Pubdate: Wed, 27 Sep 2006
Source: Farmington Daily Times (NM)
Copyright: 2006 Farmington Daily Times
Contact:  http://www.daily-times.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/951
Author: Emily Zah
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH MONTER HELPS RAISE COMMUNITY AWARENESS (PART 7)

Editor's note: This is the seventh in a series of stories on the 
local methamphetamine crisis.

FARMINGTON -- A little black DVD has a two-word phrase scrolling 
across the center. The words are "Who knew?"

Who knew that methamphetamine was a major problem in San Juan County 
before the DVD "Meth Monster" was released?

"The Meth Monster' (project) introduced me to the problem. It was an 
eye-opening experience for sure," said Justin Hunt, 30, who produced the DVD.

The DVD, since its release in 2004, is used by area libraries, 
schools and various companies to educate people about the extent of 
meth use and its effects in San Juan County.

The 18-minute documentary interviews law enforcement agents, health 
professionals and a meth addict, who all explain the reaches meth has 
on communities and its individual victims.

"It's not even a drug anymore. It's a person that people are scared 
of," Hunt said.

The project took Hunt four months to finish, he said.

The idea for the DVD came out of Leadership San Juan, a group of 
local leaders who recruited Hunt to complete the project, said Nancy 
Shepard, dean of continuing education and community development at 
San Juan College. "Meth Monster" became the group's class project for the year.

"They raised the money and contracted Justin Hunt to produce it," she 
said, adding that the DVD has been used widely in the community.

"It's powerful. People who've seen it have expressed an interest in 
showing it to their kids. Oil field companies have purchased it to 
show to employees," she said.

Marjorie Black, a coordinator for San Juan Safe Communities 
Initiative, said "Meth Monster" portrays meth in a graphic manner.

"It's very graphic and disturbing depiction of meth use," she said.

Hunt said the filming of "Meth Monster" has driven him to start 
another similar project on a larger scale.

His next documentary, which he hopes to have finished early next year 
pending some funding sources, is tentatively called "American Meth." 
In this production, Hunt said he has traveled across various western 
states to examine how meth addicts live and how communities are 
addressing the problem.

He said he shows that many people, such as leaders and community 
members, haven't acknowledged the extensive repercussions meth is 
having on every community.

"I would compare (the meth problem) to the AIDS epidemic in the early 
'80s, when it was running rampant. That's the effect meth is having. 
It's just not affecting households, it's affecting the community. If 
it's affecting the community, it's effecting America," he said.

He said for his new project he has 25 hours of footage and still 
hopes to interview New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for his project. 
In addition, he said actor Val Kilmer is performing the voice over in 
the documentary.

He hopes that "American Meth" will open people's eyes to meth and its 
effect in the same way Ryan White did for AIDS awareness. White, a 
teenager who died from complications due to AIDS, sparked national 
attention to the disease in the 1980s.

"I hope (American Meth) will be a Ryan White," he said. "I want to 
help people get fired up and take a stand against what's going on. We 
need to take a stance against meth."
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman