DVD HITS HOME FOR TEENS

Zero Meth Campaign Goes Into Its Second Phase

The state upped its focus on teens and the dangers of drug use
Thursday when some Etowah County students got an advanced peek at a
DVD that goes along with the Zero Meth campaign.

Gadsden City High School's ninth graders were the first to preview
the DVD titled, "The Harsh Realities of Meth," last month. Some
Southside student were also shown the film at the Etowah County
judicial building.

Gadsden District Attorney Jimmie Harp joined Gov. Bob Riley and other
district attorneys in Montgomery for a press conference to unveil the
DVD for the state. It is the second installment of the Zero Meth campaign.

The purpose of the campaign is to show students the horrors of
crystal methamphetamine use, often going into graphic detail. The
effects of the television commercials and the DVD have had a positive
effect on the students. Officials hope the graphic nature will keep
teens from trying the dangerous drug thus preventing more from
becoming addicted to meth.

Harp said meth is the No. 1 drug threat facing the state and that led
to the Zero Meth campaign, with billboards, television commercials
and now the DVD. He added that more than 50 percent of children in
foster care in Northeast Alabama are there because of a meth
infested home and that more than 80 percent of the cases prosecuted
are meth related.

So far, the commercials and billboards, and now the DVD, have been
well received. In addition, the campaign's Web site has received more
than 44,000 page views since it was launched in February.

All of the publicity will help promote a good cause. The hope of the
campaign is to keep teens from starting, because meth is so addictive
that once someone starts using the drug it is hard to stop.