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Leaders discuss dangers of meth
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Forsyth County News

On the Net

For more information on the Georgia Meth Project, go online at www.georgia.methproject.org.

The program manager for a campaign aimed at preventing methamphetamine use gave an update on the initiative’s progress this week.

Latrina Patrick of the Georgia Meth Project spoke Monday during the monthly Forsyth County Juvenile Court/Community Connection stakeholders luncheon at the Coal Mountain Park Community Building.

Patrick said the project, which began in 2010 in Georgia, is primarily aimed at kids ages 12 to 17.

The campaign uses commercials that run during prime time and radio advertisements to get its message across.

She said the program shifted its message this month to encourage youngsters to ask questions about meth.

"Even though our theme is still ‘not even once,’ the big push now is the AskMeth project," she said. "That’s centered around our new Web site that is so awesome and specifically for kids."

Patrick said about 90 percent of children who have watched the campaign’s commercials said they went back afterward and did research on the subject.

She said the site is designed to educate the public about the effects and dangers of meth use.

In the months before the prevention program launched in Georgia last year, some 3,000 youngsters from across the state were surveyed.

"What we found out was at that time 35 percent of Georgia’s teens thought there was little to no risk in using meth," Patrick said.

"What’s even worse is that 23 percent of our kids thought that there was an actual benefit to using meth … whether it was to lose weight or have more energy, this is what our kids thought prior to launching the campaign."

Patrick said the study also found that about 58 percent of those surveyed hadn’t talked to their parents about the drug.

She noted meth is more addictive than heroin and four to five times more addictive than cocaine.

"Typically, the majority of people who do meth are instantly addicted," Patrick said.