New strategy for Montana Meth Project, art contest

"Not even once."

It's the slogan for the Montana Meth Project, a nonprofit organization with the mission of reducing methamphetamine use. The project is known for dark, impacting advertising urging young people to stay away from the drug.

That slogan will soon be added to submissions for the organization's third Paint the State art contest.

"Meth has been a driving force in local crime for well over a decade," said Cascade County Attorney John Parker, who also serves as the Montana Meth Project board vice president. "It's been a factor in a wide range of burglaries, domestic violence, one arson and several different homicides."

The drug also plays a part in the "unmanageable" caseload heaped on employees with Child Protective Services in Montana, said first lady and Montana Meth Project board member Lisa Bullock. She shared statistics from CPS regarding meth use in the state.

In 2010, 230 children were placed in the foster care system due to suspected meth use. That number grew to 765 this past June. Meth use represented 27 percent of the total number foster care placements in 2010, and jumped to 55 percent of placements this June. Those statistics only account for cases within the state district court system, not tribal courts.

"Numbers overall are very telling of how destructive this drug is in terms of children and families," Bullock said. "But even if you look at it from a purely financial perspective, if you think about the burden it places on our state budget for CPS and our Department of Corrections, it's tragic."

There is no question that meth use is incredibly damaging to the community and the drug itself is dangerously addictive, but questions surrounding the project's effectiveness did start swirling several years ago. Yet the focus and methods of the Montana Meth Project have changed, much like the landscape of meth use itself.

Restrictions on pseudoephedrine purchase and lab-focused training for law enforcement officers have significantly decreased the manufacture of meth in Montana, Parker said. Now, meth made in Mexico with alarming purity is being smuggled into the state at a rate that is actually driving the price down. That means demand is up, Parker added.

"We need to remain vigilant," said Amy Rue, executive director of the Montana Meth Project. "We have to stay the course. This conversation has to be had."

The organization has moved the conversation online. Rue explained that the recent uptick in meth use is largely among adults, while the Meth Project focuses on prevention among young people ages 12 to 19. They've shifted the method of message delivery from television, radio and billboards to YouTube videos and social media sites.

Rue noted that this approach targets teens where they frequently communicate and costs less. The Montana Meth Project was launched in 2005 with a grant from the Siebel Foundation and a $5 million operating budget. Rue said the project gained "market saturation" with that budget through the more "traditional" advertising methods to reach its target demographic several times per week.

Its new strategy may be less visible to adults, Rue explained, but the Montana Meth project is reaching teens and young adults with the same frequency for one-seventh the cost.

That strategy will be applied to to the Paint the State contest, too. This year all submissions will be tagged with the "Not even once" slogan and shared via social media.

Paint the State is a public art contest for individuals 12 and older or teams of four. Submissions will be accepted through July 15. Artwork must be clearly visible to the public from July 16 through Sept. 15, whether online or in a public location.

The aim is to broadly communicate the risks of methamphetamine use through works of art including video, artwork/photography, and outdoor/monuments/sculptures, according to a Montana Meth project media release. The competition offers participants a way to become involved in the anti-meth campaign and compete for cash prizes.

The prizes include three $7,500 Celebrity Artists Awards given by a panel of four celebrities with Montana ties: Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons, country singer and songwriter Tyler Barham, artist Larry Pirnie and photographer Mark Mesenko.

The public will vote online for three $2,500 People's Choice Award-winners in each category for a total prize of up to $10,000. The online votes will be based on social media impressions, Rue explained.

"This is a new way for us to execute paint the state," she added. "We're using a platform that is more conducive to how teens communicate."