Oregon law enforcement creates program to prevent teens from using meth

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, located in Portland, Oregon, recently announced that methamphetamines may be more of a problem than cocaine or heroin, My Fox Atlanta reports.

Officials told the news source that the sheriff's department created the Faces of Meth project to show teens the that choices they make about drug use now may affect them into their adulthood.

"I have never met a hardcore meth, cocaine or heroin addict who did not first experiment with marijuana or prescription drugs or alcohol," Bret King, deputy sheriff, told the news source. "When people look at those images, they see the devastation, they see the suffering,"

Law enforcement officials added they also created a similar program called Drugs to Mugs, which allows young inmates to explain how they became addicted to the substance.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly 2.4 percent of high school seniors reportedly used meth at least once during their lifetime. Furthermore, nearly 1.2 percent in the same group used the substance within the past year.