Pubdate: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) Copyright: 2007 The Arizona Republic Contact: http://www.arizonarepublic.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24 Author: Lindsey Collom Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) AD CAMPAIGN REVEALS HORRORS OF 'DEVIL'S DRUG' 10 Arizona Counties Banding Together To Combat Meth Use A blond girl getting ready for a night out recoils in terror as she sees an image of herself as a bruised, bleeding addict huddled on the shower floor. An agitated boy runs through a laundry facility, attacking people and demanding money, when he encounters his former self and screams, "This wasn't supposed to happen!" These are just some of the graphic images that are part of an ad campaign hitting the airwaves, billboards and newspapers today to show the real-life horrors of methamphetamine use. advertisement The campaign, called the Arizona Meth Project, is a collaborative effort among 10 counties to saturate the media with startling anti-meth messages that authorities hope will convince teens not to try the drug - "not even once." "I think it could have an impact. This is more honest and more effective. Instead of just saying 'don't,' it shows what will happen," said 14-year-old Daniel Williams, who was one of 28 Scottsdale middle-school students allowed to preview the ads Tuesday. The graphic ads got their start as part of the Montana Meth Project, an in-your-face campaign launched two years ago. Organizers in Montana say the media and educational blitz has dramatically reduced meth-related crime and changed attitudes. Some experts believe meth is the most addictive drug available. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, it takes the human body about 12 hours to remove about 50 percent of the methamphetamine, compared with only one hour for cocaine. Meth use and distribution touch nearly every segment of society. More than half of domestic-violence cases involve meth, and the drug is present in two-thirds of cases in which Arizona children are abused or neglected. Seventy percent of Arizona counties report that robberies and burglaries have increased because of meth use. More than half of the youths jailed by the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections have a history of meth use. Among users, 84 percent said they regularly did meth and half were under the influence of it when they committed their crimes. In Arizona, marijuana and alcohol remain, by far, the drugs of choice for youths. But 4.3 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 said they've tried meth, according to the 2006 Arizona Youth Survey. That's double the national average. "Methamphetamine is the most serious threat to your safety," Attorney General Terry Goddard told Cocopah Middle School students on Tuesday. "It's out there; it's causing a lot of problems for us, and we need your help to stop it. We know we already have a problem that's bordering on getting out of control." Arizona Meth Project ads will air between 7 p.m. and midnight on stations that cater to younger audiences, including CW, MTV and Comedy Central. On radio airwaves, Arizona young people will share their addiction and recovery stories during peak drive times and on weekends. Strong reactions to the ads have played out in Montana, according to its attorney general's 2007 Trends and Impact Report. For the first time, meth use and associated crime in Montana had declined. Law enforcement and workplace drug-testing data showed a 41 percent decrease in criminals testing positive for meth and a 70 percent drop in workers testing positive for it. The report also showed that 93 percent of teens said meth carried a greater risk than any other drug if used just once. Melissa, 24, knows the pull of meth. She first tried it on her 18th birthday and dropped out of school within six months because "it became more important for me to stay home and get high." Her experience will likely be broadcast in the second series of radio ads for the Arizona Meth Project. Hers is a story of stops and starts, like an on-again/off-again relationship. But the cycle stopped when, instead of snorting or eating it, she started to smoke meth. "That's when I got hooked," she said. "I lost my house. I lost my car. I lost my family. I lost everything." Melissa spent the next three years living on the streets or with friends when she wasn't in jail for shoplifting, identity theft or car theft. In that time, she got close to a dealer and stayed in an abusive relationship to ride the high. "It grabs you and takes you down," Melissa said. "They don't call it the devil's drug for nothing." Her parents intervened in May 2005 by helping get her into a four-month rehab in Oklahoma and another four-month stint in Pennsylvania. She now is clean, living in Casa Grande, and studying psychology at Central Arizona College with plans to transfer to Northern Arizona University. Melissa says her path may have been different if she had known about the effects of meth six years ago. "I went through D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education program). I knew drugs were bad for you, but I didn't think it would be me," she said. "The ads are so blunt, and they're just out there and really hard to ignore." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman