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Photos of Meth Users (grim)

51 replies

flyingcloud · 25/02/2011 09:28

Anyone seen this gallery in the Torygraph.

Grim. I had heard the ageing effects of methamphetamines were pronounced but this is Shock.

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FellatioNelson · 25/02/2011 09:33

God that's horrendous. I wonder what it is about meth that distorts their mouths and eyes like that?

Photos like this should be much more widely publicised in schools, youth clubs, the back of loo doors in nightclubs etc. It would have a much greater impact on putting kids off trying drugs than any amount of lecturing. Especially for girls who value their looks.

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southeastastra · 25/02/2011 09:34

kids hardly go about using meths though do they, seen these types of photos before, shock horror drugs make you look like shite

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Mumbybumby · 25/02/2011 09:35

Can't see the pics, only the headline. Might be my silly iPhone though. The physical effects of meth are usually pretty grim from what I've seen before. (As well as the fact it sends you completely crazy!)

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FellatioNelson · 25/02/2011 09:40

But it isn't only meth that takes a toll on your appearance - it could be used with all hard drugs. And no, kids don't generally do meth, but people who do meth/crack/heroin were probably once kids smoking a 'harmless' spliff. It's the slippery slope that needs to be hammered home.

Not that I rhink all people who dabble in soft drugs will end up this way, any more than people who have wine every night with dinner will be alcoholics, but I still think it would be a good deterrent for kids.

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Feenie · 25/02/2011 09:47

Was it wrong to rofl at no.14? Couldn't help it. Confused

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FellatioNelson · 25/02/2011 10:05

Very very wrong indeed. Norty girl.

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ragged · 25/02/2011 10:05

It ruins your skin and immune system forever. That's why they are all have skin lesions like that in the Mugshots. I think the mouth/eye distortions are all evidence of the neurological damage it does (sometimes temporary, sometimes not).

I thought 14 was one of the less ravaged looking specimens.

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laosvher · 25/02/2011 10:08

Are they spots or something else?
Quite a few of them were rather good looking before too

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Feenie · 25/02/2011 10:09

He has a funny face Grin

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ragged · 25/02/2011 10:15

They are infections, lesions, Laosvher. Meth addicts also complain of itchy skin. If they get a small cut they tend to pick at it and make it far worse. Withdrawel for meth addicts is like a drug-induced OCD in many ways.

I have close relatives who were/are meth addicts :(. My brother who used a lot of meth, is grateful that he became addicted to crack cocaine, instead.

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YourCallIsImportant · 25/02/2011 10:18

Absolutely tragic I agree, however I did have a wee chuckle at the wonky drawn on eyebrows on one of the women. Blush

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laosvher · 25/02/2011 10:19

I see, thanks ragged :)
Does it only happen with meth, then?

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ragged · 25/02/2011 10:26

I imagine that any illegal drug can be a trigger for mental illness symptoms, but meth is one of the most dangerous because of the way it affects the brain.

Talk to anyone who works in the American legal system, they find meth addicts to be among the most hopeless in terms of possible reform or rehabilitation. Precisely because of the brain damage.

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flyingcloud · 25/02/2011 10:35

Ragged, Sad for your brother and family.

I think the point of releasing these photos was a)the problem is becoming huge in rural America and

b) the experience of the police in America (or so the commentary says) is that a lot of these people started out with an innocent spliff.

The mouth distortions can also be put down to the lack of teeth too.

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BertieBotts · 25/02/2011 10:57

It's not the same thing as meths, is it? Isn't this talking about crystal meth?

It's shocking but TBH I agree that it's too far removed from what is considered normal by young people to have much of an effect here. I remember being shown a documentary at school about crystal meth where users got so out of their mind that one woman was convinced she would die if she didn't pull her own teeth out with pliers.

Most people my age were shocked by it, but we all considered crystal meth to be some kind of ridiculous drug no sane person would ever touch, like heroin. And then by some kind of reverse association, the others were totally safe to experiment with as long as you kept it under control.

The sad thing is that when I did end up hanging around with people who were into drugs etc, you couldn't have predicted the people who ended up using heroin - almost everyone said they would never try it, some people stuck to that, others just involved themselves further and further into a world where it slowly became one of the category that it's ok to experiment with, you'll be safe if you do it in the right way, with the right people, etc. I could see how it could happen with something like meth as well.

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ragged · 25/02/2011 11:07

Sorry, in American slang "meth" and crystal meth are the same thing. I suppose by "meths" you mean some kind of solvent or the camp fire fuel (methyl alcohol, Bertie?).

In my teen years & place, Heroin was for SERIOUS drug users and crystal meth was just a bit of novel fun (sigh).

Crystal meth has been a major social problem for almost 30 yrs in the USA; we first became aware of my brothers' severe addiction in about... 1987/1988?

I think the Telegraph pix are useful for making sure we all know it is indeed worse than many other drug habits.

tbh, I don't believe in slippery slope arguments. Life is a slippery slope to everything bad (and good). Addiction is an ugly thing.

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DurhamDurham · 25/02/2011 11:08

That's shocking. The time between the first and last photograph wasn't that long, sometimes just a few months.

Tempted to show my teen girls, excepts I think they might have nightmares.

Awful and very sad, wonder if they can see the damage they have done to themselves or if they're too far gone for that. Sad

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TheHeathenOfSuburbia · 25/02/2011 11:44

Apparently crystal meth is the smokable/injectable form which makes it more addictive, Class A in this country.

The normal methamphetamine, speed, that you snort (or not!) is class B. Used to be v popular in the punk/metal world when I were a lass. Not sure if it still is.

(Looked it up on that gov't website, Frank - you learn something new every day!)

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BooyFuckingHoo · 25/02/2011 12:13

that is scary!!

i don't think i know anyone who uses meth but i have posted that on my FB page anyway. you never know who might have a realisation from seeing it.

Sad

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Mumi · 25/02/2011 14:00

Number 5 Shock Number 11 doesn't even look like the same person!

The last one just looked like he's aged in those 7 years thoguh.

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PaisleyLeaf · 25/02/2011 14:23

Cor they're sad.
What a good 'just-say-no' campaign.

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QuelleLeJeff · 25/02/2011 14:25

I've just shown them to my DS. They are shockingly bad.

They're not all crystal meth addicts BTW - I think it says at the bottom of each shot which drugs they're addicted to. Poor poor people.

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Voddy · 25/02/2011 14:29

Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas used to be a Meth addict, there are some photos floating around showing how sort of ravaged her face is without make up (not being unkind, just an observation).

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mathanxiety · 25/02/2011 14:38

Really terrible. DS did a project on meth (yes it's crystal meth not turpentine or methylated spirits) and its effects one year, and printed out photos like that. In some rural US counties the child welfare agencies are overwhelmed by the caseloads that meth use brings. Children who live in homes where the adults cook meth can also suffer damage from the fumes associated with manufacture, and walls and furniture tend to be coated with residue too.

You can't buy any product containing pseudoephedrine over the counter any more in a lot of US states -- you have to take a plastic card to the pharmacist and sign for your cold product. It only takes three ingredients to make meth according to DS, and it used to be very easy to get large quantities of pseudoephedrine.

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stretch · 26/02/2011 00:22

Look at their eyes. Sad So sad and...hollow looking, esp number 2. Sad

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