*I feel the need to place a warning of sorts here, as the topic of this post involves a series of ads which are rather graphic and disturbing.*
The other day I stumbled upon an ad that struck me as both tragic and terrifying. It was a picture of a teenage girl lying stomach-down on the ground, her arms limply propped up in front of her. Her face is sallow, with dark circles under her eyes and a cold, dead gaze that suggests she’s seen things far ahead of her time. Grasping her shoulders are the rough hands of the large older man who is lying on top of her. Written in stark white letters across the photo are the words “15 bucks for sex isn’t normal. But on meth it is.” I blinked and stared at the ad again to make sure I’d understood it right. But the same picture and caption stared back at me. My reaction: “Whoa…”

Seeing “Montana Meth Project” written in the lower left hand corner, I Googled the name. Turns out, this is an ad for the Montana Meth Project, a Montana-based anti-meth organization founded by Thomas Siebel, a Montana rancher who also just happens to be a billionaire. The goal, according to www.montanameth.org, is “to arm the youth of Montana with the facts about Meth so that they can make a better informed decision when presented with the opportunity to give Meth a try.” They achieve this with a series of ads made for television, radio, and print (particularly billboards and high school newspapers) that depict the consequences of trying methamphetamines, using both actors and real-life accounts. The organization also created an hour-long documentary in collaboration with HBO that shows the impact of the Meth problem in Montana (which, the website explains, ranks among the top ten states nationally in per capita treatment admissions for methamphetamine.)

I have to admit, the first thing I thought of when I looked at this website were those anti-marijuana commercials that are just way too campy too be effective. {I know you’ve seen them, they’re on roughly every five seconds…for example: *phone rings, awkward guy who is clearly too old to be a member of the commercial’s target audience picks it up* “Tim!!” *chuckles* “Hey!” *listens to voice on the other end, adopts alarmed facial expression* “How did she get home?” *pauses again, looks sheepish* “Man, I was so high, I…” *pauses, looks sad* “Are we cool?” *pauses* “Tim, you know me. That’s not me…” *phone clicks to signify other party hanging up*} The problem with those commercials is that they make it seem like if you smoke pot once, you’re going to ruin your entire life and possibly die. But a large enough proportion of teenagers today have tried marijuana once, twice, eighty times and have seen little or no consequence. Therefore, it’s easy to write off those public service announcements as unrealistic. But the Montana Meth Project presents its ads in a way that is all too realistic- they show, sparing no graphic detail, what can happen if you get addicted to meth. The slogan of the project is “Meth: Not Even Once”, but they don’t try to shove the idea down your throat that you’re going to die the very first time you try the drug- they just show that if you DO try Meth once, the chances that you’ll get addicted are high (sorry, no pun intended). The problem is that the personal fable of adolescence often prevents teens from realizing that experimenting with hard drugs is incredibly different from taking a drag off a joint or sipping a Heineken (not that those are good ideas, either.) Meth IS an addictive substance, and it’s hard to say no once you’ve already done it. Furthermore, Meth comes with long-term consequences. The Montana Meth Project simply seeks to make teenagers aware of those consequences.

While some have written off the organization’s graphic ads as scare tactics, their effectiveness is undeniable: Since the ads started running in 2005, Montana has seen a 45% decrease in teen Meth use, a 72% decrease in adult Meth use, and a 62% decline in Meth-related crimes. And I can understand why: just watching one of the many commercials leaves an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach, like, “Wow, okay, I won’t be touching that stuff anytime soon.” I know that must sound cliché, but the multitude of consequences depicted in many types of people in these commercials makes you realize that you don’t possess some immunity to this drug- it could hurt you. So while some might write off these ads as an exaggeration, I applaud the program for taking a step in the right direction. What do you think??