The new
photographs show the first arrest of a drug user
partnered up with a picture taken in some cases only
three months later.
They have
been put together by the Multnomah County Sheriff's
Office in Oregon and now include users of all hard drugs
including cocaine, heroin and meth.
'Faces of
Meth went round the world, it captured peoples revulsion
and imagination,' said deputy Bret King, 45, who was
instrumental in putting together the original Faces of
Meth project in 2004.
'As I was
putting together the project and touring the country
trying to highlight the effects of meth on people, I had
a nagging feeling that I knew I wasn't bringing the
whole picture to people's attention.
'Every
single person I booked and interviewed who was not just
a meth addict but a heroin user or a coke-head had
started on some seemingly innocent drug like alcohol or
cannabis.
'Everyone
experiments at college or school and I want From Drugs
to Mugs to show kids that everyone in those pictures
started on cannabis, they didn't just dive head first
into heroin.
'So I ask
the students at schools to look at these people and
think about their actions, otherwise that could end up
being you,' said deputy King.
From
Drugs to Mugs is the follow up to the controversial
2004 Faces of Meth program.
Faced
with an endemic drug problem in the north west of
the U.S., the Multnomah Sheriff's Office has also
produced a heart-wrenching educational documentary
to aid in its fight against young people turning to
drugs.
'I
want to be able to illustrate the connection between
that first decision to use drugs and then down the
road when it's a horrible mess,' said deputy King.
Expanding their presentation, which is to be aired
in high schools across America, the law enforcement
officer and his team interviewed 300 adult inmates
at Multnomah County's Inverness Jail.
'We
estimate that out of the 2000 or so inmates here
over half have tried and used hard drugs,' said
King.
'The
average age of those surveyed for From Drugs to Mugs
claimed they tried their first drugs or alcohol at
the age of 12. Out of those 300, 117 said their
first drug experience was initiated by a parent, 36
said it was an older sibling or cousin, aunt, uncle
or even grandparent.
'Also,
119 said their first drug experience was from a
friend and one said it was their babysitter. These
are stark statistics but what we wanted to show was
the correlation between drug abuse and crime.
'In
all we realised that 3,975 arrests could be
attributed to these 300 inmates, some of which could
be attributed to drugs and some not directly.
'However, drug abuse was an overriding factor in
their lives and on average between those 300 they
shared 13.25 arrests per inmate.'
The photographs of this methamphetamines
user were taken three years apart
By far the starkest images that deputy
King and his team produce are the mug shots of drug
users at the time of their first arrest and their
resulting physical deterioration.
'I don't
own a house, I don't own an apartment, I don't have a
banking account, I have zero money, I don't have nothing
to show from my time on earth...' said one drug user,
interviewed in prison for From Drugs to Mugs.
'Drugs and
alcohol has led to me having nothing today,' added the
inmate.
'This is a
battle for peoples hearts, their minds and ultimately
their spirits,' said Agent Tyree.
'If I
could put each and every kid who thought about using
drugs in a room with a drug dealer, a drug addict, a
judge, a prosecutor and a parent, maybe not even their
own parent, they would all say the same thing, 'don't do
it kid.''
In the
48-minute video, Drug Enforcement Administration
officers are interviewed about how they find and
arrest drug abusers.
Deputy
King added testimony from Multnomah County jail
inmates who had been arrested in burglaries and
other crimes that have been linked to drug use.
'We
want everyone, not just high school kids to look at
these pictures and to be shocked,' said deputy King.
'I'd
like From Drugs to Mugs to gain the notoriety Faces
of Meth did because it's a better programme. It's
likely to impact the decisions of more people.
'I
used to go through booking pictures and see the
deterioration of these individuals and that is what
shocked me into producing Faces of Meth and now From
Drugs to Mugs.
'People think that drug enforcement and the battle
against drugs is a bit blasé and boring but it
isn't.
"Everyone should be reminded of the dangers of
drugs, especially when so many casually take them.'
The photograph on the left was taken in
January 2008 and the photograph on the right was taken
in August 2008
