6-12-07 - Authorities are hoping to crack down on methamphetamine related crimes by convincing kids not to try the drug even once.

Methamphetamine continues to be a growing problems across the United States. In Montana, officials tried an unusual approach of using a series of shocking ads to eliminate the demand, leaving suppliers with noone to sell to.

They are public service ads unlike any you've probably ever seen. The Montana Meth program is aimed at kids with one simple message; don't try it even once. In Wichita, Parallax drug counselor Michael Stewart says, "As long as they can get that in their heads, that's all we need."

Michael Stewart started using meth when he was just 16 years-old. He knows how addictive the drug is and how quickly your life can spiral out of control.

Stewart now counsels other young addicts. He, along with Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed desperately want to bring the Montana Meth message to Kansas. "They make people stop and watch and even if you have seen them once already, you stop and watch again and again," says Steed.

The ads are shown over and over, saturating the screen. They show attractive, healthy teens before and then after meth, soon making them unrecognizable to themselves.

In Montana, the ads have proven effective. For the first time, the Montana attorney general reports a 70% decrease in the number of workers testing positive for meth, a 41% decrease in criminals testing positive for meth, and the number of meth-related crimes dropped by more than 50% in just one year.

Sheriff Steed wants the program in Kansas within a year.