Oregon sheriff using scary mug shots to dissuade kids from using drugs

Just earlier today, we were thinking about how the recent spate of unhinged Charlie Sheen interviews might ultimately do more to dissuade people from using drugs than decades of government-funded "War on Drugs" propaganda ever did. (Even though, for the record, Sheen has volunteered for, and passed, a drug test to prove his recent outbursts have not been chemically enhanced.)

At least one branch of government in America is stepping up a far more deliberate, shall we say, PR offensive predicated on the same message that Sheen stirred in the back of our mind: Using before-and-after photos to scare the living heck out of anyone who might consider using drugs.

As you can see above, the Multnomah County, Ore., sheriff's office is using the contrasting mugshots in their files to demonstrate, via striking side-by-side comparison, how quickly an illegal substance such as crystal meth can disfigure users.

MSNBC's Linda Carroll reports that Deputy Bret King created a 48-minute documentary titled "From Drugs to Mugs" featuring the shocking photos.

"The thinking is that this will give kids a tangible image of what can happen if they get involved in using hard drugs," King says. "We did want to appeal to their sense of vanity."

You can watch a condensed eight-minute version of the film below:

(Photo via Multnomah County Sheriff's Department)