Don't Meth With Us

Methamphetamine is the most addictive substance currently known.  After two tries, a person is almost certain to become addicted.  About six years ago, the Rotary Club in San Juan County, NM, developed a plan to fight this menace to our entire society.  Because it is so hard to stop after addiction, they decided to try a method to keep people from ever trying it.  The San Juan Rotary Club developed a presentation and delivered it to all fifth graders in their public schools every year.  Their project is described on their website and was featured in a recent issue of The Rotarian magazine.  Over the past five or six years, the numbers of arrests of those 18 and under dropped from about 36 per year to 1 in 2009.  We understand that it was zero last year.

The three Las Cruces Rotary Clubs have joined together to launch the Las Cruces "Don't Meth With Us" program in 2012.  In coordination with the Las Cruces Public Schools and with the assistance of individual Rotarians and community sponsors, we presented our message to six of the eight sixth grade classes in April and May 2012.  (Photos are from the visit to Zia Middle School in May 2012.)  The message presented emphasized that making good choices is important and that trying meth is a very bad decision.  We explained what kinds of materials are used to make methamphetamine and just how poisonous they are.  There were “before and after” photos of people showing the damage to skin, the mouth, and overall appearance after short times on meth.  The message included that these students are “the future”, and they are very important to our community.  The motto of the project is “We are the future!!  Don’t Meth with Us!!”

For more information, please contact Mel Parish, 522-0125 or 644-0102.

2012-13 Presentations

News coverage:  See and hear the recent story from KRWG-FM regarding this project!