drdĒv
11-24-2005, 08:32 AM
WALLINGFORD - Delaware County law enforcement officers are looking to new methods to keep drugs out of local schools.
"The bad guys are very savvy," Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said at a prescription drug abuse forum on yesterday at the Springhaven Club in Wallingford.
"The latest trend in distribution is cell phone video communication," Green said. "Flashing a digital image of where to meet."
The forum consisted of over 100 community members including teachers, law enforcement officials, doctors, pharmacists, administrators and concerned parents who addressed new street and prescription drugs.
Along with using cell phones to make transactions, Green insisted the Internet has become a conduit for dealing illegal prescription drugs.
"There's a growing trend in this part of the country of sales of prescription mimicked [drugs] via the Internet," Green said.
"It is very easy to place these orders," Green said. "Teenagers and young adults in this region are receiving these [Internet] packages."
Students are using everything from OxyContin and Percocet to Robitussin and cough syrup to get high, according to Troy Brindle, a licensed clinical social worker for the Association of Springfield Psychological.
"They nicknamed them generation RX, the prescription generation," Brindle said.
Springfield Police Detective Mark Cottom insisted that with the new drugs being used in schools, old techniques are no longer effective.
"There are things we can do, but there is going to be a way to circumvent that," Cottom said. "Our kids are much more intelligent than we were at their age."
Techniques like using drug dogs to search the school are ineffective because substances like ecstasy can be placed in water and sipped, according to Cottom.
Dr. Sherry Siegel, from Purdue Pharma, insisted that urine tests are obsolete when dealing with prescriptions.
"Urine drug tests are designed to detect street drugs," Siegel said.
Another drug Green warned about that is infiltrating younger residents is methamphetamine (meth) because the ingredients to make it are readily accessible.
"Ingredients can be obtained at any drug store or hardware store," Green said. "In Delaware County we're starting to spot people between [the ages of] 25 and 35 that are abusers of the drug."
Cottom - who works with students from Springfield, Upper Darby and other high schools - agreed that meth use is increasing.
"The ones I'm seeing abused the most are heroin and meth," Cottom said.
School officials have to work with law enforcement officers to monitor drug activity throughout schools, according to Green.
"We're not looking to dime out individual students, we're looking for chatter," Green said. "We want the intelligence if nothing else."
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and Purdue Pharma sponsored the forum.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=..._id=45529&rfi=6 (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15586706&BRD=1725&PAG=461&dept_id=45529&rfi=6)
"The bad guys are very savvy," Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said at a prescription drug abuse forum on yesterday at the Springhaven Club in Wallingford.
"The latest trend in distribution is cell phone video communication," Green said. "Flashing a digital image of where to meet."
The forum consisted of over 100 community members including teachers, law enforcement officials, doctors, pharmacists, administrators and concerned parents who addressed new street and prescription drugs.
Along with using cell phones to make transactions, Green insisted the Internet has become a conduit for dealing illegal prescription drugs.
"There's a growing trend in this part of the country of sales of prescription mimicked [drugs] via the Internet," Green said.
"It is very easy to place these orders," Green said. "Teenagers and young adults in this region are receiving these [Internet] packages."
Students are using everything from OxyContin and Percocet to Robitussin and cough syrup to get high, according to Troy Brindle, a licensed clinical social worker for the Association of Springfield Psychological.
"They nicknamed them generation RX, the prescription generation," Brindle said.
Springfield Police Detective Mark Cottom insisted that with the new drugs being used in schools, old techniques are no longer effective.
"There are things we can do, but there is going to be a way to circumvent that," Cottom said. "Our kids are much more intelligent than we were at their age."
Techniques like using drug dogs to search the school are ineffective because substances like ecstasy can be placed in water and sipped, according to Cottom.
Dr. Sherry Siegel, from Purdue Pharma, insisted that urine tests are obsolete when dealing with prescriptions.
"Urine drug tests are designed to detect street drugs," Siegel said.
Another drug Green warned about that is infiltrating younger residents is methamphetamine (meth) because the ingredients to make it are readily accessible.
"Ingredients can be obtained at any drug store or hardware store," Green said. "In Delaware County we're starting to spot people between [the ages of] 25 and 35 that are abusers of the drug."
Cottom - who works with students from Springfield, Upper Darby and other high schools - agreed that meth use is increasing.
"The ones I'm seeing abused the most are heroin and meth," Cottom said.
School officials have to work with law enforcement officers to monitor drug activity throughout schools, according to Green.
"We're not looking to dime out individual students, we're looking for chatter," Green said. "We want the intelligence if nothing else."
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and Purdue Pharma sponsored the forum.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=..._id=45529&rfi=6 (http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15586706&BRD=1725&PAG=461&dept_id=45529&rfi=6)