Montana is 1,200 miles from our southern border, yet the effects of the border crisis ripple across our state. In late March, many of our U.S. senators visited the southern border. Unfortunately, serious dialogue about meth entering our country became the brunt of political banter on social media and national headlines. It saddens us that many misinterpreted and misrepresented factual comments were made and distracted from the much larger issue. We cannot let that be the end of the story in the fight against meth. Meth is one of the most addictive, most available and, in some areas, least e ..read more

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — A needs assessment that was completed late last year by the Montana Department of Justice, but has yet to be made public, provides insight into the state’s battle with methamphetamine from the perspectives of 99 former users. The primary goal of the project, formally titled “Methamphetamine Use in Montana,” was to learn more about “precursors to initiation and course of methamphetamine disorders among users,” the report states. A secondary focus was to better understand users’ experiences with the justice and child welfare systems, successful and unsuccessful treatment ..read more

The Montana Meth Project has released a new educational video in an effort to help teachers explain the facts around meth and the dangers of addiction in the face of a pandemic that’s putting extra stress on teen students who are vulnerable to drug use. The 20-minute Montana Meth Prevention Lesson Video shows the harmful effects of meth use and addiction through animations, graphics, imagery and interviews with experts and teens in recovery. Hosted by Missoula science teacher Mike Crockett, the video is designed to be a free, one-click tool for teachers, homeschool parents and other educato ..read more

Annual report outlines strategic review of threats posed by drugs and drug traffickers WASHINGTON – DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon today announced the publication of the 2019 National Drug Threat Assessment, which outlines the threats posed to the United States by domestic and international drug trafficking and the abuse of illicit drugs. “This year’s report illustrates a shifting drug landscape in the United States,” said Acting Administrator Dhillon. “We’re pleased that in 2018, drug overdose deaths declined over four percent overall, with even greater decreases – over 13 percent – i ..read more

The Montana Meth Project is a unique and large-scale undertaking that aims to prevent teens from using meth for the first time. The Montana Meth Project seeks to achieve this through a combination of public service announcements and messages, public policy, and outreach in the community. One of the key resources people can turn to is also the MethProject.org, which provides a great deal of research and information that could be relevant to teens and their parents. The Costs of Meth The mission of the Montana Meth Project, which was started by Thomas M. Siebel, is to create an effective prevent ..read more

Attorney General William Barr will be in Kalispell on Friday to meet with law enforcement about the state’s ongoing methamphetamine crisis. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, who will also be in attendance, invited Barr to Kalispell. The round table will feature officials from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Kalispell Police Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service at the Flathead County Sheriff’s Posse Center at 2 p.m. “It is my honor to bring Attorney General Barr to Kalispell this Friday to join me and members of our local law enforcement community as we address way ..read more

Whether raising donations or raising awareness, charity campaigning has a long history. Take the “associational charities” of the 18th century – which saw the great and good such as painter Hogarth and composer Handel launching subscription concerts and events to fund the Foundling Hospital in Bloomsbury, rebranding its inhabitants as innocents rather than wantons, deserving of your charity, not your opprobrium. There are three key audience responses embedded in charity advertising’s DNA – shock, empathy and fear. Scroll forward two centuries to the first Save the Children campaign, launched j ..read more

Although the Northwest Montana Drug Task Force took less methamphetamine off the streets in 2018 than years past, addiction persists in stressing local systems Drug addiction continues to strain local law enforcement and medical providers in the Flathead Valley. The impact of drug addiction — specifically methamphetamine and heroin — was the subject of a Feb. 20 roundtable discussion at Kalispell Regional Healthcare with U.S. Sen. Steve Daines. Medical providers discussed how they continue to see an increase in newborns suffering from the impacts of a parent’s drug addiction. “It is part of o ..read more

MISSOULA, Mont. — Levi Bessette never planned on becoming an addict. Nobody does. “It’s really hard to remember how terrible that was. It’s a lost and lonely that only an addict can understand,” Bessette said. “People don’t ever say, ‘I want to go kill myself today with these drugs,’ but it happens, and unfortunately we lose those people, and it hurts everybody,” said Detective Dean Chrestenson with the Missoula Police Department, who also works as an officer for the DEA’s drug task force. Bessette unsuccessfully tried meth. “It has a higher burning point, and I didn’t know that, so I gave it ..read more

BILLINGS- Meth is often referred to by law enforcement and addicts as the devil’s drug. Montana law enforcement with years of experience and training in the drug trade have seen people get into selling drugs because they need the money. But for many, the addiction just simply takes hold. “Some people enjoy how it makes them feel,” said Lt Brandon Wooley with the Billings Police Department. “And they will tell you that meth is the devil’s drug and it’s taken everything from them.” Billings resident Mandy Nunes got into drugs because it was something to do when she was a young girl, living in a ..read more