A shocking anti-drug ad campaign uses graphic before and after mugshots of alleged meth addicts, to show the devastating effects the drug can cause. INSIDE EDITION reports.
What in the world could turn a beautiful woman into a tragedy?
She's featured in a powerful new ad campaign that showcases the shocking transformation of people the ad makers say are meth addicts.
The ad features mug shots of people arrested for meth use from their first arrest to their most recent. You can see how the drug disfigures them.
Many addicts pick bloody holes in their face, caused by uncontrollable scratching during hallucinations when they imagine bugs are crawling under their skin.
Rehab specialist Dr. Charles Sophy has seen the effects of meth first hand.
Sophy told INSIDE EDITION, "The problem most often times with meth is that, as you're coming off it, you start to itch, or you start to feel that you're hallucinating, a tactile hallucination that you feel something. And you pick, and you pick, and it's there and you're picking and before you know it, you're picking all over the place."
Another common problem is called "meth mouth." The drug causes extreme tooth decay and grinding of the teeth.
Meth addicts take on a gaunt appearance because the drug suppresses the appetite and the body begins to consume muscle tissue due to lack of proper nutrition.
The controversial ads are produced by rehabs.com. They say teens need to see the horrors this drug inflicts before they try it.
Abhilash Patel of rehabs.com said, "Our motivation for doing this was to bring attention to the horrible and devastating effects that this particular drug can have on people. And also to motivate them to take action, if they know people who need help, or if they need help themselves."
Heather Raybon knew the pull of meth all too well. The image above shows what the beautiful young woman from Florida looked like in 2003. But just one year later, a meth lab blew up in her face and she was left hideously disfigured. Even after losing her face to the drug, she was still unable to stop doing it. A string of mug shots tell her sad story.
The makers of the new campaign say if they can keep one person from ending up with a tragic before and after, it will have been a success.
