Teens abuse over the counter, prescription drugs

July 30, 2007

Thomasville -- It's a growing drug abuse trend. More young people are abusing easy-to-access over the counter and prescription drugs. Drug education officers say if kids think that's not dangerous, they're wrong. Deputies in Thomas County say this school year, they plan to crack down.

Thomas County D.A.R.E. Officer Sgt. Steven Jones says teen drug abuse is a different game in schools today. "Drug use is down in every category except one. That one category being over the counter and prescription drugs."

Cold medicines, with an ingredient called dextromethorphan, are the most common source of over the counter drug abuse.

"Kids are figuring out, learning from the Internet, learning from their friends that cold medications give them a particular kick or feeling that they're looking for," says Jones.

Most parents don't realize, kids are using what's right in their own medicine cabinet to get high. The best idea is to keep these items, along with your prescriptions, in a place where kids can't get to them."

"It's easy access, it's right there in the home, in the medicine cabinet, that's where so many of them get it," says Jones.

At Thomas county schools, the sheriff's office dealt with around half a dozen cases last school year, but they say there probably were even more than that. Here, authorities have mainly discovered teens abusing a drug called, Coricidin, a brand of over the counter cold tablets.

"It's illegal for them to have those on campus. Anything they bring on campus they're supposed to take to the school nurse and we're going to try to do a better job this year of cracking down on that."

Small amounts of the drugs are fine, but officers say many teens are ignoring use and dosage labels, a dangerous idea.

"They're experimenting, and that's what's scary because this stuff can cause some really serious side effects, as well as can kill them."

With a special eye on the look out for over the counter meds, DARE officers say this school year their zero-tolerance drug policy will be enforced more strongly than ever.

This week during planning, D.A.R.E. officers in Thomas county are educating school staff on what these drugs look like and the signs to look for in kids who use the drugs.

Area Father Must Have Read Some Drug-Slang Brochure or Something

Area Father Must Have Read Some Drug-Slang Brochure Or Something

Teen Drug Slang

Every parent is baffled at times by the slang of their teens. Individuating via language is an important rite of passage for each generation; a way for the younger generation to identify themselves as unique. But can this normal behavior mask something more dangerous? It is entirely possible that your teenager is talking about their drug use right in front of you. Knowing current slang may be the difference between keeping your child safe, and allowing them unknowingly to engage in unsafe behavior.

Every generation adopts slang for drugs, and the paraphernalia used within the drug culture. Many terms from previous generations remain them same; successive generations strive to identify themselves with fresh new spin words. The advent of new drugs and hybrids of old drugs has necessitated the invention of original names. Many terms may have alternate or multiple meanings depending on a specific region. To try and keep up with current slang can be difficult for most parents. Fortunately, with the help of the Internet and interviewing a group of “experienced” adolescents, we have come up with a shortlist of some of the more common contemporary drug terminology.

Adderall: addys

Cocaine: blow, coke, girl, nose candy, powder, snow, “snow white”, white, the white pony, yay, yayo

Coricidin: cherry bombs, dm, dxm, robo, skittles, triple C’s,

Crack: freebase, ice, rock

Crystal Methamphetamine: crank, crystal, “Crystal Light”, glass, ice, meth, shit, speed, spiff, sugar, Tina, twak, tweak, twizzle, white ice, yaba

Ecstasy / MDMA: Adam, beans, disco biscuits, E, raves, thiz, thizzle, X, XTC

Ecstasy and LSD: candy flip

Heroin: cheese, china white, chiva, dope, H, horse, junk, monkey, smack, tar

Ketamine: k, special k

LSD: blotter, doses, L, liquid, Sid, sugar cubes, sunshine, tabs, trips

Marijuana / Cannabis: blaze, bud, cheeba, chronic, ganja, grass, greens, herb, hydro, MJ, Mary Jane, reefer, THC, trees, weed

Use of Marijuana: blaze, have a sess(ion), let’s go bowling, 420

Mushrooms: magic mushrooms, shrooms

Nitrous Oxide: cartridges, hippy crack, laughing gas, NO2

Oxycontin: o.c., orange county, oxy, Percocet, Percodan

PCP: angel dust, evil

Vicodin: narcos, vics

Xanax: bars, footballs, white sticks, xanys, z-bars, zanies

This list is not comprehensive, and drug terms change frequently, so remember to do your own research. Google any terms you hear your children throwing around if you suspect they may be talking about drug use. Knowing what your teenagers know may be the best way to protect them!

For further information visit:
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/streetterms/default.asp
www.erowid.com *
www.urbandictionary.com *

* The last two sites were provided by teens and represent sites where they get their information about drugs. These sites are designed for young people, teens and/or drug users, and may contain offensive material and candid discussion of drug use.

Our Staff

How We Get Addicted

"Addictions," says Joseph Frascella, director of the division of clinical neuroscience at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), "are repetitive behaviors in the face of negative consequences, the desire to continue something you know is bad for you."

- A good read from TIME mag.