Montana Meth

These are the most powerful anti-drug advertisements I've ever seen anywhere. The state of Montana has started a potent anti-meth campaign called the Montana Meth Project featuring radio, television and print advertisements aimed at stopping first time meth users and consequently creeping the shit out of everyone else.

Finally someone realized that these advertisements need to be a little more visually shocking than eggs in a frying pan.

The first one I ever saw on TV was the sensory-shocking "Eyebrow" commercial (30 sec/QT required...let it load all the way before watching). Caught completely off guard during the first 15 seconds, I was cringing and wondering, what the fuck are these people trying to sell me? Then I realized what it was. Without giving away too much, there was a girl I knew at my junior high in Texas who did the same thing to herself, but not quite to that degree. I don't think she was on meth--I think she said it was a nervous habit, but it was disgusting. Maybe that's why the commercial bothered me so much. My toes still curl when I watch it.

Socioeconomically, meth is the poor man's coke, although not exclusively these days. Demographically, meth is popular in the Midwest, the South, and anywhere rural. In 1997, my home state of Missouri was the top-ranking state for the number of meth labs busted. Every year, someone I know there tells me that the county I come from is has the highest density of meth lab busts in the country. Inspiring, I know. The only person I've ever known to do meth was a best friend I've had since kindergarten who ended up in a hospital seriously close to certain death from an overdose. It could have been a hot shot or it could have been a simple overdose, but he'll never do it again.

However you want to look at it, ingesting something that is made from such substances as fertilizer, drain cleaner, OTC cold medicines, iodine flakes, nail polish remover, battery acid, and ground up match heads is probably not the most productive thing to be doing. This makes my addiction to coffee look wholesome by comparison.

For more fun, here are some before and after photos of meth addicts.