Pubdate: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 Source: Des Moines Register (IA) Copyright: 2005 The Des Moines Register. Contact: http://desmoinesregister.com/index.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/123 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) EFFORTS TO FIGHT METH TO INCLUDE ADS ON TV The spots are intended to show that the human toll of the drug reaches beyond just the user. Methamphetamine fighters in Iowa who successfully campaigned for restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter cold medicines announced Monday that they will take their message directly to the public. Federal and state officials, with the support of Gov. Tom Vilsack, rolled out a series of television advertisements Monday that aim to convey the human toll of the drug not only on users, but their children and neighbors. In one of the 30-second ads, a little girl in an apartment plays with blocks, unaware that she is being exposed to noxious vapors from a meth lab in an apartment below. "Jamie's body is deteriorating," says the narrator. "And she doesn't even know it. Who has the drug problem now?" Steve Pasierb, president of the nonprofit Partnership for a Drug-Free America, called the ad campaign "a new front" in a drug war that has been "marginalized" by much of the American public. Only one state reported more discoveries of meth-related laboratories in 2004 than Iowa, according to federal officials. "We're taking this tack because the meth issue truly is complex. It really is different than a lot of other drug issues America deals with," Pasierb said. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that contains pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient of cold medicines that can be extracted and cooked for smoking, snorting, injecting or eating. The manufacturing process is fairly easy, but dangerous: the mix of ingredients is highly toxic and flammable, often causing explosions that spread chemicals into the air. The Iowa Legislature passed stiff laws last year that put most pseudoephedrine behind the counter, limited the quantities that could be purchased and required buyers to present photo identification. So far, state officials have reported a dramatic reduction in the number of lab discoveries. But anti-drug crusaders want to stem the demand for meth as well. Officials appealed Monday to television stations in 23 cities to run the new ads, free of charge, as public-service announcements. Tonya Parks, a recovering 32-year-old meth addict from Des Moines' east side, spoke at Monday's news conference. "It is available everywhere, from people I didn't even know," she said. Parks said she finally checked herself into a treatment facility last July, four months after she gave birth to a daughter who later tested positive for the drug. Parks lost custody of the girl, but has since won her back and has been clean for nearly six months. "I gave my daughter life," Parks said, "but she saved mine." Vilsack used Monday's news conference to bolster a separate campaign to raise the state's cigarette tax. The governor called cigarettes an "entry drug" for youngsters who later seek out greater highs like those provided by meth. "It's important for the Legislature to understand that if the cost of that product is increased, fewer young people are going to smoke. And if fewer young people smoke, fewer young people are going to take the next step to alcohol and meth," he said. After the news conference, Vilsack clarified that meth use was not the only reason to support a cigarette tax. "All of it relates to health care," he said. The governor proposed an 80-cent-a-pack tax earlier this year to provide more money for health care services for the poor. The proposal failed, but Vilsack has since renewed his push for the tax. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman