CRACK, MARIJUANA STILL DRUGS OF CHOICE AMONG QUINTE TEENS, LONGARM HEAD SAYS

The detective sergeant in charge of a local drug squad says crack
cocaine and marijuana remain the drug of choice in Quinte -- even
among the youngest drug users.

Dan Reive, who heads Project Longarm, says he isn't aware of local
youth following a recently discovered trend of teens getting high on
legal drugs, ranging from painkillers to cough syrup.

"We've seen an odd isolated incident from time to time over the past
few years in the Quinte area involving OxyContin -- sometimes called
hill-billy heroin on the street -- but as far as local trends go, we
are still seeing crack-cocaine and marijuana as the dominant drugs of
choice in the Quinte Region," Reive said.

A recently released U.S. government survey says that while Marijuana
remains the single most abused drug among teens, a small but growing
number are are getting high on legal drugs including painkillers such
as OxyContin and Vicodin, and mood stimulants like Ritalin.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse annual study found fewer teens
are drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs but a growing number are
popping prescription and over-the-counter medications like cough syrup
to get high.

The American study said one in 14 high school seniors used cold
medicine "fairly recently" to get high. It was the first time the use
of over-the-counter medicines were tracked.

Authorities are recommending parents keep an eye on the medicine
cabinet. Over-the-counter medications that aren't being used should be
properly disposed of.

The move to cough syrup to get high is particularly alarming because
the medicine is cheap and easy to get, experts says. Few recognize the
danger of overdosing on the otherwise safe and legal drugs.