Childhelp Crystal Darkness | |
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Directed by | Logan Needham |
Produced by | Michael Reynolds |
Starring | John McCain Jon Kyl Sara O'Meara Yvonne Fedderson Joe Arpaio |
Edited by | Logan Needham |
Distributed by | Global Studio |
Release date |
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Running time | 30 minutes |
Languages | English, Spanish |
Crystal Darkness is a 30-minute documentary film on the dangers and prevalence of the drug methamphetamine. The film features testimonies of young people who have gone through meth addiction, as well as interviews with high-profile politicians and law enforcement officials. [1]
The documentary is the centerpiece of a city-by-city, state-by-state campaign and has garnered the attention of residents in regions across the United States when it aired. In Arizona alone, the program reached an estimated 2.5 million residents and took over 1,200 phone calls from persons seeking help with meth addiction. [2]
The Crystal Darkness documentary was created and produced in Reno, Nevada in 2006 by Michael Reynolds. [3] The campaign was directed and edited by Logan Needham. The entire program is produced by Global Studio.
A small portion of the film is pre-packaged with information on how meth affects the brain, how it's made, whom it affects and testimonials from law enforcement and individuals who have struggled through its addiction. The rest of the program is filmed in the host city or state with local experts, clinicians and providers, law enforcement, elected officials and recovering addicts.
It is unique in that each city it airs, it is run as a media roadblock, wherein all the network stations in a target region air it simultaneously. [4] The program also airs in Spanish on Spanish-language stations. [5]
The documentary features original music by alldaydrive [6] and Today Is The Day NV. [7] Both groups are based in Reno, Nevada.
The program is sponsored by Childhelp, a national child abuse prevention and treatment non-profit organization. Childhelp is responsible for maintaining the program’s hot line, 1-888-METH-AID, in addition to its child abuse hot line, 1-800-4-A-CHILD. The non-profit organization reports over two-thirds of the cases of child abuse it handles have a direct correlation to meth use or production by the child’s parents or guardian. [8]
The campaign has reached a large audience wherever it is deployed because of how it is managed. Prior to agreeing to be a host city or state, representatives interested in bringing the program to their community are invited to attend a dinner event the night the program airs in another location. There, they learn from individuals who have run a past campaign what is involved, how the program operates and how they achieved success. Each host city is responsible for pitching the local media to run the program in a media roadblock, where all stations in the region agree to air the program at a certain time and date. The program is a collaboration of effort among religious organizations, law enforcement, elected officials, volunteers, treatment providers, educators, and more. Each is delegated responsibilities ranging from community outreach to compiling a comprehensive provider resource book. Listed below are the regions the campaign has aired in to-date and cities that have campaigns in motion.
In October 2008, the Arizona Broadcaster's Association received the Governor's Award from the Rocky Mountain Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The Emmy Statuette recognized the work of the Childhelp Crystal Darkness campaign in Arizona and its extensive community outreach. [9] The Governor's Award is given annually to a deserving program and is the highest achievement the NATAS Chapter rewards.
One of the recovering addicts featured in the film is Darrell Brooks, who would later kill six people and injure 62 others in the Waukesha Christmas parade attack.
Meth mouth is a colloquial term used to describe severe tooth decay and tooth loss, as well as tooth fracture, acid erosion, and other oral problems that are often symptomatic to extended use of the drug methamphetamine. The condition is thought to be caused by a combination of side effects of the drug and lifestyle factors, which may be present in long-term users. However, the legitimacy of meth mouth as a unique condition has been questioned because of the similar effects of some other drugs on teeth. Images of diseased mouths are often used in anti-drug campaigns.
The Montana Meth Project (MMP) is a Montana-based non-profit organization founded by businessman Thomas Siebel which seeks to reduce methamphetamine use, particularly among teenagers. The organizations main approach includes television, radio, print, and internet public service announcements that graphically depict the negative consequences of methamphetamine use. Common elements are the deterioration of health and living conditions, amphetamine psychosis, moral compromise, and regret. As of 2010, the Meth Project has expanded its media campaign into seven additional states. In March 13, 2013, the Montana Meth Project, joined the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.
Party and play (PnP), also known as chemsex or wired play, refers to the practice of consuming drugs to enhance sexual activity. This sexual subculture involves recreational drug users engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors under the influence of drugs, often within specific sub-groups. Activities may include unprotected sex with multiple partners during sessions over extended periods, sometimes lasting days. The drug of choice is typically methamphetamine, commonly referred to as crystal meth, tina, or T. Other substances like mephedrone, GHB, GBL, ketamine, and alkyl nitrites are also used. The term slamsex is used for injection drug users.
Crank is a novel by Ellen Hopkins published in 2004. It is based loosely on the real life addictions of the author's daughter to crystal meth. The book is required reading in "many high schools, as well as many drug and drug court programs." However, the book has been banned in many locations due to complaints that the book's depictions of drug use, adult language, and sexual themes are inappropriate for some readers.
Memento (Warning) is a young adult novel with reporting elements, written by Czech author Radek John and published in 1986. The story is set in Prague in the 1980s. It was made into a film for Czechoslovakian television in 1990
Methamphetamine is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational or performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obesity. It has also been researched as a potential treatment for traumatic brain injury. Methamphetamine was discovered in 1893 and exists as two enantiomers: levo-methamphetamine and dextro-methamphetamine. Methamphetamine properly refers to a specific chemical substance, the racemic free base, which is an equal mixture of levomethamphetamine and dextromethamphetamine in their pure amine forms, but the hydrochloride salt, commonly called crystal meth, is widely used. Methamphetamine is rarely prescribed over concerns involving its potential for recreational use as an aphrodisiac and euphoriant, among other concerns, as well as the availability of safer substitute drugs with comparable treatment efficacy such as Adderall and Vyvanse. Dextromethamphetamine is a stronger CNS stimulant than levomethamphetamine.
Strawberry Quik meth was a drug scare which primarily took place in 2007. Drug dealers were allegedly using coloring and flavoring to disguise methamphetamine as Strawberry Quik, thus making them more appealing to children. The story was widely reported in the media, but no cases of children using flavored meth have been verified.
Crystal Meth Anonymous (CMA) is a California-based non-profit, public-benefit corporation founded in 1994. The members of the fellowship of Crystal Meth Anonymous work a twelve-step program of recovery with recovering crystal meth addicts. Participants in local groups meet in order to help others recover from methamphetamine addiction. CMA advocates complete abstinence from methamphetamine, alcohol, inhalants, and all other psychoactive drugs not taken as prescribed.
Through A Glass, Darkly is an oratorio for men's chorus and three soloists composed by Michael Shaieb, commissioned by the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. The story concerns the problem of methamphetamine abuse in the gay community. It premiered on March 29, 2008 at the Ted Mann Concert Hall in Minneapolis, and was videotaped for subsequent broadcast on PBS and a DVD released in June 2008.
California Proposition 6, also known as the Safe Neighborhoods Act and The Runner Initiative, is a statutory initiative that appeared on the November 2008 ballot in California. This proposition was rejected by voters on November 4 of that year.
Childhelp is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse. Founded in 1959 as International Orphans, Inc. by Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Childhelp is one of the largest non-profit child abuse prevention and treatment organizations in the nation. It operates facilities in California, Virginia, Tennessee, and Arizona. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline services all of the United States, its territories and Canada. The organization also distributes Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe, a school-based abuse and bullying prevention program.
A rolling meth lab is a transportable laboratory that is used to illegally produce methamphetamine. Rolling meth labs are often moved to a secluded location where the strong, toxic fumes of methamphetamine manufacture cannot be detected and where the toxic manufacturing byproducts can be discarded. They are sometimes designed to manufacture the drug while the lab is traveling.
The City Addicted to Crystal Meth is a British documentary by Louis Theroux. It was televised on 9 August 2009. Theroux filmed his documentary in Fresno, California which has one of the highest number of crystal meth users in the United States.
Faces of Meth is a drug prevention project, run by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in the U.S. state of Oregon. The project uses mug shots of repeat offenders to demonstrate the harmful and damaging effects of methamphetamine on its users. The idea for Faces of Meth began in 2004, when deputy Bret King of the Corrections Division Classification Unit used mug shots to identify individuals with a history of using methamphetamine. King and his co-workers collected images of people charged with crimes related to methamphetamine addiction to document the change in physical appearance over time due to the use of the drug. The project uses before and after mug shot photos to show the physical deterioration of the user as a result of using methamphetamine. The images were originally used in educational slideshow and video presentations delivered to students in Oregon high schools. This Faces of Meth drug prevention strategy has since become popular across the United States.
Methamphetamine in the United States is regulated under Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. It is approved for pharmacological use in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, narcolepsy, and treatment-resistant obesity, but it is primarily used as a recreational drug. In 2012, 16,000 prescriptions for methamphetamine were filled, approximately 1.2 million Americans reported using it in the past year, and 440,000 reported using the drug in the past month.
Cook County is a 2009 American independent drama film written, directed, and produced by Houston-based filmmaker David Pomes. The film stars Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, and Ryan Donowho. It deals with the effects of methamphetamine addiction on a Texas family.
Amphetamine and methamphetamine are central nervous system stimulants used to treat a variety of conditions. When used recreationally, they are colloquially known as "speed" or sometimes "crank". Amphetamine was first synthesized in 1887 in Germany by Romanian chemist Lazăr Edeleanu, who named it phenylisopropylamine. Around the same time, Japanese organic chemist Nagai Nagayoshi isolated ephedrine from the Chinese ephedra plant and later developed a method for ephedrine synthesis. Methamphetamine was synthesized from ephedrine in 1893 by Nagayoshi. Neither drug had a pharmacological use until 1934, when Smith, Kline & French began selling amphetamine as an inhaler under the trade name Benzedrine for congestion.
Under Australia's law, methamphetamine is a Schedule 8 drug, available for medical use but restricted in manufacture, supply, and possession. The drug is sought after to give oneself a ‘high’ or a ‘rush’ in their body. Users of this drug often feel senses of exhilaration and arousal as the brain is flooded with monoamines. Methamphetamine has many names not only in Australia, but also around the world. These include chalk, crypto, gear, getgo, tweak, and cristy, although the two most common ones in Australia today are ice and shard. Speed refers to the powder form of the drug, while ice refers to the highly purified, crystalline form. The powder form is often diluted with adulterants including glucose and sucrose.
Methamphetamine in Bangladesh is an illegal substance that is often consumed in the form of Yaba. Yaba is a drug made by combining methamphetamine and caffeine. They are sold as colorful pills. There are three forms of Yaba in Bangladesh, they are R-7, Controller, and Champa.
The drug policy of Missouri involves the policies, measures and laws set by the government of Missouri to control substance distribution and abuse.