Montana Meth Project

There are many peer pressures to be faced with while being a teen. Many teens get drawn into peer pressure hoping for accepectance, belonging, and have a better self esteem. Peer pressuring is not how it used to be , peer pressuring now is consisting of far gareater things and even including heavy drug use unlike before. Teens are now being peer pressured into trying and using Meth. Meth, a shockingly common drug among teens and young adults these days. Meth is a highly addictive methamphetamine which usually in one try someone can become addicted after the first use and with a long duration of the drug can lead to death. Meth is considered the fastest growing and most serious drug problem facing American teens today. It used to be more common among adults, but sadly has turned quickly to the young adult and early teens. One of the reasons crystal meth has become so popular, is it can be produced by combining a specific set of chemicals, all of which can be obtained legally. Some states such as Montana are creating projects and campaigins to end this fast growing peer pressure in America. The Meth Project is a large-scale prevention program aimed at reducing first-time meth use through public service messaging, public policy, and community outreach.( Meth Project Foundiation) The Montana Meth Project uses a variety of commericals to inform young adults and youth the harmful effects of meth use. These commericals are not your everyday commericals,compared to regular commericals that want to sell products, these commericals want to make a difference and a change in teens attitudes toward meth. Peg Shea, a former drug treatment specialist who signed on as the project's executive director in late September, said she started out a skeptic, considering most antidrug commericals "dorky." Then I saw these ads, and heard them," she said. "I saw the quality and the impact."(Zernike) Unlike most antidrug commerical where as Philip Morris says are, " fuzzy-warm, which could actually generte favorable felling for the tobacco industry. And thier theme-that adults should tell young not to smoke mostly because the are young people-is exactly the sort of message that would make many teenagers feel like lighting up.(When Don't Smoke Means Do, 2006) A look into Montana Meth commericals will show how thier prevention efforts are getting through effectively by providing real life experiences, showing the harmful effects meth has, and having teens inform one another rather than an over ruling adult.

The Montana Meth Project show their prevention efforts effectively by providing real life experiences. Their campaign targets youth, teens, and young adults through peer pressures they might face with meth. The commericals show everday teens with an average lifesytle. During the commericals the teens share their experience with the drug and how they became wrapped into meth. The radio spots are particularyy powerful, some say, because the use real addicts, not actors, recovering from methamphetamine addiction. (Zernike) In one commerical, "Friends", a car full of teens are driving around after doing meth. A young girl is shown passed out in the backseat and looks very ill. Her friends are high and do not know what to do with her, they are starting to become paranoid and want to drop her off somewhere. Meanwhile the young girl's voice is heard loudily over the commerical.The girls says, "I'm really tight with my friends, we do everything together, and whatever happens they take care of me." While her voice is being carried over the commerical her friends pull up to a hospitual emergency drop off area and carry her out the car; after they drop her off they drive away. Emercgency personnel comesup to her to take car of her. This commerical shows someone who has friends because they are engaging in an activity that the rest of them do. The suppose friends she has in a way does not care about her only because once she was high and going through the syptoms they just drop her off, and have no worries of what happens to her.("Friends")

Another commerical that the project uses is a commerical called, "Just Once." In this commerical a teenage girl and her younger sister are sitting in her room with a gourp of her girlfriends. Meth is being passed arounded on a mirror. The teenage girl looks up while the meth is passed to her and says " I try meth, just this once." Net the commerical shows the teenage girl with her girlfriends again tailgating, she is passes a pipe and says " I'm gonns smoke this just once." As the commerical continues the girls apperance is getting worse. Her younger sister is sitting at a table doing her homework. As she does her homework her older sister digs in a purse to steal money, while she steals the money she say," I'm gonna steal just this once." The teenage girl is then shown at a party where she is about to sleep with a man for meth. She continues to say how she do this ,"just this once". The commerical ends with a shocking twist that shows how real life this experience was. The teenage girl is sleeping and her younger sister is in the room going through her jean pockets. While she goes through the pockets she pulls out meth and says, " I'm gonna try meth, just once." This commerical shows an everday teenage girl that tries meth to fit in with her friends while putting herself in a world where she is doing things she never imagined. The commerical also can relate to most viewers since many viewers have younger siblings that look up to them. Meth does not only affect the user but thier family as well.("Just Once")

The commericals povided by the Montana Meth project show how effective the commericals are to the viewers and communities affect by meth by showing real life experiences that everyone can relate to.

The Montana Meth Project also shows effectiveness by providing and showing the harmful effects that meth does to the user and thier familiy. Montana Meth Project Founder and Vice-chairman, Tom Siebel, says that," Our latest ads show the collateral damage that occurs to users' family and friends. This new concept is based directly on input from Montana teens." (Meth Project Foundation). One of the campaigns latest ad is a commerical called, "Boyfriend." This commerical shows how meth makes you do things that you would of never thought of doing. The commerical starts with a girl, who is very little dressed, laying