The events surrounding the death of baby Cyrus Belt remind us again of the devastating effects of methamphetamine addiction and the tremendous price we pay for the impact to our children, families and communities.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice 2009 HIDTA Report, meth is increasingly cited as a contributing factor in incidents of child and domestic abuse, hostage situations and homicides. Last month, Diagnostic Laboratories reported that methamphetamine use for Hawaii workers rose 33 percent in 2009 over 2008. Additionally, the 2009 Hawaii Meth Use & Attitudes Survey reported that 19 percent of teens said meth was relatively easy for them to acquire and 30 percent said they thought there was little to no risk in trying meth once or twice.

The Hawaii Meth Project is focused on significantly reducing first-time meth use among teens and we do that through two primary efforts—public service messaging and community outreach and education.

One of the main objectives of the television and radio ads is to communicate to teens the highly addictive and destructive nature of meth using an approach that is frank and straightforward. The radio ads are real-life experiences shared by local teens in recovery for meth addiction. An equally important objective of the ads is to raise the level of dialogue between parents and children, a very powerful tool to preventing risky behavior with teens.

I travel every week across the state and speak with students in the public and private schools, parents, faculty, business leaders and community organizations in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of meth addiction. I also meet with coalition partners engaged in prevention and treatment to share and exchange information. Our wonderful volunteers support outreach events in their communities every month. When I walk into a class or school assembly and ask if they are familiar with our ads, three-quarters of the students raise their hands. They talk about the ad messages, about their own or a friend's experience with addiction and about the challenges they face with addiction in their families. I am fortunate to see firsthand the results of our efforts.

February is Drug-Free Hawaii Awareness Month. Please join us and the prevention and treatment community who are collaborating for a drug-free Hawaii and support a renewed commitment to prevention of meth use.

Cindy Adams is executive director of the Hawaii Meth Project.