drdĒv
12-06-2005, 08:55 PM
What you don't know could hurt your teens
By PAULETTE PERHACH
[email protected]
Publication Date: 12/05/05
As someone who worked in law enforcement, Grace Hudson knew to talk to her kids about cigarettes, alcohol and street drugs. She never thought to warn them about the dangers of cough medicine.
Although middle school students are still experimenting with the drugs and drinks parents know to look out for, they're also finding ways to get high that parents may never imagine, as Hudson found out. They need to be aware of what to monitor, she said.
She thought she was maintaining a drug-free home, until she found two empty bottles of Robitussin in her son's underwear drawer.
His friend had a cold, her 13-year-old son said. But in the following months she found more cold medicine, then lighters and then found out he had been doing something called a choking game.
It's hard to maintain a drug-free home when your kids can get high off things found in almost any room of an average home -- nail polish remover, spray paint, vegetable oil cooking sprays, cough medicine and spices.
Adolescents inhale, drink or smoke these everyday items to get a high they may not realize could be deadly, Hudson said.
Since her experience, Hudson has been on a mission to inform parents of the dangers of huffing. She spreads the word through the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office "Household Highs" program.
She's been met with resistance from parents who think that because they live in upper-class neighborhoods, their children will not be exposed to these dangers.
"It's never going to happen to you until your child's dead," she said.
The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition reports approximately 100 to 125 inhalant deaths per year, based on contacts with families of victims and media accounts.
One of the problems, she said, is the Internet, which has taken household drug rumors from classroom whispers to a global exchange of information.
"The kids are on the Internet. They have the access. It's kind of an underground communication they have," she said. "It's the parents who don't know about it."
By Web surfing, she's found information on how to get huff household chemicals, calculate dosages and even smoke nutmeg.
"Kids are thrill-seekers," said Mark Lewis, the safe and drug-free schools coordinator for the St. Johns County School District. "There is a trend of kids using bizarre things to get high. But this is not a new issue. They're just taking it to that next level."
It starts with a bag, a rag, or a bottle. The lungs quickly absorb the inhaled chemicals and send them to the bloodstream. Within seconds, an intoxication similar to drunkenness occurs, with effects such as slurred speech, lack of coordination, euphoria and dizziness. Some users report hallucinations, light-headedness and delusions. Then the high leaves as quickly as it came, within a few minutes.
Nearly all abused inhalants produce their effects by depressing the central nervous system. Studies on the solvent in many commonly abused inhalants, toluene, suggest that it activates the brain's dopamine system, which may create a high, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
With such a short intoxication, users may huff over and over for hours, after which they may suffer from a headache at the least and unconsciousness and death at the worst, according to NIDA.
The long-term effects can include weight loss, muscle deterioration, inattentiveness, irritability and depression, signs parents should look for, Lewis said.
"Parents just need to be aware of it. They need to pay attention to their children," said Lewis. "Be aware. If there's chemicals missing out of the cabinet, if you see things missing, confront your kids about it."
About 13 percent of teens in St. Johns County reported using inhalants at least once in a 2004 Florida Youth Substance Abuse survey, which is slightly higher than the state average.
The growth of the county, with many people moving here from out of town, may be adding to the problem, Lewis said.
"We've found that one of the biggest risk factors (for drug abuse) is a big move," said Lewis. "Parents need to be aware that just by moving, they're adding a risk factor to their child's lives."
That makes Lewis afraid for the more than 50,000 school children who are supposed to move to the county over the next 20 years.
Lewis said parents should just be aware, ask questions and stay involved in children's lives.
"Don't panic," he said. "But stay educated."
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/120505/...w_1111118.shtml (http://www.staugustine.com/stories/120505/new_1111118.shtml)
By PAULETTE PERHACH
[email protected]
Publication Date: 12/05/05
As someone who worked in law enforcement, Grace Hudson knew to talk to her kids about cigarettes, alcohol and street drugs. She never thought to warn them about the dangers of cough medicine.
Although middle school students are still experimenting with the drugs and drinks parents know to look out for, they're also finding ways to get high that parents may never imagine, as Hudson found out. They need to be aware of what to monitor, she said.
She thought she was maintaining a drug-free home, until she found two empty bottles of Robitussin in her son's underwear drawer.
His friend had a cold, her 13-year-old son said. But in the following months she found more cold medicine, then lighters and then found out he had been doing something called a choking game.
It's hard to maintain a drug-free home when your kids can get high off things found in almost any room of an average home -- nail polish remover, spray paint, vegetable oil cooking sprays, cough medicine and spices.
Adolescents inhale, drink or smoke these everyday items to get a high they may not realize could be deadly, Hudson said.
Since her experience, Hudson has been on a mission to inform parents of the dangers of huffing. She spreads the word through the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office "Household Highs" program.
She's been met with resistance from parents who think that because they live in upper-class neighborhoods, their children will not be exposed to these dangers.
"It's never going to happen to you until your child's dead," she said.
The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition reports approximately 100 to 125 inhalant deaths per year, based on contacts with families of victims and media accounts.
One of the problems, she said, is the Internet, which has taken household drug rumors from classroom whispers to a global exchange of information.
"The kids are on the Internet. They have the access. It's kind of an underground communication they have," she said. "It's the parents who don't know about it."
By Web surfing, she's found information on how to get huff household chemicals, calculate dosages and even smoke nutmeg.
"Kids are thrill-seekers," said Mark Lewis, the safe and drug-free schools coordinator for the St. Johns County School District. "There is a trend of kids using bizarre things to get high. But this is not a new issue. They're just taking it to that next level."
It starts with a bag, a rag, or a bottle. The lungs quickly absorb the inhaled chemicals and send them to the bloodstream. Within seconds, an intoxication similar to drunkenness occurs, with effects such as slurred speech, lack of coordination, euphoria and dizziness. Some users report hallucinations, light-headedness and delusions. Then the high leaves as quickly as it came, within a few minutes.
Nearly all abused inhalants produce their effects by depressing the central nervous system. Studies on the solvent in many commonly abused inhalants, toluene, suggest that it activates the brain's dopamine system, which may create a high, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
With such a short intoxication, users may huff over and over for hours, after which they may suffer from a headache at the least and unconsciousness and death at the worst, according to NIDA.
The long-term effects can include weight loss, muscle deterioration, inattentiveness, irritability and depression, signs parents should look for, Lewis said.
"Parents just need to be aware of it. They need to pay attention to their children," said Lewis. "Be aware. If there's chemicals missing out of the cabinet, if you see things missing, confront your kids about it."
About 13 percent of teens in St. Johns County reported using inhalants at least once in a 2004 Florida Youth Substance Abuse survey, which is slightly higher than the state average.
The growth of the county, with many people moving here from out of town, may be adding to the problem, Lewis said.
"We've found that one of the biggest risk factors (for drug abuse) is a big move," said Lewis. "Parents need to be aware that just by moving, they're adding a risk factor to their child's lives."
That makes Lewis afraid for the more than 50,000 school children who are supposed to move to the county over the next 20 years.
Lewis said parents should just be aware, ask questions and stay involved in children's lives.
"Don't panic," he said. "But stay educated."
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/120505/...w_1111118.shtml (http://www.staugustine.com/stories/120505/new_1111118.shtml)