The Oregonian revisits the people featured 10 years ago in the “Faces of Meth” campaign, before-and-after photos conceived by Bret King, a deputy sheriff in Multonah County, to show the effects of meth addiction. The images of the eight individuals became drug-addiction icons, appearing in classrooms, at Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and in jails and probation offices nationwide.
The paper tracked down six of the eight people featured in the campaign. Some are in prison, some still can’t shake their demons, some are clean. But they all say the campaign changed their lives. In 2004, 27 percent of the bookings into Multnomah County Jail were meth-related. King thought it would be helpful for the outside world to see what he saw in the jails. “I felt that there was a lot of value to the observations we were making,” he said. “I felt that we could have a really positive impact. That was my passion.”