I wonder if these homebrew campaigns are any more effective than the more slickly produced ones.

The fundamental issue with most campaigns is that they fail to acknowledge that most drugs make you feel REALLY REALLY GOOD and don't, in fact, kill you right away.  Once a kid (or whomever) actually trys it, they figure that if they weren't told about the good part, they were lied to completely.

The problem, of course, is that it's a tough sell to tell someone "it'll make you feel AWESOME, but don't do it because then you'll never care about anything else in the world."  It's not pithy.  It just seems to me that we're doomed to fail in the "war on drugs" as long as we lie or omit important information.

These are interesting.  I've seen a lot of homemade anti-drug/anti-alcohol signs while driving through Pine Ridge in South Dakota, and in the Mississippi Delta.  It never occurred to me that it might be a trend.  I was more fascinated by the lack of any mass-produced images in these areas, largely due to there being no real infrastructure (particularly corporate).  

I recognize a lot of these from near where I live in Montana. About 6 years ago the Montana Meth Project held a state-wide advertisement/mural contest - these murals are mostly left over from that. I think the Meth Project and their home-made advertising campaign spread to other states after that. 

Haaa, i love the production value of these signs, but find their messages to be problematic.  Posting the word METH everywhere can be triggering (like prompt the desire for the drug), and then there's the whole "YOU'RE DOOMED" aspect, which doesn't help the majority of users get over their addictions.  If anything, it makes it worse, because y'know... what is going to make someone more likely to use?  Telling them they're hopeless and that their life is ruined, or be reasonable, accepting these things happen, and not treating them like some "lost cause"?  This whole "tough love" and scare-tactic approach doesn't do anything to help users.  Although, i'm sure it makes non-users feel really good about themselves.

there’s no big money in drug addiction prevention

There might not be money in ACTUALLY preventing drug addiction, but there is plenty of money in the appearance of trying to.  All of those DARE and "Just Say No" campaigns aren't free.  Don't underestimate the size and effect of government money.

Also, this site has plenty of posts about the effects of the drug war, profits from the prison industrial complex, etc.  These types of scare tactic anti-drug campaigns are part of that.  The population is indoctrinated with the idea that drugs are evil, and are therefore willing to fund a "war" against that evil.  And even when most people recognize the bs for what it is, they don't speak up.  Because these types of ads convince them that other people believe that drugs are evil and they don't want to face the social consequences of disagreeing with the group.

On addiction, readers might find interesting the biographies of two great jazz musicians and self-described 'dope fiends': Chet Baker: Deep in a Dream; and Art Pepper: Straight Life.

RexSchrader's comment brought them to mind, because what RS describes was certainly their experience and attitude to heroin, in their respective cases. But it's fair to say that they were uncommon personalities.

I left America 12 years ago, before this whole meth mania kicked in. It's quite sad, to see from the outside, who damaging it is. It kind of reminds me of the crack epidemic in the 80's in NY, only this seems to be nationwide and particularly a rural phenomenon. 

Even as an unapologetic occasional user of recreational drugs, I see meth as a serious problem. One factor that will never appear in an anti-drug ad is the lack of accessibility, especially in poor rural areas, to better drugs. But that's not really what I want to say.

The much bigger issue, I think, is inadvertently expressed in this recurrent slogan, "Not Even Once." Those words contain the profound sense of helplessness in the face of drug addiction that can only exist in a place with inadequate infrastructure. A drug crisis has incredibly far-reaching, community-destroying impact when combined with a lack of accessible health care, a lack of job opportunities outside the black market, and the permanent socioeconomic instability caused by even a single criminal conviction. The communities that put up these signs know first hand how devastating one person's addiction can be to an entire family, especially in places so economically precarious.

And yet, in the same communities, social policies that could help improve low-income families' odds of getting through such a crisis are all-too-often disconnected from the spectre of drug abuse, and this is the big tragedy hidden behind the complete failure of the facile "just say no" message. We're focusing so much on the individual addict that we forget about what happens to his family when he loses his job and/or home, how much deadlier a bad habit is without even basic health services, or how much less likely a more stable future is once the addict has been raked over by the criminal justice system. As a result, many of the communities hit hardest by this crisis - along with the broader financial one - are firmly opposed to the reforms that would ease the burden.

So in desperation, we're stuck with this "don't do meth" message, which is about as effective as "don't steal stuff" or "don't have sex." It's so sad it makes me want to drink.
 

My sister is an art teacher in a small rural community, and as part of a school project she and several students created similar signs (no additional money involved). Getting the kids involved directly gives an opportunity for education on the problem.

Most of these images, if not all, are from the "Paint the State" competition. They are part of the Montana Meth Project which is a huge campaign that includes quite a bit of "glossy", well-produced advertising as well. Lots of money behind this.

I'm from Montana and I personally hate the Montana Meth Project. It relies on revolting images and a "just say no" tactic to keep kids and young adults from trying meth. It's not how I want my kids to learn to not do drugs.

There are A LOT of really interesting sociological things going on with this project (in fact, it came up in one of my soc classes this past week)--but grassroots, take-it-into-our-own-hands action isn't what's going on.

It didn't attach my name to my comment: Hello, I'm Susan.

Wikipedia article about the Montana Meth Project: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana_Meth_Project

A word writ large is extremely effective advertisement for the product.  Heh heh heh.  News in 2014: Researchers flock to report increases in Meth usage correlates to introduction of eye-catching anti-drug billboards.