( CNN ) -- It 's a snapshot meant to shock : a bloodied woman hunched over with this caption underneath , `` My mother knew I 'd never hurt her , then she got in the way . '' Graphic ads about the dangers of meth addiction are trying to tackle what 's a top drug problem in small towns . The Meth Project has made a name for itself with graphic , disturbing print and broadcast ads meant to wake up kids to the dangers of methamphetamine addiction . Another ad shows a filthy urinal with the caption , `` No one thinks they 'll lose their virginity here . Meth will change that . '' The nonprofit organization said it 's baring the ugly truth about what the Drug Enforcement Administration calls the most dangerous drug problem of small-town America . Now the Meth Project is targeting a new audience : the growing population of Spanish-speaking teens in the Western United States . It 's releasing television commercials in Spanish in Arizona and radio ads throughout the West featuring young Latino addicts sharing real-life meth nightmares . Nothing is lost in translation . In Idaho , one of the Spanish radio voices belongs to recovering addict Aucensio Flores . In his ad , Flores said he first tried meth at 15 and headed on a downward spiral , adding : `` I think it affected my brain . I have bad thoughts and I only want to do bad things , such as hurt people . I think I am going crazy . '' Flores said meth deadened his conscience , emboldened him and kept him up all night with an edgy high . Meth made it easier , he said , to become sucked into a world of crime and gangs . Flores remembers beating up and robbing people just walking down the street and taking part in drive-by shootings , including one in which `` I shot 17 shots into the house and then I walked around the block and back into the car and just left . '' Meth made him feel `` big and bad , '' said Flores , who never imagined being locked up . He 's serving time at the Nampa Juvenile Correction Center in Idaho for grand theft , possession of a weapon by a minor , and drug possession . Flores ' drug rehabilitation counselor , Colleen Foster , said that up to 40 percent of juveniles in the Nampa facility have a history of meth addiction . She said meth takes over their lives . `` It starts to destroy their value system . It eats away at every aspect of their life : family , responsibility to community , responsibility to education , responsibility to themselves even , '' Foster said . `` It just eats away at all that until they have no value system left , that the only thing they 're doing is seeking for that high . '' Foster supports the Meth Project 's Spanish ad campaign because , she said , denial of the problem extends to teenagers and parents in all populations -- including Latinos . She said she thinks outreach needs to be better tailored for the growing Latino community in Idaho . Foster also counsels Yair Perez , a recovering meth addict who served time for robbery and was released recently from the juvenile detention center . `` When I was coming down from meth , I would feel bad . You know , I threw up and I could n't eat . Even if I was hungry , I could n't eat , '' Perez said . `` You know , I would just stay in my room and not talk to anyone , because they would make me mad when they talked to me . '' While on meth , Perez said , he also developed frightening ulcerlike sores on his body and suffered from an erratic heartbeat . Still , he said , his cravings for the drug persist and he knows staying clean wo n't be easy . He 's gotten a job at a fast-food restaurant , is reconnecting with his family and has recorded a Spanish radio ad for the Meth Project . Perez said he hopes to reach young Latinos who are n't getting the message about meth in English . `` They might understand a little bit of it or half of it , '' he said . `` But if they hear it ... in their own language ... the way they were born and they were raised , you know , speaking Spanish , then maybe they will pay a little more attention to it and maybe think about it , instead of doing it . '' Idaho Meth Project volunteer Miguel Mouw agrees , saying that `` in the Hispanic community , there 's just a lack of education , a lack of treatment and resources , there 's a lack of support , because there are some communication gaps . '' Mouw , also a recovering meth addict , speaks in classrooms throughout Idaho and at community events . He said he thinks the graphic nature of the ads is needed to drive home the dangers of meth . `` I 've seen people lose everything , you know , from their toes to the top of the head , either through death or maybe it 's the sores or the scabs [ affecting ] the teeth or the eyes , '' he said . `` The list is endless . It really is . '' Drug officials say meth -- also known as chalk , crank , crystal , glass , ice or speed -- has been a major threat in rural America because it is cheap and easy to make . Traffickers mix drugs bought over the counter with common ingredients , according to the DEA . Twelve- to 14-year-olds who live in small towns are more than twice as likely to use meth than those who live in larger cities , the agency said . The Meth Project began in 2005 in what was then the heartland of meth : Montana . Government leaders there credit the effort with large declines in meth use , including a 45 percent drop in teen use since its ads first appeared . The ad campaign has since spread to a half-dozen other states , including Arizona , Colorado , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois and Wyoming . Program organizers said they research and tailor their campaigns for each new state . But not everyone is convinced of the program 's effectiveness . David Erceg-Hurn , a researcher and critic of the Meth Project , said : `` There is the potential for boomerang effects with these ads . Some teenagers react negatively to graphic advertising . These people do n't like 'being told how to behave ' by the ads and may rebel against them . '' The Meth Project is funded through private donations and receives millions of dollars in federal and state grants . Erceg-Hurn said he thinks those dollars could be put to better use . As for the Spanish ad campaign , he said : `` I prefer the radio ads to the print and television ads . They 're not so over the top . I like that the radio ads feature real former users rather than actors . This makes them seem more realistic . A problem is still that they do n't provide any information about how to quit or avoid using meth . Teenagers need practical skills and information . '' The Spanish ad campaign in Idaho is too new for analysis of widespread impact . Organizers said they hope for more reactions such as that of high school student Cindy Rodriguez . Rodriguez , who moved to Idaho from Guatemala , said she and her parents have been listening to the radio ads together . `` My parents , we did n't see a lot of drugs during my time in Guatemala . So we did n't know what the drugs are and what they do , '' she said . `` So what my parents would do , like when they would listen to the radio , they were like , 'Oh , you should listen to this , because this is what I want you to learn . ' `` Rodriguez said she was prepared when peers offered her meth . `` They were like , 'Oh , you should do this , so that way you could be a little bit cooler or you 're with us . You need to do this . ' I 'm like , no ... you know , cause I 'd heard about it . ''
Meth Project has disturbing ads to wake up kids to the dangers of meth . Spanish ads in the West feature young Latinos sharing meth nightmares . Meth called a major threat in rural America because it is cheap and easy to make .