Attorney General John Suthers Says Colorado Is Making Progress In Battle Against Meth

According to a study released today by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, teens are less likely to try meth even once, thanks in large part to work done by the Colorado Meth Project.

The phone survey polled 602 teens between seventh and twelfth grade. It shows that now 88 percent of teens see "great risk" in trying meth once or twice, already a marked improvement from attitudes logged in 2009. Knowledge of even specific risks of taking the drug was up by about 10 points on all counts, and 94 percent answered that trying meth would put them at great risk for addiction.

Statistics from the Colorado Meth Project show that 41 percent of meth addicts in treatment tried the drug at age 17 or younger, and that meth-related crime in Colorado is 56 percent higher than the national average

“Teens are getting the message about the risks of using Meth, and more importantly, disapproval of the drug amongst their peers has increased,” said Julie Mordecai, Executive Director of the Colorado Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs. “It is not easy to change teen attitudes, and it is even more challenging to get them to speak up. The Colorado Meth Project is doing both and is making a real difference in communities across the state.”

The third wave of ads done by the Meth Project--the national non-profit organization affiliated with Colorado--are directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, who recently directed the critically acclaimed Black Swan.

Scroll down to view the new ad directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Controversial though they may be, the survey asserts their effectiveness in Colorado and they have won 45 awards including the Cannes Lions Award at the Cannes International Advertising Festival.

In a statement, Suthers said:

These results show that thanks to the Colorado Meth Project we are changing attitudes about methamphetamine and making real progress in reducing demand for the drug.

Prevention is a crucial component of Colorado’s fight against Meth, particularly as we are seeing
troubling increases in the drug’s availability. According to the Justice Department, the supply of
Meth is at its highest level, highest purity, and lowest cost in five years, largely as a result of the
Mexican drug cartels’ increased involvement in Meth trafficking.

WATCH:

Comments

[GirlOutWest]

02:34 PM on 05/22/2011

If I were a kid, and we all know how vain kids are, and I saw these ads I'd NEVER touch the stuff. I think they're very effective.

[RedneckSamurai]

05:34 AM on 05/21/2011

Meth isn't that bad, sheesh ~ Brought to you by the Walter White Foundation

[Yikesits]

10:45 PM on 05/14/2011

The ads along with harm reduction(needle exchange) and extensive education will help reduce meth use. An ounce of prevention....

[Raven911]

02:02 AM on 05/14/2011

If these commercials help keep ONE person off Meth...I am for it...Meth is an evil evil drug!!!!

[drew mc]

01:44 AM on 05/14/2011

That is so cool meth is a bad drug. I once was a meth addict but now one a drug rehab website to help other addicts.

[hauruck]

09:32 PM on 05/13/2011

The ads are rough to watch, but they NEED to be, else they're pointless.

[finklehoffer]

02:44 PM on 05/13/2011

progress but only 20 years behind because media has been forced to cover up or not mention the cause of crimes, meth freak gets busted for use and sales here and is out in 3 hours on bail and selling and using again, put off to trial they get to wait up to 2 years before court, and excons have more rights than reg citizens rights as in they can not be harrassed by police because so called parole officers are supposed to be observing them, I've seen some busted 3 times and still get out in less than 2 years. no justice in this state, cops must be very sick of busting them only to see them released before the cop can finish the arrest repport

[bertohum]

02:41 PM on 05/13/2011

This will only pique kid's curiosity about meth. It will introduce the "drug" to kids who know nothing about it. it is like a "Keep off the Grass sign" in that I never thought of walking on the grass until the sign gave me the idea to do so. Let them do what they will do and pay the consequences. Don't say it costs society. Obama, our Messiah, will just borrow more money to pay for it. Case closed.

[bigshotlawyer]

02:59 PM on 05/13/2011

Way to mix politics with common sense education. Sick and sad, very typical.

[stainey]

03:20 PM on 05/13/2011

^This

[bakdoc1980]

03:11 PM on 05/13/2011

I am willing to bet that you also believe that teaching kids about birth control will cause them to have sex. Kids know about meth ( and sex ) and need to be given a counter argument to what they may see as something " fun " or exotic -- this PSA shows the grim possibilities that a meth user may face in a realistic and thought- provoking manner. Your prefer ignorance to knowledge and can't resist throwing in an irrelevant taste of your personal politics -- classic.

[nib419]

02:20 PM on 05/13/2011

idont see we even have meth in colorado with the medical marijuana market the way it is, you dont even need a card anymore being as everyone knows someone, or knows someone who knows someone, and so on, that has there card nowadays, and if you basement chemists want something fun to do, THC is a very versatile chemical, blow yourself up making something harmless i say

[Derp Noshitzki]

02:05 PM on 05/13/2011

Aronofsky's "Requiem For A Dream" was a great chronicle of heroin addiction. This PSA is good, but the "faces of meth" vidz on YouTube are enough of a deterrence for me.

[cwest91556]

01:58 PM on 05/13/2011

just speaking for myself here, 40 years ago I had been told by everyone that drugs were bad! then I was exposed in the military to pot, some of the most intelligent gentlemen I knew smoked it casually, but wouldn't drink alcohol or smoke tobacco, which was the most socially legal drugs of the day. These gentlemen performed well, some were brilliant, but the guys that drank, and some a lot, had hangovers and obvious effects of alcohol abuse daily. So was everyone lying to me about pot being such a terrible thing? The truth is no one has ever OD'd on pot, ever! but thousands die from prescription drugs every year, at least 10 from just aspirin. I think the only way society will ever acknowledge that even coffee is a drug and clear and concise studies are made and all the lies about drugs, both legal and illegal are given to the public, this same scenario will keep occurring. When you lie about one drug, any drug, then ask young people to base their decisions on lies, they can not make a sound decision about any drug.
In the meantime, everyone is so afraid of drugs and has a medicine cabinet and cupboard full of drugs, drugs that will and do kill and addict people, will not accept that maybe just maybe a little plant that grows wild could be of some use without any chemicals or special processing.

[americaniron42]

02:33 PM on 05/13/2011

TRUTH IS...PEOPLE DIE ALL THE TIME FROM POT RELATED ACCIDENTS BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO STONED TO DRIVE....NO MATTER HOW YOU TRY TO LIE TO JUSTIFY POT USE.....PEOPLE GET KILLED IN POT RELATED ACCIDENTS ALL THE TIME....YOU DONT NEED TO OD ON POT FOR IT TO KILL YOU....OBVIOUSLY YOU DIDNT DO YOUR RESEARCH!!

[cwest91556]

03:02 PM on 05/13/2011

I did 40 years of research on it! but you still miss my point! IF YOU LIE ABOUT ANYTHING AND PURVEY LIES, NO MATTER HOW LOUD YOU SHOUT THE LIES THEY DON'T MAKE THEM TRUE! and young people base their decisions on LIES and the effects of lies! so when they don't believe a thing "authorities" say! then make BAD decisions! How many people a year DIE of alcohol related accidents? PEOPLE DIE of ASPIRIN! get off your high horse and go grab another cool one. you are too brainwashed to make an informed comment!

[WhatTheHell69]

05:26 PM on 05/13/2011

No they don't - go have a DRINK!!!!

[ifyouseekay]

01:56 PM on 05/13/2011

won't work.

teens brains cannot fathom NOT doing something "cool" like dropping off a friend at a hospital.

[jbarkey02]

01:51 PM on 05/13/2011

I work in an ER and have had patients dropped off like that. Our first thought is "boy,aren't those good friends". They don't even care enough to stay with you. It's pathetic. I think this ad is excellent and don't see anything controversial about it.

[vuduvampirninjawitch]

01:51 PM on 05/13/2011

It is a very dangerous drug. It has a high rate of addiction, like cigarettes. Its toxicity level is very high, like alcohol. Its readily available, like both cigarettes and alcohol. It may, some day, surpass alcohol and nicotine as the most deadly drugs in America. I'm betting if cigarettes and booze were new inventions, they would never allow them to be sold. Those two are stilling killing more people in America today than all illegal drugs combined.

[Bonnie Bailgirl]

01:50 PM on 05/13/2011

??? this lame as commercial is going to stop these backwoods dweebs from doing meth?
I don't think so. Bottom line - these little monkies get their car, their clothes, their food, their home and THEIR METH with the money their parents give them. Stop the money and you have no drugs! These kids are raised more like pets than children, look how they're dressed, nice clothes, a car they could never afford, clean skin: what bullshit.
If they would stroll the camera through a real morgue and show the pock marked carcass of some meth addict or a stroll through the county jail, it would have so much more impact. One girl with experience's opinion.

[bertohum]

02:20 PM on 05/13/2011

You are right on the money. Your insight about parents treating their kids like pets is so intelligent. I hope to see more of your posts. Thank you!

[kchri]

09:05 AM on 05/21/2011

Maybe you should watch more of their commercials. They do show everything you describe and more. Both of my pets (teenage daughters) agree that the Meth commercials have seriously influenced their group of friends thinking about using. They know kids who have and do use, and the commercials in no way diminish the reality the commercials portray.

BTW, Backwoods dweebs, really?