County Attorney Earl Maus presented March 29 the video that was put together by the Minnesota county attorneys and narrated by WCCO-TV anchor Don Shelby. The documentary features former meth addicts giving the unvarnished version of their history with meth. Medical professionals, criminal justice officials and county attorneys also weigh in on meth's terrible toll on individuals and our state as a whole.

"A lot of effort was put into this," explained Maus. "County attorneys chose to do what we could for the community by being proactive in regard to meth use rather than waiting to prosecute individuals" at an average cost of $149,000 for one case.

The county attorneys manned a meth information booth at the State Fair last year. Reaction was positive as a steady stream of people visited the booth. The physical consequences of meth use are extreme, and lifesize pictures at the booth showed what a person looks like before and after meth use. Fact sheets were also available at the booth, and former users were on hand to answer questions. The attorneys plan to request a booth for the 2007 fair.

Traditionally, the male to female ratio of drug abuse has been 70 to 30. With meth, however, the ratio is 1 to 1. Because more females are involved, more children have been affected. Consequently, a large proportion of out of home placements for children in Minnesota are in some way related to meth, according to the documentary. In addition, 1 in 8 individuals in Minnesota prisons got there because of some act relating to meth. And crime associated with meth includes much more than manufacturing and selling meth. In order to maintain the habit that can cost upwards of $700 per day, users may commit as many as five to seven crimes per week. These include everything from traffic collisions and burglaries to rape, domestic abuse, child neglect and murder.

To find out more about "Revealing Meth in Minnesota," contact the Pine River-Backus Family Center at 587-4292 or visit www .revealingmeth.com.