Horrifying faces of drug addiction

Shocking images show the heavy toll drug addiction takes on the human body over time through a project titled Faces of Addiction.

Put together by Rehabs.com, the series of photographs and GIFs pulled from police mugshots feature individuals arrested for a variety of drug offences involving methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin or pain pills.

Australia topped the global list earlier this year as the country with the highest rate of recreational drug use in the world. Drug.info reports that 15% of Australians used an illicit drug, including using a pharmaceutical drug for non-medical purposes, in the previous 12 months.

41.8% of Australians aged 14 years and over had used illicit drugs in their lifetime and among those, aged 14 years or older, tried illicit drugs because they were curious to see what it was like.

In extreme cases where severe addiction is involved, the chemicals within the drugs take a physical toll on the body. The combination of skin issues, facial fat and muscle loss, hygiene neglect and increased oral decay lead to the appearance of exaggerated aging, sometimes shockingly so.

These photos track drug offenders over a varying periods of time, showing the deterioration of their faces, muscles and teeth as drugs strike a heavy toll on their bodies.

The 13 GIFs being shown to the public, as part of the Rehab.com campaign, follow the gradual physical decline of more than a dozen men and women.

'The consequences of addiction can remain etched in their very skin for years,' the project states.

One woman in particular has become the key focus for the campaign. She begins her journey down the path of drug addiction in 2004 as a relatively fresh-faced 33-year-old, but a decade later, she looks almost unrecognisable. Now a prematurely aged 43-year-old with a glass eye and sores on her forehead.

The Faces of Addiction page does note that the photos ‘do not necessarily show the direct result of drug abuse or addiction', rather that they 'depict the physical deterioration of individuals who have been involved in repeated arrests, and serve as a startling visual timeline – with appearances profoundly altered as a consequence of life impacted by drugs or drug-related crime.’

Rehbas.com is committed to helping people dealing with substance abuse find treatment programs around the country.