EFFORTS TO FIGHT METH TO INCLUDE ADS ON TV

The spots are intended to show that the human toll of the drug
reaches beyond just the user.

Methamphetamine fighters in Iowa who successfully campaigned for
restrictions on the sale of over-the-counter cold medicines announced
Monday that they will take their message directly to the public.

Federal and state officials, with the support of Gov. Tom Vilsack,
rolled out a series of television advertisements Monday that aim to
convey the human toll of the drug not only on users, but their
children and neighbors.

In one of the 30-second ads, a little girl in an apartment plays with
blocks, unaware that she is being exposed to noxious vapors from a
meth lab in an apartment below. "Jamie's body is deteriorating," says
the narrator. "And she doesn't even know it. Who has the drug problem now?"

Steve Pasierb, president of the nonprofit Partnership for a Drug-Free
America, called the ad campaign "a new front" in a drug war that has
been "marginalized" by much of the American public. Only one state
reported more discoveries of meth-related laboratories in 2004 than
Iowa, according to federal officials.

"We're taking this tack because the meth issue truly is complex. It
really is different than a lot of other drug issues America deals
with," Pasierb said.

Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that contains
pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient of cold medicines that can be
extracted and cooked for smoking, snorting, injecting or eating. The
manufacturing process is fairly easy, but dangerous: the mix of
ingredients is highly toxic and flammable, often causing explosions
that spread chemicals into the air.

The Iowa Legislature passed stiff laws last year that put most
pseudoephedrine behind the counter, limited the quantities that could
be purchased and required buyers to present photo identification. So
far, state officials have reported a dramatic reduction in the number
of lab discoveries.

But anti-drug crusaders want to stem the demand for meth as well.
Officials appealed Monday to television stations in 23 cities to run
the new ads, free of charge, as public-service announcements.

Tonya Parks, a recovering 32-year-old meth addict from Des Moines'
east side, spoke at Monday's news conference. "It is available
everywhere, from people I didn't even know," she said.

Parks said she finally checked herself into a treatment facility last
July, four months after she gave birth to a daughter who later tested
positive for the drug. Parks lost custody of the girl, but has since
won her back and has been clean for nearly six months.

"I gave my daughter life," Parks said, "but she saved mine."

Vilsack used Monday's news conference to bolster a separate campaign
to raise the state's cigarette tax. The governor called cigarettes an
"entry drug" for youngsters who later seek out greater highs like
those provided by meth.

"It's important for the Legislature to understand that if the cost of
that product is increased, fewer young people are going to smoke. And
if fewer young people smoke, fewer young people are going to take the
next step to alcohol and meth," he said.

After the news conference, Vilsack clarified that meth use was not
the only reason to support a cigarette tax. "All of it relates to
health care," he said.

The governor proposed an 80-cent-a-pack tax earlier this year to
provide more money for health care services for the poor. The
proposal failed, but Vilsack has since renewed his push for the tax.