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."