Meth prevention videos win national awards

August 22, 2003

Use of Methamphetamine, an illegal and highly addictive drug, is on the rise. And the clandestine labs where it's made are popping up on a regular basis. But there are ways to curb the spread.

Because it's difficult to recover from a Methamphetamine addiction, the best course of action is to reduce demand by educating the public about the devastating damage it brings to users, their families, and the community. That is the goal of a series of videos produced by Marathon County Sheriff’s Department and The Post House with assistance from the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation-Narcotics Bureau.

Two of these locally produced videos about Methamphetamine have received national recognition.

Methamphetamine: A Vicious Cycle was recently awarded a Silver Award in Media Excellence (AiME) from the Media Communications Association-International (MCA-I). At just under twenty-nine minutes, this documentary style program features interviews with Meth users, a family member, law enforcement, a public health official, a DNR warden, and a treatment specialist. The real stories told through the interviews are punctuated with dramatizations showing what the speaker is discussing.

Meth or Death, a thirty-second public service announcement, received a Gold AiME. In this spot, targeted to teens, a recovering meth addict describes some of the negative effects of meth use, concluding that, "You'll regret it. You'll end up in jail, you'll end up in rehab, or you'll end up dead.”

The videos were funded by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Policing Services grant #2002-CKWX0209 through the Marathon County Sheriff’s Department. They will be used by law enforcement, schools, treatment centers, and others throughout Wisconsin.

Methamphetamine: A Vicious Cycle and Methamphetamine: Bad Chemistry, a twenty-five minute program targeting teens, are each available on VHS. Both videos plus three public service announcements and information about the production are available on DVD. There is no cost for the DVD or VHS copies, but numbers are limited. To request a copy, contact Captain Tom Kujawa of the Marathon County Sheriff's Department at 715-261-1066.