The South Dakota Department of Social Services launched the self-deprecating “Meth. We’re On It” campaign against use of the eponymous drug in mid-November. According to Gov. Kristi Noem, the intent of the campaign was to create “dinner table” dialogue on meth use in the state.
Noem’s office linked a study to the campaign early in its life: they referred to troubling statistics from the 2016-2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to drive home the prevalence of meth use in the state.
One such statistic mentioned that “in South Dakota alone, 12-17-year-olds who have tried meth is two times the national average.”
As part of a weeks-long investigation into the numbers surrounding the campaign, KOTA Territory News dug into the data on teen methamphetamine use to solve one simple, initial question: “what exactly is the national average, and how many South Dakota teens are using meth?”
According to the 2016-2017 NSDUH, 0.3 percent of teens have tried meth at least once in the past year when the survey was conducted – this is actually three times the national average.
Local researchers from the Black Hills Knowledge Network explained to our investigator that the survey utilizes sound methodology.
However, the investigation did glean a new perspective on the drug campaign – a consistent decline in drug use among teens.
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is an comprehensive study on risky student behaviors that comes out every two years. Associated researchers first began documenting methamphetamine use among high schools seven years after its inception in 1999.
To develop our understanding on the second study, we spoke with Dr. Trenton Ellis, a professor of sociology with Black Hills State University. He has derived his own studies based on the results of the YRBS, and he uses the study as an educational tool in his own classes.
Ellis said the survey brings bad news and good news: “the bad news is that kids in South Dakota are using meth … the good news is that, long-term, it looks like there has been a decline in the proportion of ninth through 12th graders who are using meth.”
The latest YRBS data shows that 3.8 percent of South Dakota students used meth at least once in their life. The state average rests within less than half a percent of that, which indicates high school meth rates are statistically normal.
Other states and school districts are nearly double the national average: 6.0 percent of high school students in Mississippi and Arkansas have tried meth, while 7.9 percent of students in Baltimore, MD have abused the drug.
The YRBS also measures frequency of meth use. The survey’s questionnaire asks whether a student has used the substance once or twice, three to nine times and up to 40 or more times, as well as if they have never used the drug.
Our state aligns with national averages related to frequency: 1.4 percent of South Dakota students have used meth one to two times – a tenth of a percent greater than the U.S. rate.
Also, an estimated 1.1 percent South Dakota students abused methamphetamines 40 or more times in their life, which is just two tenths above the national rate.
In stark contrast to the tone of the meth campaign, state teen meth use rates have actually declined over the past two decades. According to the 1999 YRBS, 10 percent of high school students in South Dakota tried meth at least once in their life. Two years later, that number decreased to eight percent.
The 2007 study lowered the teen meth use estimates even further to five percent – exactly half the rate of the 1999 survey.
Ellis said the downward trend has been consistent across the rest of the nation: “this is in line with other states around us, so if we look at Montana or North Dakota, they’ve experienced similar declines, and that’s just not meth use – that’s other types of drugs and alcohol as well.”
The latest YRBS are from 2015 – according to Ellis, the survey is not outdated, but newer results better represent their subjects.
Due to current legislation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who administers the survey in collaboration with the South Dakota Department of Education, withheld the results of the 2017 study.
In 2014, legislators passed strict laws that required survey administers to gather parental consent before a student could participate in the survey. This shrunk the sample size in the 2017 and the data could not be used to generate an accurate, weighted sample to represent the state.
It is unknown if the 2019 results will be released or if researchers will be able to gather enough interviews to have proportional data.
The study is vital to South Dakota – vital to teens, whose formative years can be commandeered by a substance that can lead to a lifetime of abuse.
Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom said his deputies have seen kids as young as 11 and 12-years-old abusing meth.
Thom believes that the overall issue has to be tackled early and from the get-go: “prevention’s going to be a critical piece, and starting with kids is absolutely critical.”
Ellis said that understanding the issue is equally important as combating the issue. He adds that examining localized data – the state YRBS results, for instance – can foster better insight into a topic than national data generalized to a region.
There are many stipulations when it comes to examining data, especially when you cross-examine two surveys.
Ellis said comparing the YRBS and the NSDUH is like comparing apples to oranges, even between two similar surveys. Minor technicalities, such as the YRBS’ measuring teen meth use over lifetimes as opposed to over a year, can indicate major differences in the long-run.