The stories of methamphetamine use in our state have become common place in the daily news and South Dakota has seen a dramatic increase in illegal drug use this century.

South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard writes in his weekly column that addiction is a complex issue.

In the column Governor Daugaard points out:

"As a state, we grapple with many issues. Some are very complex, with no easy fix or single solution. These may require sustained effort over long periods, through different administrations and legislatures and generations of South Dakotan's. Drug abuse is one such issue."

We continue to wrestle with methamphetamine use in our state. On the prevention front, the Department of Social Services has funded more than 245 presentations, to thousands in communities and schools, urging against methamphetamine use. The Attorney General’s office has also undertaken a preventive education campaign.

This month Prevention Resource Centers will complete a meth prevention toolkit for communities.

For those who are severely addicted, the Department of Social Services is working to expand and increase access to treatment, ensuring treatment is evidence-based and that providers are equipped and trained to provide intensive treatment models.

For the most part, we are seeing less meth manufactured in home-grown laboratories. It is more often manufactured on a larger scale and trafficked into the Midwest. The drug interdiction task force, made up of Division of Criminal Investigation agents and Highway Patrol officers, has been hard at work over the last year to stop meth from coming into our state and we need to continue to do more to choke off these distribution channels.


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