Pubdate: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Copyright: 2004 Lexington Herald-Leader Contact: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240 Author: Delano R. Massey, Herald-Leader Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) METH POSTER AIMED AT FAYETTE STUDENTS Most people stop and stare, then express some sort of displeasure. But the reaction Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson ultimately hopes to acquire from a ghoulish-looking woman pictured on a new anti-methamphetamine poster? Fear. At 10 a.m. today, Larson will be at the Fayette County Schools central offices to discuss the launch of a new drug-awareness program to help educate high school students about the dangers of using methamphetamine. Meth labs have been springing up throughout Kentucky, and Larson hopes the new program can deter drug use. "We had some luck in steering a lot of kids off of crack," Larson said. "It was because we started talking about the horror stories of what happens when people get on crack. Our hope is to do the same thing with methamphetamine." The poster, which will be distributed to high schools throughout the state, pictures an 18-year-old brunette woman beside a seemingly aged, worn-down blonde. It's the same woman, but the latter picture was taken after the Illinois woman had abused meth for four years. Kentucky's new drug-awareness program is being spearheaded by the Cease-Fire Project, a group of law enforcement officials that usually attacks gun violence in Fayette County. The group began focusing on meth after noticing a startling trend. In 1998, 19 meth labs were raided in Kentucky. By 2003, there were 493 meth labs, Larson said. "We're expecting to have between 650 and 700 labs discovered in 2004," he said. "The problem is escalating." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake