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12-15-2004, 02:11 AM
By Jamie Brockwell
Evening Times Staff Writer
A concerned parent is speaking out after the suspicious car fire that occurred Saturday in Marion.
A mother of a 16-year old girl said she believes that hairspray was not the cause of the mysterious explosion which sent both girls to the hospital.
"They are huffing nail polish drying spray," said the mother. "They are even doing it behind dumpsters between classes at the school. They have a huge problem in that school."
She said that after her daughter started Marion High School is when all of her trouble began.
"When she started there and began running around with some people is when it all began with the Coricidin," said the mother. "Running around with those people got her hooked on that."
She said that she found a package of cold medicine in her daughter's room, but thought nothing of it because it was just cold medicine. When her daughter tried to hide the package from her, however, it sent up a red flag and she began to investigate.
"When I asked her about hiding the package she said that she didn't have anything, it was then that I realized I had a problem," said the mother.
"I went to every drug store until finally one pharmacist told me that the kids are taking this medicine to get a drunk feeling."
The mother found with her further investigation that ever since her daughter had started running with this crowd she had been taking the pills and doing other dangerous things.
The girl's mother said that when her daughter left her previous school, she had a 4.0 GPA. When the mother discovered these pills and that her daughter was abusing them, she checked her grades at Marion to find that she was failing.
"I couldn't believe it. She wasn't doing anything but popping pills at school," said the mother.
The mother was shocked to discover that her daughter was taking these over the counter pills 8 to 15 at a time.
"That many of those things can explode your heart!" said the mother.
She said after calling the police about troubles with her daughter, she finally realized that it was not working and took her to Charter Lakeside for her substance abuse problem.
"She had been drinking, and other things that I am just not going to put up with," said the mother.
The mother says that along with all of the other troubles, the deciding factor to send her child for treatment was when she discovered after a vehicle accident that her daughter was in that these teenage girls are "huffing" household chemicals to get high.
"I found out that they had been huffing at the library parking lot, they were high and passed out which caused the accident they were in," said the mother.
"I moved her out of Marion and brought her back to West Memphis after her treatment at Lakeside. Her grades are better and she undergoes random drug testing," said the mother.
The mother warns other parents, to carefully watch their children because this is affecting them all.
"I don't care who they are, rich or poor, popular or not, almost all of the kids today are doing these things or are present when other kids are," said the mother. "It's a cheap high. They don't think it's dangerous. I went to several stores and asked to have the nail dryer taken off of the shelves but they will not do it. Parents need to know the indicators of what to look for, community awareness is also important."
The mother said that a even just a single sock found in a teenager's car could be something to look at, that's all it takes.
"They are using the socks to spray the stuff in and then huffing it. Who would look twice at a messy teenager leaving socks in the car? I didn't, until now."
These cheap highs may not seem dangerous to teenagers, however this mother is now dealing with the lasting effects from her daughters reckless behavior.
"She has black spot on her brain that shows up on a cat scan. The doctors cannot say for sure what caused it or why it is there but they say the huffing is a good explanation. We are watching that now with doctors, but she has bad headaches a lot. She can't see when she gets them and she has to sleep all day because of the pain," said the mother.
The mother urges parents to watch their teenagers behavior very closely. These things are happening in the local communities and to kids from almost every walk of life.
"A little extra attention to them, and talking to them could keep them alive," said the mother.
Link:http://www.theeveningtimes.com/articles/20.../news/news1.txt (http://www.theeveningtimes.com/articles/2004/12/14/news/news1.txt)
Evening Times Staff Writer
A concerned parent is speaking out after the suspicious car fire that occurred Saturday in Marion.
A mother of a 16-year old girl said she believes that hairspray was not the cause of the mysterious explosion which sent both girls to the hospital.
"They are huffing nail polish drying spray," said the mother. "They are even doing it behind dumpsters between classes at the school. They have a huge problem in that school."
She said that after her daughter started Marion High School is when all of her trouble began.
"When she started there and began running around with some people is when it all began with the Coricidin," said the mother. "Running around with those people got her hooked on that."
She said that she found a package of cold medicine in her daughter's room, but thought nothing of it because it was just cold medicine. When her daughter tried to hide the package from her, however, it sent up a red flag and she began to investigate.
"When I asked her about hiding the package she said that she didn't have anything, it was then that I realized I had a problem," said the mother.
"I went to every drug store until finally one pharmacist told me that the kids are taking this medicine to get a drunk feeling."
The mother found with her further investigation that ever since her daughter had started running with this crowd she had been taking the pills and doing other dangerous things.
The girl's mother said that when her daughter left her previous school, she had a 4.0 GPA. When the mother discovered these pills and that her daughter was abusing them, she checked her grades at Marion to find that she was failing.
"I couldn't believe it. She wasn't doing anything but popping pills at school," said the mother.
The mother was shocked to discover that her daughter was taking these over the counter pills 8 to 15 at a time.
"That many of those things can explode your heart!" said the mother.
She said after calling the police about troubles with her daughter, she finally realized that it was not working and took her to Charter Lakeside for her substance abuse problem.
"She had been drinking, and other things that I am just not going to put up with," said the mother.
The mother says that along with all of the other troubles, the deciding factor to send her child for treatment was when she discovered after a vehicle accident that her daughter was in that these teenage girls are "huffing" household chemicals to get high.
"I found out that they had been huffing at the library parking lot, they were high and passed out which caused the accident they were in," said the mother.
"I moved her out of Marion and brought her back to West Memphis after her treatment at Lakeside. Her grades are better and she undergoes random drug testing," said the mother.
The mother warns other parents, to carefully watch their children because this is affecting them all.
"I don't care who they are, rich or poor, popular or not, almost all of the kids today are doing these things or are present when other kids are," said the mother. "It's a cheap high. They don't think it's dangerous. I went to several stores and asked to have the nail dryer taken off of the shelves but they will not do it. Parents need to know the indicators of what to look for, community awareness is also important."
The mother said that a even just a single sock found in a teenager's car could be something to look at, that's all it takes.
"They are using the socks to spray the stuff in and then huffing it. Who would look twice at a messy teenager leaving socks in the car? I didn't, until now."
These cheap highs may not seem dangerous to teenagers, however this mother is now dealing with the lasting effects from her daughters reckless behavior.
"She has black spot on her brain that shows up on a cat scan. The doctors cannot say for sure what caused it or why it is there but they say the huffing is a good explanation. We are watching that now with doctors, but she has bad headaches a lot. She can't see when she gets them and she has to sleep all day because of the pain," said the mother.
The mother urges parents to watch their teenagers behavior very closely. These things are happening in the local communities and to kids from almost every walk of life.
"A little extra attention to them, and talking to them could keep them alive," said the mother.
Link:http://www.theeveningtimes.com/articles/20.../news/news1.txt (http://www.theeveningtimes.com/articles/2004/12/14/news/news1.txt)