MSU Public Information Office

RCJC - Rural Meth Awareness Project continues
03/09/07

The Rural Crime and Justice Center (RCJC) series dealing with the methamphetamine issue continues. The RCJC has partnered with Prairie Public to produce the series "Rural Meth Awareness Project" to raise awareness about the fight against methamphetamine in rural areas.

Along with increasing public awareness, the programs will examine issues of importance related to methamphetamine use, treatment and prevention that are impacting communities in North Dakota and other rural areas.

"If the series being produced and aired by Prairie Public stops one person from using meth the first time, I would consider the investment a success, said Rod Hair, director of the RCJC. "But I would hope it will affect more than one."

Other programs in the series include "The Shadow of Meth," a 10-part radio series airing April 3-17 and a 60-minute television documentary airing April 12 at 8 p.m. (CT) which shows how methamphetamine affects more than just the person ravaged by the addiction and is told firsthand through those hardest hit.

"Meth: No Easy Answers," a 30-minute television program airing April 12 at 9 p.m. (CT), follows state policymakers as they struggle to address the unforeseen strains on state and county budgets, prison systems, health care and addiction treatment centers.

Coming in May, "Safe Behind Bars" is a 30-minute television documentary and a three-part radio series examining a rarely-discussed impact that methamphetamine addiction has had on the state of North Dakota-the increasing numbers of women incarcerated for meth-related crimes.

Hair suggested the idea for the series on the female inmates. It came to him after a tour of the female prison in New England after it had opened.

"Over 60 percent of the inmates were there because of meth," said Hair. "I was very taken by how young most of the women were. I think that when 'Safe Behind Bars' airs, it's going to be a real eye-opener for a lot of people."

Additional Information
Methamphetamine is considered particularly dangerous because it is highly addictive and ingredients for its manufacture are readily available.

Project Information
Funding for the Prairie Public series has been provided by the U.S. Department of Justice through the RCJC at Minot State. Hair said that the project is one of the initiatives to increase meth awareness made possible by the $1.75 million grant received from the justice department in November 2005. U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan has played a key role in procuring appropriated funding for the RCJC's Rural Methamphetamine Education Project at Minot State University.

Prairie Public television stations in North Dakota include KSRE 6 in Minot, KBME 3 in Bismarck, KDSE 9 in Dickinson, KWSE 4 in Williston, KGFE 2 in Grand Forks, KFME 13 in Fargo, and KJRE 19 in Ellendale. Manitoba stations include Cable 3 in Winnipeg and Cable 2 in Brandon.

Prairie Public radio stations in North Dakota include (listed alphabetically): 90.5fm in Bismarck, 91.9fm in Beach, 91.9fm in Bowman, 89.5fm in Crary, 91.9fm in Crosby, 91.5fm in Devils Lake, 89.9fm in Dickinson, 91.9fm in Fargo, 89.3fm in Grand Forks, 91.9fm in Harvey, 91.9fm in Hettinger, 91.5fm in Jamestown, 91.7fm in Lakota, 88.9fm in Minot, 91.9fm in Tioga and 89.5fm in Williston. Prairie Public radio is carried in Plentywood, Mont., at 91.9fm, Thief River Falls, Minn., at 88.3fm and Winnipeg, Manitoba at 107.9 cable.

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