RADIO, TV ADS TARGET METH USE

Teenagers Are Welcome To Attend A Volunteer Meeting On Thursday

The TV public service announcements are intentionally stark, even
shocking.

A fresh-faced teen says, "I'm going to try meth just once." Then, the
viewer sees what the speaker's life is to become -- addiction,
stealing, prostitution, arrest, physical and psychological
deterioration -- usually in dimly-lit, seedy settings. The spots
conclude with an intentionally crude black and white graphic
proclaiming: "Meth. Not even once."

"I hope they work for us in Hawaii," said Cindy Adams, executive
director of the Hawaii Meth Project, an organization dedicated to
reducing first-time "ice" use by teens and young adults. "They've
worked for us in the other states, so I'm hopeful," she said. "You
know kids have said to us that these ads are like no other ads that
they have ever seen. It's not like the egg in the frying pan ('this is
your brain on drugs') or anything like that."

Adams said that the campaign's radio announcements, which feature
local teens talking about their experiences as ice addicts hit even
closer to home.

One of the speakers identifies herself as Jessica, 17, from
Kailua-Kona, who said she started taking crystal methamphetamine when
she was 13 and ended up selling her body for the drug.

"I just hurt myself by giving myself to the guys just for the drug,
even if it wasn't a lot," she said in the 30-second spot. "I never
thought I would do that. I always despised girls who were like that,
but later on, I became one of them."

Adams said the group is holding a volunteer orientation Thursday from
6-7 p.m. in the Hilo High School library. There will also be a Kona
meeting from 6-7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Kealakehe High School cafeteria. All
interested individuals are invited to attend.

"It will be our very first volunteer orientation on the Big Island,"
Adams said. "We had our community meeting in July; we've had a number
of people express interest in volunteering. That's phenomenal since
it's how we do the bulk of our community outreach, through a volunteer
network.

"We're asking that teens come out and volunteer, because this is meant
for that audience, as well as people in general ... who are interested
in our mission."

Adams said there will be training sessions to follow for those who
want to be peer leaders and educators.

"There will be some subset of volunteers who will actually be
interested in delivering our Hawaii Meth Project presentations, and
we'll be doing 'train the trainers' sessions for those," she said.
"Some of them will just want to do things like participate in bake
sales or car washes or hand out our wristbands at the county fair. ...
They're all welcome."

The results of the first Hawaii Meth Use and Attitudes Survey were
released in June by the Hawaii Meth Project. Surveyed were 1,065
teens, 318 young adults and 400 parents of teens statewide, all
randomly selected.

According to the data, one in five teens and one in three young adults
say meth is readily available. One in 10 teens and one in five young
adults say they have close friends who use the drug.

Nearly one in three teens believes there is little or no risk to
trying meth. A substantial number of young people think meth use is
beneficial -- 35 percent believe it can help you lose weight, 24
percent believe it provides energy, 21 percent think it can cause
happiness, and 19 percent believe it helps alleviate boredom.

"Methamphetamine is one of the most destructive, highly-addictive
substances known," said Dr. Bill Haning, an addiction expert at the
University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine. "It causes
dramatic changes in the brain, irreversible physical damage, and a
host of effects including depression, psychosis marked by extreme
paranoia and hallucinations, and violent behavior.

"It's alarming to see that many of our young people see little risk in
giving methamphetamine a try."

Said Adams: "I think if (teens) understood how addictive this drug was, they
would not go down this path quite as often. It's so addictive, 85 to 95
percent of the people who use it once will use it again and kids do not know
that. They think they can use it once and manage, and that's definitely not
the case."

On the Internet: http://www.hawaiimethproject.org.