South Dakota Ridiculed for ‘Meth. We’re On It.’ Drug Awareness Campaign

South Dakota has launched a new anti-meth initiative that has social media lampooning the state. Gov. Kristi Noem announced the new campaign on Monday, and its slogan is “Meth. We’re on it.” While it seems the message is meant to convey that the government and citizens of the state are on top of ending the meth problem, it reads more like the state itself is on drugs.

The campaign cost the state $449,000 and will feature a TV ad, billboards, posters and a newly launched website. It was created by a marketing company in Minneapolis.

“This is our problem and together, we need to get on it,” Noem said. “It is filling our jails and prisons, clogging our court systems and stretching our drug treatment capacity while destroying people and their families.”

“It’s evident there’s a need for an aggressive approach to reduce use of the devastating drug. This is a movement to educate South Dakotans on the signs of addiction, the treatment resources that are available and how to implement prevention techniques in their homes and among their communities,” Social Services Secretary Laurie Gill.

Despite the campaign’s good intentions, people just can’t get over the “we’re on it” tagline. “I know it’s not funny, but I can’t stop laughing at this. Okay, it’s a little funny. Editors, people: hire them,” one person tweeted.

“Did South Dakota really just trademark ‘Meth, We’re On It?’ What a horrible idea. How many rural rehab centers could you have created with your $449,000 Minneapolis-based ad campaign?” another asked.

“South Dakota spent nearly half a million dollars of taxpayer money on an anti-meth campaign. This….is the actual slogan they came up with,” someone else wrote.