Montana Meth Project - Government Funding and Expansion

Government Funding and Expansion

Many in the Montana state legislature hailed the project as an unprecedented success, and moved to fund the previously privately funded project with tax dollars. The move to provide public funding for the Meth Project was opposed by some legislators and drug prevention and treatment professionals, who asserted that the Meth Project's effectiveness is unproven and that research shows that these type of media campaigns are ineffective. However, the Bush Administration praised the MMP as a "model for the nation." As of 2009, the campaign has expanded to include the Arizona Meth Project, Idaho Meth Project, Illinois Meth Project, Wyoming Meth Project, Colorado Meth Project, and Hawaii Meth Project. The Georgia Meth Project was founded in 2009 with a planned launch in early 2010.

The governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer, announced that he would review public funding for the Meth Project in early 2009, as a result of a critical review of the Meth Project published in an academic journal, which called for public funding of the Meth Project to be put on hold. In February 2009, the Montana legislature came under increased pressure to withdraw funding to the Meth Project after an analysis of Meth Project tax forms revealed that the Project spends large amounts of money on staff salaries and website costs. In May 2009, Schweitzer chose not to support an additional $500,000 proposed by state legislators for 2009-10, "given the economically difficult times," and stated that the Project would have to become "self-supporting" in the future. The Project was granted $500,000 for the next budget period.