WORST DRUG YET MERITS 'NOT EVEN ONCE' EDICT

An advertising blitz airing in Arizona since Wednesday is graphic
enough to make you sick, but not nearly as sick as methamphetamines
would make you.

Unlike most drugs, meth hooks its users hard with just one try.

Then the addicts evolve into crazy, ugly, violent criminals. Trendy, eh?

Also different from other street drugs, meth's hideous effects don't
stop with the user.

The manufacturing of meth contaminates carpets, walls, ceilings,
water supplies, even the land on which you're walking.

And because meth users tend to be a fairly mobile population,
there's no telling whether that vehicle or dwelling you just bought
or leased has been marinating in toxic meth components.

Children of meth addicts are exposed to these poisons, making them
very sick. They're usually neglected and abused as well by addicted
parents and family "friends."

A study by Child Protective Services found that meth was a factor in
at least 65 percent of the reported abuse and neglect cases.

As if serious harm to children and environmental contamination
weren't enough, meth also is linked to the vast majority of property
crimes, identity and vehicle thefts and many other crimes -
especially in southern Arizona, a primary pipeline for meth imported
from "superlabs" in Mexico.

But wait. It gets worse. Meth also can be made inexpensively in
hotel rooms, kitchens, even out of a car trunk, using easily
obtained ingredients such as car battery acid and allergy medications.

So meth doesn't only destroy its users, their families, our society
and our environment.

It also does so in the most insidious manner imaginable, remaining
largely invisible to all but the most savvy observers.

So while the new commercials being aired by the Arizona Meth Project
are horrifying, they aren't nearly as terrifying as the drug use
they seek to thwart.

Such ads worked well for the Montana Meth Project, where the drug's
use has begun to dwindle.

If the ads can persuade Arizona youngsters that "not even once" is
the only approach to take with meth, then they will be well worth
the shock value.

The new commercials also surely will spur some dinner table
conversations among families confronted with the atrocious reality
of this most hideous drug.

Ten counties compose the new Arizona Meth Project, with support from
the Legislature and Attorney General's Office.

In Pima County, the Meth-Free Alliance was launched in 2005 as
community leaders, law enforcement officials and residents
recognized the dire threat posed in our area.

While baby boomers chuckle at memories of the exaggerated "Reefer
Madness" propaganda film, anyone who knows a meth addict these days
also knows that the new ad campaign - albeit shocking - is almost an
understatement.

The destruction wrought by this drug defies all preconceived notions.

So if you know someone who wants to try it "just once," assure them
the only smart choice is "not even once."