7-28-15

WASHINGTON – Addiction experts are attacking the heroin problem head on with graphic examples of how the drug damages your body. It is such a big problem that the governor of Maryland considers it an epidemic in his state.

The experts are hoping the proof is in the pictures. The website rehabs.com has rolled out mugshots of people arrested on drug charges. These pictures show how heroin and other drugs like cocaine and meth can destroy the body over time.

The hope is these pictures will be enough to discourage people from picking up the habit and is the latest push to get the point across that drugs can do horrible things to your body and your face.

The website connects drug addicts with quality rehabilitation centers around the country.

Treatment centers hope these images, which show the progression of repeated drug use, will get the message across.

Images of one man arrested on drug charges among other offenses throughout the years is one example shown. Different photos show him between a 9-year time period between age 45 and age 54 – and you can easily notice a difference in his face during that time.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan knows all too well of the effects of heroin on families. He formed a task force to aggressively deal with the state’s heroin epidemic. He said he lost a cousin to a heroin overdose a couple of years ago.

Just two years ago in 2013, 464 people died from heroin overdoses in Maryland. Fewer people have died by homicide. If numbers don’t work, rehabs.com hopes these visuals will.

The website does offer a disclaimer saying the mugshots are of people arrested for drugs and other drug-related offenses. But their appearances are not necessarily the direct result of drugs or addiction.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/29656000/physical-effects-of-drugs-on-users-over-time