ANTI-METH PROJECT REACHES THOUSANDS OF TEENAGERS

QUESTION: What ever happened to the Hawaii Meth Project?

ANSWER: The project, launched last June to combat methamphetamine or
"ice" use among teens and young adults, has had "overwhelmingly very,
very positive" response, says the executive director.

A just-completed school survey will provide the first comparative data
since the project began, said Cindy Adams, adding it will take awhile
to tabulate the results and analyze the data. However, she said the
project's outreach volunteers have met with more than 4,000 teenagers
statewide and been to 40 or 45 schools, as well as after-school
programs and meetings in the community.

Hawaii last year was the seventh state to start a Meth Project aimed
at reducing first-time meth use through a strong media campaign,
public service messages, public policy and community education and
outreach.

"Teens without exception are watching the TV ads and listening to
radio ads," Adams said. "Some on the way to school in the morning are
stopping conversation with parents to listen to an ad when it comes
on."

She said the goal is to reach 70 to 90 percent of teens four or five
times a week with the ads and, based on a show of hands in classes,
"we definitely are accomplishing that."

The TV ads are shown between 7 p.m. and midnight, which broadcast
stations say is the best time to reach teens, Adams said. A parent
occasionally tells her the TV ad is too graphic for a 5-, 7- or
9-year-old, but even for children that young, she said, "It's not too
early to start having a conversation with them" about risky behavior.

She noted "tremendous feedback" from recovering addicts, with comments
such as: "'That's what I looked like. It took only one time before I
became addicted to the drug. It completely changed my life. I lost my
wife, my kids, my home, my job. Parents don't want to talk about this
stuff but this is real, this is what it looks like.'"

Crystal methamphetamine continues to be the community's worst drug
problem, she said. "We're hoping we're starting to make a difference.
We're expecting to see a change in attitude before a change in behavior."

Charles Schwab, founder and chairman of the Charles Schwab Corp. and
his wife, Helen, part-time Big Island residents, initially funded the
program. But Adams said she and the board are fundraising to make it
self-sustaining.

Donations can be made to The Hawaii Meth Project, 999 Bishop St., 24th
floor, Honolulu, HI 96813, or online at info@methproject.org.
Volunteers also are needed for outreach. Call 529-6254.