Tina Franka of Sioux Falls is in recovery from an addiction to meth.

"I got addicted thinking that I could control it. So, I would walk away whenever I wanted. But, that's not how meth works. After using the drug for a while, I no longer had a choice. It became a way of life and a necessity."

Eventually, the addiction resulted in prison time for Tina.

"I wasn't able to stop on my own. Sure, I tried. But, it was a horrible, horrible time in my life. I got arrested and I was almost relieved at that point. I was sentenced for 60 months, five years in a federal prison."

Tina, who shared her story at Thursday night's Town Hall Meeting on meth, says educating both adults and children about the drug is the answer.

"Absolutely! Connection is the opposite of addiction. The more programs and education you can get your children into---the more involved you can be in their life. It's going to make your children make it to safety because it is out there...everywhere in this town."

South Dakota's statewide meth arrests during 2016 were close to 2,700. Nearly 1,400 of those were made by the Sioux Falls Meth Task Force.

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