Montana Meth Project goes national
Featured speaker Tom Siebel, founder of the Montana Meth Project, updated NACo members on the results of the 2007 National Meth Use and Attitudes Survey and gave suggestions on what counties can do to combat meth use in their communities.
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Photo by David Hathcox
Tom Siebel
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Montana Meth began as a pilot for other state programs in 2005, at a time when Siebel said methamphetamine use was not thought of as a problem on the national level. The project’s goal was to prevent non-users in the state from ever trying the drug and to reduce demand for it.
At the time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ranked Montana fifth in the nation for meth abuse, and 67 percent of teens in the state said it was easy to get. Some 44 percent saw a significant benefit in using meth, 33 percent had been offered it and 25 percent tried it.
The project saturated media outlets throughout the state, with graphic, edgy television, radio, print and billboard advertising aimed at teens, ages 12–17. All 56 counties in the state held "Paint the State" art contests as part of the campaign, in which families and community groups painted walls, barns, business windows, schools and other outdoor surfaces with messages about the dangers of meth use.
Siebel said the campaign reached 90 percent of its target audience, changing attitudes and reducing the numbers of people who tried meth. As of September 2007, Montana was ranked 39th in the nation for meth abuse. Teen use declined by 45 percent, and adult use declined by 70 percent.
The program quickly spread to other states, becoming "franchised," as Siebel said Illinois, Idaho and Arizona signed onto the now-named National Meth Project.
Arizona began its campaign in April 2007 following the release of state survey showing more than 4 percent of youths had tried meth at least once, a figure that was twice the national average. The program was funded with the help of $5.3 million in contributions from 10 counties, the attorney general’s office and private donations. New ads are scheduled to run this spring.
"With these types of numbers, it is no surprise that in Arizona 65 percent of child-abuse cases and 75 percent of property and violent crime cases are linked to meth," according to an op-ed by Arizona Meth Project co-chairs published in the Arizona Republic.
The nonprofit Illinois Sheriff’s Association received a $177,000 one-time grant to fund its Illinois Meth Project in 2006. A new campaign was launched Feb. 11 to target youth in the cities of Springfield, Decatur and Champaign, with ads running 3–5 times a week.
Illinois ranks fourth in the country for meth arrests; meth abuse costs the state some $2 billion a year, and rural rehab admissions for meth addiction are more than five times the state average.
Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter announced the start of the state’s meth prevention campaign in January during his State of the State address. In a study released the same month, 45 percent of youth said the drug is readily available and 30 percent were offered it. Some 20 percent of teens said there is no risk involved in taking meth, and 22 percent said their friends would not dissuade them from taking it.
"Our youth are at grave risk," said Brent Reinke, director, Idaho Department of Corrections and chairman, Idaho Criminal Justice Commission. "This survey, for the first time, proves what many of us in the criminal justice community have long known — many Idaho teens do not understand the dangers of meth and see great benefits in doing this dangerous drug."
To find out how your state can become involved in the National Meth Project, contact the Meth Project Foundation, P.O. Box 240, Palo Alto, CA 94302, call 877/386-0386 or visit www.methproject.org.
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