GEORGIA METH PROJECT INTRODUCES SHOCKING DRUG CAMPAIGN TO AREA

Leader Talks About History Of Meth During Wwii

People in Georgia may not have heard much about
Nazi methamphetamine users =AD they're not featured
in any of the shocking ads the Georgia Meth
Project's has on TV and billboards =AD but they
play a role in the drug's history.

That was one of the odd facts Georgia Meth
Project Executive Director Jim Langford mentioned
Thursday to about 35 people at the Columbus
Public Library, where campaign leaders came to
talk about the meth project's future.

Asked about the history of methamphetamine,
Langford said Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had the
drug distributed to German troops during World
War II to keep their energy levels up so they
could stay awake, keep fighting, kill without
remorse and outlast their enemies.

According to the website HowStuffWorks.com, =93Nazi
leaders distributed millions of doses of
methamphetamine in tablets called Pervitin to
their infantry, sailors and airmen in World War
II... In one four-month period in 1940, the
German military was fed more than 35 million
speed tablets. Though the pills were known to
cause adverse health effects in some soldiers, it
was also immediately realized that stimulants
went a long way toward the Nazi dream of creating super-soldiers.=94

One way of manufacturing the drug is called =93the
Nazi method,=94 Langford said, adding, =93You can't make this stuff up.=94

By now many Georgians are familiar with meth
project TV ads featuring the zombie-like faces of
young addicts with open sores and rotting teeth.
Accompanying the TV campaign are billboard ads.

A sign facing the westbound lanes of Columbus'
11th Street underpass shows blood in a bathroom
sink with the words, =93No one thinks they'll try
to tear off their own skin. Meth will change that.=94

Langford said addicts pick at their skin because
they feel like bugs are under it.

The TV ads are airing on cable channels such as
MTV and VH1 but they'll soon spread to network
affiliates, Langford said. With the motto =93Not
Even Once,=94 they aim not to help people already
using meth, but to keep anyone else from trying
it. Langford said a survey showed 35 percent of
Georgia teens thought trying methamphetamine
posed no risks and about 20 percent thought the drug had benefits.

Researchers estimate meth costs Georgia $1.3
billion annually in the expense of health care,
foster care, law enforcement and incarceration, Langford said.

Among the next steps in the meth campaign are
recruiting volunteers to be trained in community
outreach and assembling the tools those advocates
will need for public education at community
gatherings, said Latrina Patrick, a former
Columbus resident who's now the Georgia Meth
Project's program manager. Anyone interested may
contact the campaign online via Facebook or its
website, www.georgiamethproject.org.