Meth Destroys:The High Is A Lie is a comprehensive methamphetamine educational campaign.  This campaign includes a Website, printed materials, public service announcements, community relations, media relations and advertising.  We are taking this anti-methamphetamine message out into the communities and schools in order to get our voices heard.  Our plans are to kick off this statewide campaign in Polk County this coming September 2006 and we have invited Dr. Mary Holley, the national founder of Mothers Against Methamphetamine along with Mr. William Janes, the Director of Office of Drug Control to join us as we launch this exciting campaign.   We have included real people in our campaign materials with images and stories of the methamphetamine users and their families, here in the state of Florida. For more information, please visit our website www.methfreeproject.com

BACKGROUND:  Meth Free Project is an outreach of Leland Family Ministries.  This chapter was framed and formed from the national Meth Free Project.  Dr. Mary Holley, a medical doctor and national founder of Mothers Against Methamphetamine, piloted this organization.  Dr. Holley’s brother got addicted to meth and not only was the family destroyed, but Dr. Holley’s brother committed suicide.  It was at that point where she invested her own personal money into the medical research of this deadly drug called methamphetamine.  Libbie Combee, President of the Meth Free Project has geared up for this campaign in Polk County due to the fact that she was a meth user and her son became a meth user.  Libbie has turned her life around and has been free of drugs for twelve years.  It has been her mission to go into the juvenile detention centers, county jails, state prisons, schools and her community to educate young and old of the deadly effects of this drug called methamphetamine.  Libbie also wants to take this crusade around the State of Florida.  Her main focus is community education through presentations.  Meth Free Project has six community recovery groups weekly; one weekly family support group; four groups in the county jails on a weekly basis; and three recovery groups in the rehab centers, and one teen education program.  The Polk County Sheriff’s Department has partnered with the Meth Free Projects through a Federal Cops Grant to help us defrat the costs of flyers, brochures, and seminars.  Libbie has been invited in the past to provide input to the Office of Drug Control Statewide Methamphetamine Task Force Committee. She has also played a vital role not only in the Polk County arena, but in the State of Florida for initiating the Meth Destroys:The High Is A Lie Campaign. 

TARGET AUDIENCE: Meth Free Projects are focusing their efforts on educating youth, adults and families on the dangers of this deadly drug called methamphetamine.   This campaign is focusing mainly on the youth and getting educational materials to teens that fall into the middle school and high school age groups. 

CAMPAIGN THEME:  METH DESTROYS: THE HIGH IS A LIE.
Since young people are more apt to get involved in this deadly drug called methamphetamine, our campaign centers around specific problems. The physical effects of the drug, paranoia which is associated with meth use, and environmental concerns since Polk County used to be the meth lab capital of the South. One of the most important components of this campaign is the DVD, The High is A Lie, that will show the medical effects of this deadly drug called methamphetamine and how it affects the brain. 

CAMPAIGN WEBSITE – www.methfreeproject.com 
The Meth Destroys:The High Is A Lie website is designed with the youth in mind.  This website contains numerous educational resources about methamphetamine, including its effects on the body, referral information for suspected meth labs, local law enforcement contacts, an outlet for individuals to share stories about meth, and referrals for individuals or loved ones using the drug.  It also contains all campaign materials for download, meth-related news stories and campaign media information.  There are forms that the public can request materials or a guest speaker to present an educational seminar.  The website will also contain information about youth-specific events and programs like the Youth Leadership Council and the Girl Scout Patch Program. 

CAMPAIGN MATERIALS: The National Organization Mothers Against Methamphetamine has created the following materials for specific use to get the message out that METH DESTROYS:THE HIGH IS A LIE.  

• Meth Destroys:The High Is A Lie Brochures
• Posters with factual pictures
• DVD - The High Is A Lie
• Meth Destroys buttons
• Meth Destroys T-shirts
• Meth Destroys Banners
• Meth Destroys Bracelets
             

YOUTH OUTREACH:  The Youth Leadership Council will be addressing their communities, speaking to churches, schools, and civic groups about the dangers of this deadly drug called methamphetamine.  After each presentation, they will be sharing information on the posters and passing out brochures to remind the audience of the horrific effects of methamphetamine.  In addition, the yearly Youth Leadership Summit will have guest speakers who are experts in the field drugs, recovering addicts for their testimonies, and first hand accounts of the devastating effects of this deadly drug which is called methamphetamine.  There will be forums whereby the Youth Leadership Councils will come together at this Summit and brainstorm additional ways to teach the youth in their communities about the dangers of meth and they will have an opportunity to participate in a community outreach service project geared toward helping children who have been taken from meth-contaminated homes.  The project is aimed to encourage these young people to return to their own communities and educate others about the dangers of this deadly drug called methamphetamine. 

In addition, Meth Free Project is sponsoring a Meth Destroys Patch Program.  The purpose of this Meth Destroys Patch Program is to raise girls’ methamphetamine awareness while applying the Meth Destroys:The High Is A Lie campaign to the community as an educational and prevention tool against the most addictive substance ever manufactured – methamphetamine.

The goals of the Meth Destroys Patch Program are as follows:

1. To develop community awareness of the harmful effects of meth use.
2. To introduce the Meth Destroys:The High Is A Lie campaign to the Girl Scouts.
3. To develop activities that allow the Girl Scouts to show commitment and success to the fight against meth.
4. To provide a learning experience for Girl Scouts that affords a strong knowledge base for teaching others about the negative effects of meth.
5. To provide medical information through The High Is A Lie, DVD.

After completing the program, Girl Scouts are awarded the Meth Destroys:The High Is A Lie Patch.  The patch will be mailed to the home of each Girl Scout, along with a congratulatory letter from Mothers Against Methamphetamine.