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Program Shows Kids Their Faces After Meth
A new computer program that takes a photo of a teen and puts it through the sort of wringer that crystal meth would to an actual face is the latest tool in the war on drugs.
But as any parent who rolled their eyes watching the “this is your brain on drugs” PSAs of the fried eggs way back when will tell you – scaring kids straight is a delicate balance. Face2Face has been in use since last year, but I heard about it via NPR just this past weekend. Sometimes termed “This is Your Face on Meth,” it’s a simulation created by a sheriff on the West Coast to try to combat the growing meth epidemic. They’re focusing on kids for pretty obvious reasons – no one wants kids hooked on drugs.
And meth in particular has been taking hold in kids. The Rural Meth Awareness Center estimates 6.2 percent of American high schoolers have used at least once, and the number of teens being admitted to rehab for meth addiction doubled between 1994 and 2004.
The effects of the drug run the gamut from malnutrition to death, but it’s the visible effects Face2Face hopes to exploit in a means to keep kids off the drug. Because meth abuse causes the destruction of tissues and blood vessels, it makes it difficult for the body to repair itself after injury. On the face, acne appears, sores take longer to heal, and the skin loses its luster and elasticity, making the user appear years, even decades older. The drug also enhances tooth decay, leaving people with so-called “meth mouth.”
The Partnership for a Drug Free America sponsors a “faces of meth” slideshow that you can show your kids to scare them (they’re difficult to look at). But Face2Face is using your kid’s own image to try to personalize the issue.
Creator Sheriff Tom Allman told NPR scaring kids straight doesn’t work, but he thinks this will. Do you see any difference?
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[...] Kids Sicken as Family Discovers their Home used to be a Meth House [...]
Update: Michael Jackson's Kids to Be Rasied by Unseen Aunt | Strollerderby commented on May 13 10 at 11:33 amAdd your take:
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