‘Faces of Meth’ ad a shocking look at drug use
The “Faces of Meth” — before and after police mugshots of drug users that depict the effects of methamphetamine on the human body — debuted eight years ago this month. It has aged a lot better than the folks using the drug.
A new ad has just been released and the pictures will horrify you. I’ve used one of the least shocking photos at right.
Many Americans learned most of what they know about meth from the TV crime drama “Breaking Bad.” In the acclaimed TV series, a high school chemistry teacher makes the drug in a home lab and begins selling it, raking in millions and running afoul of organized crime.
That’s what makes the drug so hard to control. Almost anyone can make it using common chemicals.
Making meth is dangerous. Toxic gasses are created and homemade labs have been known to explode.
Using meth is even worse. Whether injected, snorted or smoked, meth affects the central nervous system, creating a temporary high. It also creates brain damage and in a matter of months significantly alters the way a person looks.
Smoking the drug promotes tooth decay, causing teeth to literally rot out of the user’s head. The so-called “meth mouth” is easily observed in the photos.
Meth also creates acne or makes it worse. Frequent drug users pick at the skin causing scarring.
Meth users tend to quit eating properly, and the body begins to consume body fat and muscle, creating a gaunt look.
The overall effect is that many meth users look like they’ve aged years in just a few months.
The term “Faces of Meth” was coined in December 2004 by a reporter in Oregon. Soon afterwards, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, located in Oregon near the Washington state line, began its famous drug prevention project.
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95 comments Add your comment
Shari
December 6th, 2012
2:08 am
Mike has a point. No race card pulled. Didn’t hear the urgency with crack, like you do with meth. Now I have to show ID to get cold and allergy medicine. WTH? Used to work in drugstore in the 80’s and these biker looking guys would come in and darn near clear the shelf of allergy meds. Asked the pharmacist why they need so much medicine and he told me they make meth with it. How much further will it go? Idiiots abuse prescription narcotics so much, people who really need them have to jump through hoops to the Rx filled.
By the way I don’t get food stamps, entitlements, free gifts etc.
Amsterdam
December 6th, 2012
3:29 am
We need to see some before and after liver pictures of alcoholics………But wait….alcohol is legal but Marijuana isn’t….
dcstan
December 6th, 2012
6:29 am
hey Mike contrary to popular believe there are and were a lot of white folks chasing the ghost also. Crack was made out to be a black drug. but those that know don’t say, those who say don’t know
dcstan
December 6th, 2012
6:43 am
I believe the guy Ramzad said it best on an earlier post. things in this country is really not a problem until it effects the White Population. You folks can rant and rave all you want. It is not an attack it is a fact. The same vitrioil that came with crack is not the same with this Meth. you can deny all you want but it is true. Lawmakers went out of their way to pass laws to lock up anyone associated with crack. With Meth you can hear the crickets chirping from the silence because it have landed right on top of your community. The silence is deafening. I truly understand where Mike is coming from
Andy
December 6th, 2012
6:43 am
When are we going to admit the war on drugs is a dog and pony show that at best only stops 1% of the illegal drug flow and its sole purpose is to make government bigger?
Andy
December 6th, 2012
6:50 am
Unlike crack in the 80’s, which hit as a huge nationwide wave, meth isn’t wiping out entire neighborhoods and housing projects. It’s a hit or miss problem just like painkiller abuse. Truth be know, pain killer abuse is probably 10 times the problem meth is right now.
Also, if you follow the meth problem/epidemic, it started in California with the bikers, worked its way up the West coast and then headed East across the country over the course of 20 years. It hits an area, peaks then moves on.
Thomas
December 6th, 2012
6:52 am
Andy
December 6th, 2012
6:43 am
Andy= A+
Really????
December 6th, 2012
7:51 am
I am really, really sick and tired of people trying to pull the race card. My sister, GOD rest her soul, was addicted to crack. She also did many other drugs to try and kill the pain she had on the inside. The last six months of her life was spent trying to battle brain cancer. She told me she fought the urge of doing crack EVERYDAY of her life even when she was going through radiation and chemo. She was WHITE, NO ONE except us, her family, did everything we could to save her from that life. It is not a race issue but a class status issue. If you are RICH you can receive all the help in the world no matter what color you are. As long as a person is perceived to be on welfare or has no type of insurance that person will not receive the proper care or help needed to fight this problem and get them clean.
The only color that matters is GREEN. Money has always been and always be the only factor that matters. As long as a person has money the color of his or her skin does not matter.
My Name is Mike...and I'm a dirtbag
December 6th, 2012
7:51 am
Mike, Way to represent the human race there, bigot. What are you doing, as a so called black man, to help the crack addicts out there? Let me guess, not a damn thing. Blame Whitey! Let’s not take responsibility for our OWN actions…just blame Whitey. You are a prick, a dirtbag, and piece of scum.
Meth is a problem…a very bad one. Oh, sure, only white ppl are doing it. Not one single black, hispanic, asian, or other race is doing it…
Rhonda Wilson
December 6th, 2012
8:26 am
My brother was a meth addict. Did you pick up on the WAS? He took his own life 6 months ago. This drug is tearing families apart it doesn’t make a difference what color you are. If you have a family member on it, please, please try and get them help. The pain is horrible when you lose a family member to this drug.