Faces of Meth

"Faces of Meth" is a program originally began by the Multnomah Sheriff's office in the state of Oregon. The program placed two mug shots of criminals with a verified history of crystal meth use side by side: The first mug shot is before the physical effects of meth use are apparent and the second mug shot provides viewers with an oftentimes dramatic change.

The format of this program quickly spread and is used by many anti-drug campaigns.

The time line for each set of mug shots is different, with some having a short span of time such as a few months while others span more than a year or two.

Crystal Meth can have profound physical effects on a person, and these effects are usually quite prevalent on the faces of avid users. The Faces of Meth mug shots characteristically include:

• Sullen eyes
• Skin dotted with sores
• Decaying teeth

The mug shots demonstrate that these changes can occur in a relatively short period of time.

What happens to the criminals who are featured in the Faces of Meth program? Many of them agree to speak to students and other at-risk people to talk about the dangers of this highly addictive drug.

Dramatic mug shots combined with real stories from addicts can be a highly effective deterrent from getting involved with meth use.

People who have not yet seen the Faces of Meth mug shots may wonder just how dramatic the difference can be between the two pictures, especially for the photographs that are within a short period of time. The truth is that the difference can be quite shocking. A first photo may feature a person who looks completely different from the second photograph.

These photographs serve the purpose of demonstrating that crystal meth use can change a person inside and out.

Crystal meth use is nearly even between the two genders according to statistics, so it is no surprise that the photographs featured in the Faces of Meth feature men as well as women on an almost equal basis.

Most of the photographs available online feature Caucasian users, but the age range of the users in the photographs vary.

The lesson presented by the Faces of Meth is simple: Crystal meth can change your entire life. Initial head shots featuring people who appear frightened by the prospect of jail are followed by photographs of the same people who appear to not even know where they are.

The Faces of Meth program is an excellent tool that can be used to demonstrate the profoundly negative effect that crystal meth can have on users.