Montana leads the way in U.S. success in curbing meth. In two years, the state dropped from fifth to 39th in the use of the illegal drug. Its secret: good advertising.

In 2005, Montanans were leaving home – not because they were fleeing the state for better prospects; they were going to prison. The Treasure State had the fastest-growing prison population in the United States, fueled largely by a methamphetamine epidemic. Half of its male inmates and two-thirds of its female inmates were incarcerated for meth-related crimes.

Today all that’s changed. Instead of struggling with America’s fifth-worst meth problem, the state now ranks 39th. Teen use has declined 45 percent; adult use is down 70 percent.

The Montana Meth Project http://www.montanameth.org/

By Tom A. Peter | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Full Story: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0327/p02s01-usgn.html