Anti-meth campaign
set to launch next week in Colorado LOVELAND -- Methamphetamine
can affect all types of different people, even those furthest from using it themselves. Now,
an anti-meth campaign will launch next week to show those dangers. Partnership
for a Drug-Free America and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., announced the media
campaign on Wednesday at Island Grove Regional Treatment Center. Deb Hill,
an addiction counselor with Island Grove, talked about her experiences with meth,
especially the first time she used the drug. "I had found nirvana,"
Hill said. "It made me feel like the person I wanted to be." Although
she said she felt strong and funny, she talked about how her life fell apart.
She said the recovery was long and tough, but she experienced hope. In 2005
in Weld County, Island Grove saw a 62 percent increase in women who were pregnant,
had dependent children and admitted using meth. The center saw a 20 percent increase
to 860 admissions who reported meth usage. As a state, Colorado ranks 49th in
the nation for the amount of money spent on substance abuse treatment, said Kendall
Alexander, executive director of Island Grove. Education about the destruction
caused by meth is important, and so is the message of hope, Hill said. One
commercial will show a girl who is affected by the drug because of the person
who lives below her. Another shows a man who has health problems because he doesn't
know his home used to house a meth lab. Greeley City Councilwoman Debbie
Pilch said she is happy the campaign is coming to the state. "I think
the education that it can happen to anybody at anytime is important," Pilch
said at the meeting. "We have to get the message out. It's not going to happen
overnight, but we have to start somewhere."
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