http://www.sierraclub.org/...
When sheriff's deputies in sparsely populated northeastern Arizona received a tip about a stolen vehicle in 1999, they figured they'd be able to make a bust near the town of Show Low and be back at Apache County headquarters in St. Johns in time for lunch. Instead, they stumbled into one of the largest clandestine methamphetamine labs found in the state that year. The easy part was arresting the three suspects-brothers ages56, 62, and 64, who lived on the property and had in their possession 39 weapons, including a fully automatic Mac-10 with a 50-round magazine and a 30 aught-six rifle with a spotting scope. Then the dangerous work began.
Arizona Attorney General "Terry Goddard" , infamous for his work on fighting polygamy and child rape issues in Colorado Issues has found a direct connection between a number of violent crimes in Arizona and Meth; especially with ID Theft.
He has this message on his website:
http://www.azag.gov/...
This week I joined with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America to kick off an exciting public awareness campaign to better educate Arizonans about the dangers of meth. Over the last year and a half, I have visited communities throughout Arizona to discuss the meth epidemic afflicting our state. The impact of meth on every part of the community - not just law enforcement, but schools, health care providers and businesses - cannot be overstated.
http://www.azcentral.com/...
The statistics are alarming:
* In Arizona, 52,000 people used meth last year. Nearly one in five children age 12 to 17 have been offered meth.
* In 2003, 42 percent of females booked into Maricopa County jail tested positive for meth.
* Surveys show that 65 percent of child-abuse and neglect cases in the state involve meth.
* Meth hospital admissions surged 229 percentduring 2000 to 2004, according to a 2005 study by the University of Arizona.
Nationally, more than 12.3 million Americans have tried meth and an estimated 1.5 millionare considered regular users
THE MONTANA METH PROJECT
http://www.montanameth.org/...
THE T.V ADS:
http://www.montanameth.org/...
The Montana Meth Project employs a three-pronged strategy to achieve a significant reduction in methamphetamine abuse statewide.
* Sustain a large scale public service advertising and internet marketing campaign targeted at Montana's most Meth vulnerable group - youth ages 12-17.
* Maintain ongoing communication campaign to raise the levels of community awareness of the critical nature of the Meth problem in Montana.
* Mobilize community groups across the state in Meth education and prevention efforts.
*A meth lab can operate unnoticed in any neighborhood for years, causing serious health hazards to everyone around. For each pound of meth produced, five to six pounds of highly toxic waste are generated, posing immediate and long-term health hazards.
* Cleaning up a meth lab site requires specialized training and costs thousands of dollars per site.
* Hundreds of children are neglected and endangered every year by living with parents who are meth cooks. Children who reside in or near meth labs are at great risk of being harmed from an explosion, as well as from the toxic fumes that can cause skin sores and seriously damage young lungs and brains.
* Cooking meth is extremely dangerous, and labs sometimes catch on fire and explode.
* Children living in labs are known to be harmed from dangerous chemicals left out by parents, suffer from behavioral problems, malnourishment, physical or sexual abuse, and can be burned or fatally injured from a fire or explosion.
* Hospitals and burn units are seeing far more injuries due to chemical burns and toxic explosions where meth is produced. The care required for such injuries is specialized and puts a huge strain on hospitals and state medical programs.
* Meth labs are mini-crime waves; the rate of burglary, robbery, ID theft and even murder in the immediate area is significantly above the area norm. Meth users will do almost anything to pay for their habits.
====================
This is a very complicated issue ...
But check out the ADS first, and comment what you think... off base ? on base? crazy crap? awesome ?
