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The Meth Project

• The Meth Project is a Large-scale Exercise in Prevention

• Program Objectives • Dramatically raise level of dialogue • Significantly reduce methamphetamine use • Develop a repeatable model

Focus on Prevention

• Approaches to the Meth Problem

• Supply intervention

• Precursor control

• Treatment

• Counseling

• Law enforcement

• We are focused solely upon prevention

Integrated Approach

• Consumer Product Marketing Problem

• Market research

• Public service messaging

• Community action

• Public policy

“NOT EVEN ONCE”

Messaging Campaign

Market Research

• Message Development & Testing

• Quantitative Research– Three statewide surveys

– Third-party research

• Qualitative Research– Hundreds of hours of in-depth teen research

– 40 focus groups across Montana and in benchmark states

– Expert review

– Over 100 concepts tested, less than half produced

Saturation-Level Advertising

Measuring Program Impact 2007 Montana Meth Use & Attitudes Survey

Survey Methodology

Conducted from December 2006 to February 2007

• Teen In-School Survey– 50 schools– 2,335 teens grades 7-12 – 95% confidence level, ±2 margin of error

• Young Adult Mail Survey– 414 young adults 18-24– Estimate ~300-400 completed surveys– 95% confidence, ±5 margin of error

• Parent Phone Survey– 402 parents of teens age 12-19– 95% confidence, ±5 margin of error

2007 Montana Meth Use & Attitudes Survey

• Changing Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Meth

• 93% of teens now see great risk in trying Meth

• 87% of teens disapprove of Meth use

• 85% of young people report friends would “give them a hard time” for using Meth

• 96% of parents have discussed Meth with their teen in the past year

Methamphetamine in Montana

A Preliminary Report on Trends and Benefit

January 2007

Mike McGrathMontana Attorney General

Cost to the State of Montana

• State Incarceration • 50% of inmates are there due to Meth-related crimes• $43,000,000 annually

• Social Services• 52% of foster care cases are Meth-related • $12,000,000 annually

• Public Treatment• 20% of adults are in treatment for Meth addiction • $10,000,000 annually

Source: Data from Department of Corrections, Department of Heath and Human Services of Montana, Counties and Local Jurisdictions

0.90%

0.27%

0.48%

0.42%

0.00%

0.10%

0.20%

0.30%

0.40%

0.50%

0.60%

0.70%

0.80%

0.90%

Montana National Average

2005

2006

12% Decrease

Workers Testing Positive for Meth (Workplace Drug Testing)

Source: The Drug Testing Index, Quest Diagnostics, June 2006

70% Decrease

Decrease in Meth-Related Crimes(Arrests Involving Meth)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

2004 2005 2006

Meth-RelatedDrug Offenses

All Meth-RelatedCrime

Source: Incident Based Crime Report (IBC), Montana Board of Crime Control

53% Decrease

“NOT EVEN ONCE”

Teen Response

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Please Bring Back Anti-Meth Commercials

I recently noticed that there are no more advertisements against meth. I like the commercials that caused so much controversy. I would like to know what happened to them. I feel these commercials educated people of all ages of what meth can do to you.

I am only 16 and I believe these commercials served their purpose. They scared me so much, but what I believe to be in a good way. I have always been afraid of those types of drugs, but those commercials scared me even more. They showed what I could and don't want to become. I think it would be a good idea to put these commercials back on air.

– Carly Kennedy Guerra, Billings

March 15, 2006

Letter to the Editor

The Hellgate Lance

For Our Sake, Scare Us

Any Montana TV-watcher worth his salt knows when the Montana Meth Project has struck. “Those meth ads,” as they’re called are scary, blunt and downright remarkable. The Montana Meth Project hasn’t sat back and basked in success, however. Beginning in April of this year, it began to unveil new, similarly graphic meth ads.

You need to scare the hell out of us. We don’t respond to orders. We don’t respond to threats. But we respond to our senses better than any other age group, and that’s the primary reason that more of us are afraid of shark attacks than AIDS. It’s not a defect, it’s a trait. And if issue groups similar to the Montana Meth Project want to make an impact, which they should, they can’t expect us to suddenly become more rational. They should work around us – which, more often than not, means jolting us out of blissful ignorance. In this case, the ends justify the means.

– Brendan Work, Hellgate HS, MissoulaMay 5, 2006

Hellgate Lance Editorial

Direct Teen FeedbackThis is a subject that most people would prefer to avoid. So I’d like to thank all of you that have been involved in bringing it out into the open. Helping people feel free to talk openly about this problem is definitely the biggest and most important step we all can take in the

battle against it. – Jackie, Great Falls

I love what you are doing and think that your ads are very well done and poignant.  In fact, most ads about not doing drugs or smoking make me mad because they are so bad that I don't think they will have any effect on anyone, but your ads are just amazing.

– Sarah Camp

The brutal portrayal of a person on Meth drives the point home. Also, the focus on one's appearance probably affects a teenager much more than other things.

– Anonymous Teen

Community Action

Paint the State

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• Largest Public Art Contest

• 660 Entries from Each of the 56 Counties

• Effort of Thousands of Montanans

• More than $300,000 Awarded

Paint the State

Community Feedback

“While working on my project, several people came by to ask

questions. One man, whose life was ruined by Meth, said that if my

project stopped even one person from using Meth it would all be

worth it.”– Lindsey Wolfe, Age 15,

Yellowstone County

“Our plan was to visit Montana’s amazing state parks. As we drove

across the state, we began to notice the Meth artwork. Then we

began to hunt for them, in small towns and along long stretches of

highway. The messages have made a huge impact on my 9 year

old daughter. Thank you.”

– LouAnne and Skyla Krantz, Polson

Community Feedback

“I would like to commend the people responsible for putting

together this "Paint the State" idea.  The project has brought so

much awareness, through hands on involvement, to hundreds

of kids and teens across Montana.  I hope that this sort of

involved approach to drug awareness and prevention continues

for many years to come.” – John Machart, Scobey

2007 Program Overview

2007 Milestones

• Research & Message Development Oct 2006 - Feb 2007

• Second Use & Attitudes Survey January 2007

• Documentary Film Premiere March 2007

• Phase III Launch March 2007

• National Benchmark Survey September 2007

• Research & Message Refresh Fall/Winter 2007

• Phase IV Campaign January 2008

Meth Project Earns Top Industry Honors• Chosen from 25,000 campaigns for global Cannes Lion Award

• Earned two Effie awards, finalist for Grand Effie with Apple and American Express

• Ranked top ads in America by Adcritic.com

• Won seven Addy awards

New Messaging Campaign

• Phase III Advertising

• New Theme: Impact of Meth use on others

• TV, Billboard, Print, Radio, Internet

• Reaching 70-90% of teens 3-5 times per week

"I thought you were going to die because your heart stopped twice."

HBO Documentary Film “Montana Meth”

• Premiere Events • Montana Legislature, January 2007

• Big Sky Film Festival, February 2007

• HBO, March 18, 2007

National Program

• Illinois Meth Project December 2006

• Arizona Meth Project April 2007

• National Meth Use & Attitudes Survey September 2007

• Idaho Meth Project Winter 2007

Key Accomplishments

• Raised Level of Awareness and Dialogue

• Increased Perceived Risk and Reduced Perceived Benefit and Changed Behavior

• Mobilized Communities

• Expanded Model to States Across the Nation

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