Montana Meth Project

MONTANA METH PROJECT IS A LARGE-SCALE PREVENTION PROGRAM AIMED AT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCING FIRST-TIME METH USE THROUGH PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGING AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH.

THE MONTANA METH PROJECT AIMS TO SERVE ALL MONTANANS AS THE ONLY FULLY DEDICATED METH PREVENTION PROGRAM IN THE STATE. OUR PREVENTION EFFORTS ARE CREDITED WITH STEADY DECLINES IN FIRST-TIME TEEN METH USE IN MONTANA. FOUNDED IN 2005 BY BUSINESSMAN THOMAS M. SIEBEL AS A PRIVATE-SECTOR RESPONSE TO A CRITICAL PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE, THE METH PROJECT HAS BEEN CITED BY THE WHITE HOUSE AS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE PREVENTION PROGRAMS AND A MODEL FOR THE NATION IN ADDITION TO BEING NAMED THE 3RD MOST EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPY IN THE WORLD BY BARRONS IN ITS GLOBAL RANKING. AS THE SOLELY DEDICATED METH PREVENTION PROGRAM IN THE STATE, OUR EFFORTS ARE VITAL TO ENSURING MONTANA TEENS ARE ARMED WITH THE FACTS ABOUT METH. AS THE DRUG'S SUPPLY AND PURITY HAVE INTENSIFIED OVER THE YEARS, IT HAS MADE OUR WORK EVEN MORE IMPORTANT. MORE MONTANANS ARE AT RISK OF ADDICTION, VIOLENCE, OVERDOSE, AND DEATH: FOR THE LAST DECADE, METH-RELATED CRIMES HAVE INCREASED 124% (DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS CRIME CONTROL BUREAU); 68% OF CHILD HOME REMOVALS DUE TO ABUSE OR NEGLECT INVOLVE PARENTAL DRUG USE, 65% LISTING METH AS THE PRIMARY DRUG INVOLVED, AND 46% OF OPEN CHILD WELFARE CASES PLACING CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE HAVE METH INDICATED MONTANA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES DIVISION). AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC OVERDOSES AND SUICIDE RATES ARE UP AROUND THE COUNTRY. IN 2021, THE CDC REPORTED THAT OVERDOSE DEATHS THE YEAR BEFORE SOARED TO 93,000 A 29% INCREASE AND THE HIGHEST NUMBER EVER RECORDED. NUMBERS SHOW A 13% INCREASE IN DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS IN MONTANA, A NUMBER THAT HAS BEEN RAISING YEAR OVER YEAR EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. THE PRIMARY POPULATION WE SERVE IS THE 100,000 TEENS ACROSS ALL 56 MONTANA COUNTIES. OUR SECONDARY AUDIENCE IS THE MORE THAN 1 MILLION RESIDENTS OF MONTANA. ALL MONTANANS EXPOSED TO METH ARE AT RISK IF THEY ARE NOT ARMED WITH THE DEVASTATING FACTS ABOUT METH USE. METH DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE BASED ON AGE, GENDER, CULTURE, OR RACE, YET OUR RURAL AND NATIVE COMMUNITIES ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE AS THE STATE IS FLOODED WITH SUPPLY. THE DAYS OF LOCALLY PRODUCED METH IN HOMEMADE LABS ARE OVER, AND THE SUPPLY HAS NEVER BEEN MORE ABUNDANT. THE CARTELS INUNDATE OUR STATE WITH THE LOWEST COST, HIGHEST-PURITY, AND MOST ADDICTIVE METH EVER SEEN. WE DEPLOY OUR PREVENTION EFFORTS WITH MEDIA CAMPAIGNS, INCLUDING NOT EVEN ONCE AND ASK ME, THAT COMMUNICATE THE RISKS OF METH USE; DAILY SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR MORE THAN 190,000 FOLLOWERS ACROSS INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, AND OTHER PLATFORMS WITH CONTENT AND OPEN DISCUSSION ABOUT THE RISKS OF METH USE; AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE MONTANA METH PREVENTION LESSON VIDEO TO MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ACROSS THE STATE AND COUNTRY. CENTRAL TO OUR WORK IS METHPROJECT.ORG THE DEFINITIVE SOURCE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT METH. THE SITE SERVES INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS DEDICATED TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION ADDRESSING TEENS MOST ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT METH WITH A RANGE OF INTERACTIVE CONTENT FROM ANIMATIONS AND QUIZZES TO PERSONAL STORIES. OUR CURRENT ASK ME CAMPAIGN HAS ACHIEVED MORE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS THAN ANY METH PROJECT INITIATIVE TO DATE. THE ASK ME CAMPAIGN SHARES THE PERSONAL STORIES OF METH USERS WITH THE GOAL TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE RISKS OF METH USE AND ULTIMATELY REDUCE METH USE. AN ADDITIONAL GOAL IS TO STIR PEER AND GENERATIONAL CONVERSATIONS. THE MONTANA METH PREVENTION LESSON VIDEO IS A ONE-CLICK TOOL FOR TEACHERS AND HOMESCHOOL PARENTS TO EDUCATE STUDENTS ABOUT THE FACTS OF METH USE. THE VIDEO FOLLOWS ORIGINAL METH PREVENTION CURRICULUM CREATED BY TOP EDUCATORS FOR THE METH PROJECT. HOSTED BY ONE OF THE STATES TOP SCIENCE TEACHERS, THE VIDEO DEMONSTRATES THE VOLATILITY OF THE DRUG, INCORPORATES DYNAMIC ANIMATIONS SHOWING HOW METH USE AFFECTS THE MIND AND BODY, TESTIMONIALS FROM REAL-LIFE USERS IN RECOVERY, AND TIPS ON HOW TO TALK TO FRIENDS AND PEERS ABOUT METH USE. RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS: MONTANA'S YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY, RELEASED SEPTEMBER 2021 BY THE MONTANA OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, HAS FOUND THAT METH USE AMONG TEENS IN THE STATE HAS DROPPED TO AN ALL-TIME LOW. THE SURVEY IS CONDUCTED EVERY TWO YEARS BY THE MONTANA OFFICE OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, IN COOPERATION WITH THE U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION. WITH A 77% DECLINE IN TEEN METH USE SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THE MONTANA METH PROJECT IN 2005, WE ARE SEEING THAT OUR AWARENESS AND PREVENTION EFFORTS HAVE HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON TEENS. THE 2021 YOUTH RISK BEHAVIOR SURVEY ALSO REPORTS THE LOWEST NATIVE AMERICAN TEEN METH USE EVER REPORTED. THE MONTANA METH PREVENTION LESSON VIDEO IS THE ONLY RECOGNIZED METH PREVENTION CURRICULUM RECOGNIZED BY THE NATIONAL RED RIBBON CAMPAIGN. THE LESSON VIDEO HAS SEEN A 300% INCREASE IN STUDENT USE OVER THE PREVIOUS LESSON. OUR CAMPAIGNS GARNER 1,250,000 IMPRESSIONS PER WEEK THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, SHARES, AND A SMALL MIX OF TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING.