many of the communities we serve. For example, one of the small towns in Kansas served by Village Missions has experienced the typical decrease in farm families occurring in farm belt states. Businesses have closed and many have moved away from town. The sharp decline in housing costs provides a magnet for low-income folks from as far away as California who often bring their drug habits with them. Fewer businesses, less capability for social services and law enforcement provide a perfect storm of rising drug use and despair. For a further discussion of what is called the “sorting phenomenon” see the article on Daily Yonder, “Poor People are Moving to Already Poor, Rural Communities.”
I am glad that the church exists in such a place through Village Missions . In many places we serve, the Village Missionary is the only resource. Yet, it will require a radical commitment on the part of local church bodies to minister to people affected by this scourge. Will your church be up to the task?
January 3rd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
[...] live in two nations that appear to be on the brink or already over the brink of moral collapse. Rural areas especially are experiencing social, moral, and economic upheaval. I don’t need to catalog [...]