Xanax, Methadone and Vicodin Combination Kill Teen

Teen, mother give personal warnings about drug abuse


Corey McNeill, a De Pere High School senior and standout wrestler, left a mourning family behind. The 18-year-old died of an overdose during an October 2006 party after taking a combination of Xanax, methadone and Vicodin.


Matt Danen, 19, is also suffering the consequences. He provided the methadone and is now serving a jail term in Brown County. Upon release, he will still have the ramifications of having two felony drug convictions on his record.


He said he never considered just how severe the consequences could become.


"Everything I did backfired on me in the long run," Danen said.


McNeill's mother, Karen Falck, and Danen spoke Monday night to a crowd of several hundred people at Kimberly High School, providing their personal warnings to parents and students on the danger of prescription drug abuse.


Falck reminded students that they aren't invincible. She told
parents to follow through on their suspicions. Falck suspected drugs and confronted her son, but said she didn't push hard enough.


He could just wrap up that whole conversation with a smile and a hug, and I'd believe him," she said.

Teens Getting High on Houselhold Products

Studies may indicate that the overall percentage of elicit teen drug use has declined over recent years. However, the use and subsequent abuse of prescription medication has steadily increased in this age group at an alarming rate. Many teens find the pills in their parent’s medicine cabinet. Others share or buy them from peers. Shockingly, some even rummage through their neighbors trash to find leftover prescriptions. Furthermore, teens may not risk buying illegal drugs when they can get high on many household products, such as aerosols and other inhalants. Dust Off, super glue, oven cleaners, and other strong smelling chemicals will kill brain cells and possiably do irreparable damage to the brain.

Based on this information, it is important to remember that what we regard as “unsafe to children” extends to teens as well. Reconsider locking up anything that you might consider dangerous to a child. When you throw away an old prescription, seal it, and grind it up in cat litter or old coffee grounds. These simple precautions may save the life of someone, namely someone you love.

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.