Methamphetamines, also referred to as “speed,” “ice,” or “crystal meth,” are closer than you might think.

Recently, the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) launched a new drug campaign called The Anti-Meth Campaign. The campaign is targeted at young adults in states where numbers of meth arrests and those admitted for meth treatment are high.

Illinois is one of the states targeted by the $10 million federally funded campaign.

“National drug use tends to rise and fall over the years, and this ad campaign is simply a preemptive measure to educate people about the dangers of meth in the hopes that its prevalence won’t rise,” said Steve Lux, health educator for NIU’s Health Enhancement Services Department.

Meth labs tend to thrive in rural areas similar to DeKalb, though Illinois’ problem is more focused in the lower part of the state, Lux said.

“The growth in meth labs has been on the rise mainly in southern Illinois,” Lux said. He also said there was some meth lab activity in central Illinois.

Capri Smith, a provision specialist at Project X, an initiative created by Gov. Rod Blagojevich specializing in the prevention of club drug use, agrees with Lux that meth abuse and the number of meth labs isn’t a big problem in northern Illinois. Smith also believes the ads are a preemptive strike on meth before the number of abusers grows.

Despite the ad campaign, Lux does not believe the meth problem will be solved by advertising spots.

“I don’t think the ads will be of much help; drug abuse is all about meeting needs the individual isn’t getting elsewhere,” Lux said. “No one wants to be addicted to certain drugs, but if they find the drug satisfies certain needs they have, then they will do it regardless of what the ads might say.”

Meth is a highly addictive drug, and can be made at home through the use of hazardous chemicals, Lux said.

“This is a drug that can be made in someone’s kitchen; you have people doing chemistry who aren’t chemists,” Lux said. “They can mess around trying to create an already dangerous drug like meth and create an even more dangerous by-product.”