Oregon Among Eight States Tapped for National Anti-Meth Campaign

"For more than a decade Oregon has led the nation in admissions to treatment for methamphetamine addiction," said Karen Wheeler, addictions policy manager in the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore. ) - Oregon is one of eight states selected by the Office of National Drug Control Policy for a six-month anti-methamphetamine broadcast and print advertising campaign that begins today.

The campaign, using ads developed by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the Montana Meth Project and the state of Tennessee, is a result of a congressional directive to ONDCP to spend 10 percent of its approximately $100 million annual media campaign budget to fight methamphetamine.

"For more than a decade Oregon has led the nation in admissions to treatment for methamphetamine addiction," said Karen Wheeler, addictions policy manager in the Oregon Department of Human Services. "We believe this will heighten Oregonians' awareness not only that methamphetamine is dangerous but also that treatment works and recovery is a reality."

The ads' target audience is people ages 18 to 34, with those ages 35-54 a secondary audience.

The campaign will run in states' large newspapers, selected major-market television and radio stations, and in small-market radio and alternative newspapers. It also will have a presence on Google, Yahoo and MySpace.

The ads direct people to local resources for more information.

Television ads use a range of techniques -- such as graphic depictions to encourage people not to experiment with methamphetamine and hard-hitting personal testimonials urging meth users to seek treatment.

States participating in the ONDCP campaign in addition to Oregon are Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Washington and parts of California and Illinois.

States were chosen based on methamphetamine use prevalence, treatment admissions and existing anti-methamphetamine campaigns, said Robert Denniston, director of ONDCP's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

The seven broadcast ads were reviewed by an expert panel and then field tested before being selected.

Serving on the expert panel were representatives of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Penn State University and the Ad Council, and the former director of Iowa's division of substance abuse.