IdahoReporter.com

Idaho Meth Project director rejects study’s findings on graphic ads

A study last by a researcher at the University of Washington is calling into question the effect graphic anti-meth advertisements are having on rates of use of the drug in Montana.  The director of the Idaho Meth Project, Megan Ronk, rejected the findings of the study, saying that the researcher didn’t consider proper data in his work.

The study, conducted by D. Mark Warner, a Montana native, was published in September’s Journal of Health Economics. Warner said that meth use in Montana was already trending downward when the Montana Meth Project, the first of its kind, was launched in 2005 and that the effects of the advertisements put out by the project are “statistically indistinguishable from zero.”  He also criticized the lack of seriously-conducted research on the effectiveness of the work of the project.  ”From a policy perspective,” Anderson wrote, “this research is important because it highlights the ineffectiveness of a campaign that is widely regarded as successful.”

Ronk rejected Warner’s work.  ”We disagree with the conclusion,” Ronk told IdahoReporter.com. “He used a very narrow set of data.”  Ronk said that Warner seemed to ignore an accelerated rate of decline in meth use after the Montana Meth Project launched its efforts in 2005.

The Idaho Meth Project has been the benefactor of both public and private efforts.  Its most recent project, an anti-meth art contest dubbed “Paint the State,” featured more than $135,000 in prize money awarded by several companies in Idaho.  Earlier this year, the project received $500,000 in funding from the Idaho Legislature.

The head of the Montana Meth Project pitched a similar argument when asked about the results of the study.  Bill Slaughter, head of that project in Montana, said that between 1999 and 2005, meth use in his state fell 39 percent among residents.  But between 2005 and 2009, meth use dropped by 63 percent. Slaughter also pointed out that crime directly linked to meth use in Montana was down 63 percent between 2005 and 2007 after years of sharp increases.  Montana also took in fewer foster children due to meth use by parents in the years of the project.

But will the Idaho Meth Project take Warner’s findings into consideration?  It’s not likely, said Ronk.  ”I think we feel confident with successes we’ve seen of our counterparts and here in Idaho,” Ronk concluded.  ”We’re committed to the direction of the project in the state.”

Idaho has seen its own decreases in meth use by teens and young adults.  Gov. Butch Otter, whose wife Lori is the figurehead of the Idaho Meth Project, announced earlier this year that the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior survey found a 52 percent decline in use of the drug by Idaho teens.  Otter attributed the drop to the Idaho Meth Project, as well as law enforcement and treatment efforts.

Shortly after the governor’s praise of the project, one Idaho lawmaker questioned the Otter’s accolades.  House Minority Leader John Rusche, a Democrat from Lewiston, said that though the work of the project has been worthwhile, state and national regulation of key ingredients used in the production of meth likely contributed to drops in use. Rusche told IdahoReporter.com last week that he wasn’t criticizing the Idaho Meth Project, but rather showing a “multi-faceted approach” to meth prevention.