METH MONTER HELPS RAISE COMMUNITY AWARENESS (PART 7)

Editor's note: This is the seventh in a series of stories on the
local methamphetamine crisis.

FARMINGTON -- A little black DVD has a two-word phrase scrolling
across the center. The words are "Who knew?"

Who knew that methamphetamine was a major problem in San Juan County
before the DVD "Meth Monster" was released?

"The Meth Monster' (project) introduced me to the problem. It was an
eye-opening experience for sure," said Justin Hunt, 30, who produced the DVD.

The DVD, since its release in 2004, is used by area libraries,
schools and various companies to educate people about the extent of
meth use and its effects in San Juan County.

The 18-minute documentary interviews law enforcement agents, health
professionals and a meth addict, who all explain the reaches meth has
on communities and its individual victims.

"It's not even a drug anymore. It's a person that people are scared
of," Hunt said.

The project took Hunt four months to finish, he said.

The idea for the DVD came out of Leadership San Juan, a group of
local leaders who recruited Hunt to complete the project, said Nancy
Shepard, dean of continuing education and community development at
San Juan College. "Meth Monster" became the group's class project for the year.

"They raised the money and contracted Justin Hunt to produce it," she
said, adding that the DVD has been used widely in the community.

"It's powerful. People who've seen it have expressed an interest in
showing it to their kids. Oil field companies have purchased it to
show to employees," she said.

Marjorie Black, a coordinator for San Juan Safe Communities
Initiative, said "Meth Monster" portrays meth in a graphic manner.

"It's very graphic and disturbing depiction of meth use," she said.

Hunt said the filming of "Meth Monster" has driven him to start
another similar project on a larger scale.

His next documentary, which he hopes to have finished early next year
pending some funding sources, is tentatively called "American Meth."
In this production, Hunt said he has traveled across various western
states to examine how meth addicts live and how communities are
addressing the problem.

He said he shows that many people, such as leaders and community
members, haven't acknowledged the extensive repercussions meth is
having on every community.

"I would compare (the meth problem) to the AIDS epidemic in the early
'80s, when it was running rampant. That's the effect meth is having.
It's just not affecting households, it's affecting the community. If
it's affecting the community, it's effecting America," he said.

He said for his new project he has 25 hours of footage and still
hopes to interview New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for his project.
In addition, he said actor Val Kilmer is performing the voice over in
the documentary.

He hopes that "American Meth" will open people's eyes to meth and its
effect in the same way Ryan White did for AIDS awareness. White, a
teenager who died from complications due to AIDS, sparked national
attention to the disease in the 1980s.

"I hope (American Meth) will be a Ryan White," he said. "I want to
help people get fired up and take a stand against what's going on. We
need to take a stance against meth."