CALIFORNIA: Crystal Campaigns Spark Mixed Reactions

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

CALIFORNIA: Crystal Campaigns Spark Mixed Reactions

Bay Area Reporter (11.18.04) - Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Matthew Bajko

The San Francisco Department of Health's "Crystal Mess" advertisements - which depict harsh images of crystal methamphetamine addicts - provoked mixed reactions when recently displayed at the Castro Muni transit station. Some anonymous people wrote or plastered remarks against the campaign directly on the advertisements. Comments included "Don't shame me," "Not a Villain Not a Victim" and "No love, no compassion, no pride."

"The ads were not meant to judge anybody," said Steven Tierney, SFHD's director of HIV prevention. "From the response we have gotten, a lot of people recognize themselves or their friends in the ads. That is who the ads were designed for," he said.

"It's not really a negative message," said one former meth addict at a community forum hosted by the Stop AIDS Project. "It is the reality of what speed does. I loved it," said the recovering addict who thought the city ads were "like looking in the mirror."

Some two dozen men and one woman attending the Stop AIDS forum gave their input to help that organization's own "Are you up to speed?" campaign. This effort is set to launch in January; some images have already been made public. In November, SAP displayed posters noting that men who use speed are 400 percent more likely to acquire HIV than nonusers. The "Are you up to speed?" campaign focuses on meth's negative impacts on gay men's health, with the hope of making meth unpopular in the community and targets non-users or light users more than addicts. SAP is forming a community advisory board to help develop messages for its campaign.
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