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,"