After years of prosecuting an ever-growing number of methamphetamine cases, Cullman County District Attorney Wilson Blaylock decided a different approach was needed. Through Blaylock’s efforts along with the support of Alabama’s 41 other district attorneys, the ZEROMETH awareness campaign soon took shape.

Gov. Bob Riley, Sen. Richard Shelby, the Alabama Congressional Delegation and the state’s district attorneys recently announced the implementation of the statewide campaign, which targets teens and young adults with a reality-based message on the dangers of meth use.

“This campaign was born out of the stark realization of what meth abuse and addiction is doing to our country,” Blaylock said in a press release. “We realized that the best way to cure the addiction was to prevent it from ever taking place to begin with.”

The campaign utilizes television, print, and outdoor advertising as well as a specially-made website to spread awareness about meth. The driving force behind the campaign is three television spots portraying the haunting effects of meth addiction. Each spot observes average teens succumbing to the effects of the drug.

“We hope to generate a general and statewide dialog about the dangers of meth,” Blaylock said. “The goal is to arm our children with explicit, firsthand knowledge of meth use without ever having to come near the drug.”

According to the ZEROMETH Web site, methamphetamine is a powerful stimulant made from over the counter drugs (mainly decongestants) and products found around the house, such as drain cleaner, ammonia and even battery acid. After meth enters the bloodstream, it invades the central nervous center and reacts with the body’s natural levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which it floods into the pleasure centers of the brain. The drug can be smoked, injected, snorted or swallowed.

Meth use can result in a loss of appetite, paranoia, depression, suicidal thoughts and delusional sensations. The teeth of meth users can also rot and fall out due to malnutrition.

Increased awareness about meth is not a new concept in Cullman County. The Cullman County Sheriff’s Office has spent a much time and money to teach residents about the threat meth represents. Sheriff Tyler Roden said his office has a special meth-mobile made from a hearse that deputies use to inform the community about the drug.

“We hope when people see that, people will be able to discuss it (meth) with their kids,” Roden said. “We hope people do not do it (meth) the first time. It could lead to an early ride in a hearse.”

The sheriff’s office has good reason to spread meth awareness. In the past six months, sheriff’s investigators have busted 18 meth labs, which is more than all the labs taken down during the previous year.

“They’ve learned how to streamline the meth making process,” Roden said. “It’s a little quicker and easier.”

Roden added the increase in meth labs could be due to the influence from law enforcement.

“It could be that through working with federal law enforcement, we’ve been able to deter the flow of meth coming in from outside Cullman County,” Roden said. “So they’ve turned to making it themselves.”

For more information on meth uses and the dangers involved, visit the ZEROMETH website at www.zerometh.com.