ENTIRE COMMUNITY MUST FIGHT METH

The events surrounding the death of baby Cyrus Belt remind us again of
the devastating effects of methamphetamine addiction and the
tremendous price we pay for the impact to our children, families and
communities.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice 2009 HIDTA Report, meth is
increasingly cited as a contributing factor in incidents of child and
domestic abuse, hostage situations and homicides. Last month,
Diagnostic Laboratories reported that methamphetamine use for Hawaii
workers rose 33 percent in 2009 over 2008. Additionally, the 2009
Hawaii Meth Use & Attitudes Survey reported that 19 percent of teens
said meth was relatively easy for them to acquire and 30 percent said
they thought there was little to no risk in trying meth once or twice.

The Hawaii Meth Project is focused on significantly reducing
first-time meth use among teens and we do that through two primary
efforts -- public service messaging and community outreach and education.

One of the main objectives of the television and radio ads is to
communicate to teens the highly addictive and destructive nature of
meth using an approach that is frank and straightforward. The radio
ads are real-life experiences shared by local teens in recovery for
meth addiction. An equally important objective of the ads is to raise
the level of dialogue between parents and children, a very powerful
tool to preventing risky behavior with teens.

I travel every week across the state and speak with students in the
public and private schools, parents, faculty, business leaders and
community organizations in an effort to raise awareness about the
dangers of meth addiction. I also meet with coalition partners engaged
in prevention and treatment to share and exchange information. Our
wonderful volunteers support outreach events in their communities
every month. When I walk into a class or school assembly and ask if
they are familiar with our ads, three-quarters of the students raise
their hands. They talk about the ad messages, about their own or a
friend's experience with addiction and about the challenges they face
with addiction in their families. I am fortunate to see firsthand the
results of our efforts.

February is Drug-Free Hawaii Awareness Month. Please join us and the
prevention and treatment community who are collaborating for a
drug-free Hawaii and support a renewed commitment to prevention of
meth use.

Cindy Adams is executive director of the Hawaii Meth Project.