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Illinois Meth Project message: 'Not even once'

Posted February 11, 2008 10:00 pm

Illinois has made inroads when it comes to reducing the supply of methamphetamine, and the focus now is shifting to reducing demand for the strongly addictive, illegal drug, Attorney General Lisa Madigan said Monday.

"That's what the Illinois Meth Project is all about," she said after a news conference at the Illinois State Library.

Madigan, Meth Project founder Tom Siebel and other officials unveiled the initiative, which already exists in Montana, Arizona and Idaho.

The Illinois Meth Project is starting in the Springfield-Decatur-Champaign market, where print, television, radio and online ads will send a simple message: "Meth. Not even once."

Dramatic-looking and dramatic-sounding commercials feature young people speaking about meth addiction and displaying the behavior of meth addicts.

In one ad, for instance, a young man commits robbery so he can get money for meth.

In another, a young woman says: "I'm only going to do meth once." The camera then turns to an obviously addicted young man, and the young woman adds: "I'm not going to end up like that guy."

The ads target young people ages 12 to 17 because that's when individuals decide whether to try meth, Siebel said.

"The ads are gripping. They are rough. They are attention-getting. They are politically incorrect, and they are effective," Siebel said.

Siebel said the Illinois Meth Project has secured $1.2 million in private funds for 2008 and 2009.

He plans to seek additional funding, including perhaps from governmental sources, so the project can expand throughout the state in the next few years. That would cost an estimated $6 million a year.

Information is available online at www.IllinoisMethProject.org.

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