Montana Meth Project

There are few things that frighten me more than the possibility that my kids would get swept up in drug use. While it's easy to to turn a blind eye and pretend that you are an exemplary parent and therefore your child is immune to peer pressure and the struggles of life in general, the wise, non-idiotic, slightly-aware parent knows that there is a big, giant world out there, and that world is waiting for your child. The world already knows that your child is an individual.

Not a single one of us can say that we've never made a bad choice, or never did things to defy our parents.  Back in the day, shaving one side of one's head a la Cyndi Lauper was defiant. Having multiple piercings was defiant. Smoking cloves was defiant. Swearing, staying out late, watching certain TV programs-- there was a lot to be defiant about.

Meth wasn't on our radar.

Don't lull yourself into a false sense of  security wrapped in a blanket of denial and stuffed into a hole of stupidity: Meth is everywhere. And if you have a teenager and live in the Central Valley, rest assurred that your teen knows someone who does or has done meth.

That person could be a close or distant friend.

That person could be a close or distant friend's parents.Or siblings.

The Montana Meth Project is a targeted anti-meth campaign deveoped by and for teens. The commercials are nothing like the eggs-cracked-in-frying-pans of yore. These commercials show the horrors that meth use brings, and they are truly frightening. And highly successful in the state of Montana.

"By using consumer marketing and advertising strategies as the basis for its outreach, the Montana Meth Project has been repeatedly cited as a powerful private sector response to a devastating social problem. It was recently recognized by the White House as one of the nation's most powerful and creative anti-drug programs.

Watch these videos. Then have your tweens and teens watch them. (Don't be surprised if your kids already have-- they're a bit of an internet phenom.)

And then, talk to your kids.