TEENS AND DRUGS: A PARENT'S GUIDE

Southwest Florida is resolved to keep its youths off drugs.

To do that, parents, guardians and other adults need to know what to look for.

This ought to help. It is a primer on the drugs most commonly abused
by teens, courtesy of the Collier County Sheriff's Office.

For more information, parents and groups can contact the Substance
Abuse Coalition of Collier County. Its vice chairman, Kevin Rambosk
of the Sheriff's office, is at 793-9205.

Inhalants

Look under your kitchen sink or anywhere inside your garage and
you'll find what kids are using to get high. Gasoline, spray paint,
bleach, glue, helium from balloons, pressurized cleaner used to clean
computer keyboards, paint thinner and rubber cement are just some of
the products. One teenager in Collier County died earlier this year
after taking the Freon out of an air conditioning unit and inhaling it.

How Used: The gases and vapors of these products are extremely
dangerous and are usually inhaled from paper bags, fingers or pieces
of cloth that have been sprayed or dipped. The body is starved of
oxygen and brain functions are cut off, which may lead to respiratory
arrest and in turn cardiac arrest or death.

The chemicals numb your internal organs and your brain, causing
potentially irreversible damage.

Slang: Huffing, rush, whippets, poor man's pot, poppers.

Signs: Red or runny eyes and nose, paint traces on clothing, nose,
mouth, hands, sores around mouth. Causes hallucinations, eratic
behavior, dizziness, slurred speech.

Sheriff's Office comment: "How would a young person know to inhale
Freon from an air conditioning system in order to get high? Usually
by associating with others who have tried it or by learning about it
while searching the Internet - joining chat rooms that discuss how to
do this for a cheap and easy high. One can even find step-by-step
instructions on how to do this and learn different ways to possibly
avoid an accidental overdose. The truth is, there is no way to learn
a 'safe way' to inhale any kind of substance. Someone who may want to
try it once, may never realize the damage they have done to
themselves, or live to see another day." - Sgt. Joe Scott

Check It Out: www.drugabuse.gov and www.inhalant.org

Ecstasy

A designer drug created in a lab by combining various types and
amounts of illegal drugs and chemicals. The pills come in many colors
and are usually stamped with a supplier's "brand." Most prevalent in
teen dance clubs and rave parties and not really used in a widespread
way among teens.

How Used: Pills, which can be swallowed, crushed and sniffed or injected

Slang: E, X, XTC, rolls, hug drug, disco biscuits, the love drug

Signs: Sweating, elevated body temperature, jaw clenching, teeth
grinding, increased heart rate, dehydration, hallucinations, loss of
inhibitions. Can be fatal.

Sheriff's Office comment: "Because it is a designer-created drug the
user never has a true idea of what type of drug they are

taking or how it may affect them." -Sgt. Joe Scott

Check It Out: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.com and www.adolescent-
substanceabuse.com

Marijuana

Readily available to many kids as young as elementary school,
marijuana use is widespread among teens and young adults.

How Used: Smoked.

Slang: Pot, weed, grass, blunt, reefer.

Signs: Attitude changes, different, new friends, changes in clothing
choice, problems in school. It lowers inhibitions, slows reaction
times, impairs memory and makes eyes red and bloodshot.

Sheriff's Office comment: "Marijuana is considered the next gateway
drug to harder drugs, such as cocaine." - Sgt. Joe Scott of the Youth
Relations Bureau.

"Based on seizures and arrests, I believe that marijuana use is
increasing in our county." - Lt. Nelson Shadrick

Check It Out: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov and www.drugabuse.gov

Cocaine

A powerfully addictive stimulant that directly affects the brain. It
is extracted from the coca plant. There are two forms - the powder
form, and the form processed for smoking, which is called "crack."

How Used: Smoked, snorted, injected or sniffed.

Slang: Coke, snow, happy powder, lady, nose candy, blow, crack, cola.

Signs: Red or bloodshot eyes, runny nose or frequent sniffling,
restlessness, irritability, paranoia, decrease in eating and
sleeping. Makes the user feel euphoric and energetic. Increases heart
rate. Can be fatal.

Sheriff's Office comment: "Cocaine is rarely found among high school
students in Collier County. It's usually older teens or young adults
who use cocaine. The few students we have dealt with using these
harder drugs have advised us that someone in their family has it,
uses it or was selling it to others. Again, it was the convenience of
having it easy accessible that provided the teen with the opportunity
to start using these types of drugs in a majority of our cases" -
Sgt. Joe Scott

"Crack cocaine is, in my opinion, at the top of the list of damaging
drugs that take the heaviest toll on individuals, families and our
community. It is very addictive and directly responsible for ravaging
numerous families and lives in our county." - Lt. Nelson Shadrick

Check It Out: www.focusas.com

Triple C

Commonly known as Coricidin Cough and Cold medicine that can be
bought in any store, these small, red pills have three C's stamped on
them. The Dextromethorphan (DXM) in these pills can be found in more
than 125 other over-the-counter medications. Coricidin, however, has
been moved behind the counter or in locked cabinets to prevent young
people from stealing them and then abusing the drugs. Before the
drugs were moved behind the counter, deputies would find Triple C
parties in nearby woods, with packages left on the ground. Now
customers must ask for the drugs so it's harder for kids to obtain.

SLANG: Candy, Dex, DM, Drex, red devils, skittles, Vitamin D

SIGNS: Blurred vision, excessive sweating, slurred speech, vomiting,
numbness, redness in face, dry skin. Your heart rate accelerates and
you have trouble breathing. Can be fatal.

Sheriff's Office comment: "This is a teen craze that quickly
circulated in chat rooms and on the Web as a great experience and an
easy way to get high, just by visiting the medicine cabinet at home
or stealing the boxes right off the shelves at stores. Nationally,
numerous reports can be found of teens and young adults found dead
with empty foil packets lying around them from taking large amounts
of Triple C." - Sgt. Joe Scott.

Check It Out: www.kidshealth.org

Prescription Drugs

This group includes Xanax, Rohypnol, Valium, Percocet, Darvocet and
other prescription pills often gathered by young people raiding their
parents' or grandparents' medicine cabinets. Parents should check the
medicine cabinets in their homes.

SLANG: Barbs, reds, candy, roofies (Rohypnol or the date rape drug),
rope, juice, hillbilly heroin, candy, downers, xannies.

SIGNS: Feeling of well-being, poor concentration, impaired motor
function, euphoria, drowsiness. Can cause respiratory distress and a
coma. Can be fatal.

Sheriff's Office comment: "Prescription drug abuse among juveniles is
here and appears to be coming on stronger with time. They think that
because they come out of the medicine cabinet and are prescribed by a
doctor that they are clean and harmless. But they are anything but
harmless.To begin with, they are taking a drug that was never
prescribed to them. They are usually taking them in improper dosages
and with other prescription drugs and the effect is often lethal.
They are not as obvious to the untrained eye and can be easily
concealed from law enforcement and school officials. In many cases,
they do not even know what the prescription drug is for. But if the
label says 'Do not drive or operate heavy equipment while taking this
prescription,' or 'May cause drowsiness or make you dizzy,' then the
kid figures it will get them high." - Lt. Nelson Shadrick.

Check It Out: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.com