DRUG CAMPAIGN HAS SHOCK VALUE

Hillsborough County Is Mirroring A Montana Anti-Drug Campaign, "Meth
Not Even Once," Targeted Toward Teens

TAMPA - Three teenage girls sit on a bed giggling. It looks like an
innocent after school hangout - except for the mirror with lines of
white powder and a pipe.

A younger sister sits in the corner and looks on with unease as one
of the teens turns to the camera and says, "I'm gonna try meth just once."

After a series of "just once" scenarios, the television spot ends
with a young woman passed out in bed, her face and lips covered in
sores, scabs and scratches.

Kneeling nearby on the floor, the younger sister rummages through a
bag, pulls out the drug and declares, "I'm going to try meth. Just once."

"The messages are very dramatic, and they're in your face," said
Elvin Martinez Jr., president of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug
Alliance. "The problem is so serious, I don't think it should be
watered down or sugar coated. It is what it is. And we've got to
portray it as the horrible thing that it is."

Hillsborough County officials want to take an in-your-face approach
to the methamphetamine problem with a prevention program like the one
crafted by the Montana Meth Project.

"Meth Not Even Once" launched a year ago, targeting 12- to
17-year-olds in Montana, where the user rate soared above the national average.

Peg Shea, executive director of the Montana Meth Project, said the
aggressive campaign has significantly raised awareness about meth abuse.

"One kid said it's like a train wreck," Shea said of comments on the
television spots. "You hate to watch it, but you can't help but watch
it. They are curious about the television ads. That spurs
conversations with the parents and with each other."

In Tampa, the Hillsborough Anti-Drug Alliance will work with the
Partnership for a Drug Free America, Crime Stoppers, Bright House
Networks and the television station CW44, a revamped lineup of UPN
that debuts today.

The television station and cable company will provide some free and
reduced priced commercials. CW44 says it will include ads on its Web
site and schedule local television personalities to visit schools
with the anti-drug message. Air dates have not been determined.

CBS Outdoor has offered to display "Meth Not Even Once" ads on its
unused billboards. Along with the public service announcements, the
Anti-Drug Alliance wants to distribute "Not Even Once" bumper
stickers and textbook covers in schools.

County commissioners are providing the campaign's budget of about $300,000.

Methamphetamine, which also can be called ice or crystal meth,
affects the central nervous system, causing the body to excrete
exceptionally high levels of dopamine. The body naturally produces
dopamine as a feel-good chemical. It's what makes people happy when
they do a good job at work and or make them want to socialize with
family and friends or be intimate.

Lt. Gary Ganey, commander of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
vice and narcotics bureau, said meth causes the unnatural release of
dopamine, resulting in a high that could last for several days. When
meth users crash, they often are depressed and do nothing but sleep, he said.

"Crack cocaine pales in comparison to meth," Ganey said.

A cocaine high may last for 10 minutes. A meth high could last for 10
hours or several days.

Meth users will "steal anything that's not tied down" to get the
drug, Ganey said. As of July 2005, a state law places restrictions on
the sale of some over-the-counter drugs that contain psuedoephedrine
or ephedrine, which can be used to make meth. Those drugs, like the
cold tablets Sudafed, must be sold behind the pharmacy counter.

"Once you start meth, the chances of you getting off are usually less
than 10 percent," Ganey said. "You're playing Russian roulette by
trying it the first time. It is the absolute worst drug ever."

He said users end up in jail or dead unless family members intervene.

Law enforcement officials have noticed an increase in meth use among
young women. Some studies suggest that young women with body image
issues turn to the drug because of its fast weight loss side effects.
Many don't realize other problems that come along with it.

Teeth rot out. Scabs and sores develop because of constant scratching
from hallucinations of bugs crawling under the skin.

"Teens whose parents talk to them about drugs are half as likely to
use drugs as those whose parents don't talk to them," Ganey said.

Parents should look for warning signs that their children may be
using meth, Ganey said. Check bedrooms for burned aluminum foil,
Brillo pads, glass tubes, soda cans with holes in them. And pay
attention to children with lighters who don't smoke cigarettes, Ganey said.

"They're your children, and it's your house," said Ganey. "It's not
that you're invading their privacy. You're trying to save their life."

What Is Meth?

A synthetic drug that is illegally produced and sold as pills,
capsules, powder or chunks, methamphetamine works directly on the
brain and spinal cord, acting as a stimulant. Meth was first
synthesized in Germany in the late 1880s. Nazis gave it to their
soldiers during World War II to increase strength and stamina. A more
potent form of meth is known as ice. Other street names for the drug
include crystal, crank, speed and juice.

How Does Meth Affect The Body?

- - Hallucinations.

- - Loss of appetite and rapid weight loss.

- - Brittle teeth that causes them to crumble and fall out.

- - Extreme mind and mood changes which include irritability, anxiety,
euphoria and confusion.

- - Lack of sleep.

- - Lack of self-awareness, which leads to a higher likelihood of
having unprotected sex.

- - Sores and scabs from constant scratching

- - Liver, kidney, lung and heart damage which could lead to death

How To Get Help For Meth Abuse

- - Call the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, by dialing 211.

- - For more information about meth prevention, visit www.notevenonce.com.

Sources: Montana Meth Project, KCI The Anti-Meth Site and the
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office