Idaho Meth Project names new director

The Idaho Meth Project has hired a new executive director, Adrean Cavener, the former director of government relations in Idaho for the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. The Meth Project, which got just over a quarter-million in funding from Idaho’s Millenium Fund this year but otherwise operates on private donations and federal grant funds, works to prevent meth use, particularly among youth.

Cavener said while rates of meth use have been declining, large amounts of the drug still are coming into Idaho. “We still have about 500 pounds of meth being trafficked through Idaho every month, which is alarming, because 2 grams, about the size of a sugar packet, is 25 hits of meth to a new meth user,” she said.

The Meth Project, known for its graphic ad campaigns, has been focusing on reaching teens through social media including Pandora, Instagram and Facebook, and also has lots of billboards in the works, Cavener said. She replaces Gina Heideman, who was with the Meth Project for just over five years and who left a month ago.

First Lady Lori Otter, a booster of the Meth Project, said, “We know that meth use comes with enormous costs, both in the state budget, but more devastatingly to the living rooms of Idaho families. We look forward to the passion and knowledge Adrean will bring to the Idaho Meth Project.”