Apparently Georgia Has a Meth Problem
April 13th, 2009 by TraciiIn response to its growing meth problem, Georgia is joining seven other states in launching its own privately-funded anti-meth campaign. The Georgia Meth Project will combine community outreach programs with an aggressive PSA campaign urging Georgians not to do the drug “not even once”.
According to recent RAND Corporation statistics, meth abuse costs Georgians around $1.3 billion per year and accounts for 51% of all drug treatment admissions in the state.
Sandra Conton, Drug Counseling Coordinator for Advantage Behavioral Health Systems in Georgia said:
The drugs themselves are not the problem. The addictive potential is the issue.
She likens the rise of clandestine meth labs to moonshining during the alcohol prohibition era, and she’s not the first to make that comparison.
Despite the infamous “Faces of Meth” campaign and the horror stories circulating the media, many first-time users are surprisingly uninformed about the consequences of meth abuse, often equating it with softer drugs like marijuana and alcohol. (Another result of drug war propaganda perhaps? Just saying.)
Montana has seen a 70% decrease in meth abuse since the inception of the program in 2005. If handled properly, The Georgia Meth Project could prevent a lot of people from succumbing to the epidemic, though many would argue it should’ve never happened in the first place.
