MEMBERS OF COMMUNITY WORKING TOGETHER TO GET INFORMATION TO PARENTS

One of the hardest problems any community has to face is the issue of
substance abuse among its young people. There are so many things out there
to tempt teens, one of the latest of which seemingly is innocent cough
syrup. Some over-the-counter cold medications contain dextromethorphan,
also called DXM. To get a cheap high, teens consume the pills and syrup in
large quantities.

In Woodward, the group Partners Acting as Change Agents (PACA) is taking a
proactive approach to the problem. Stephanie U'Ren said the group doesn't
know of DXM being a big problem in Woodward right now, but PACA is working
to get the word out to parents so they know what to look for.

Sean Byrne, of PreventionWorkz in Enid, said he has spent time researching DXM.

"It's becoming a problem all over the place as more and more youth find out
about what they experience from it," Byrne said. "But since it's a drug
that really has never been researched before, we don't really have any kind
of numbers on how many kids are abusing it. Nobody ever realized it was a
problem until it became a big one."

Byrne said DXM has become popular among youth because of its accessibility
in grocery and convenience stores and pharmacies. He said kids are downing
cough syrup like it's water.

"In low doses, it makes them feel like they are drunk," Byrne said. "In
high doses, it leads to full disassociation and creates a high similar to
taking PCP. It's extremely dangerous. They just chug back as many bottles
as they can until they puke."

He said other ingredients in those same cough syrups can lead to long-term
liver failure and cardiac arrest.

We like PACA's approach to the situation. PACA has taken a pretty strong
stand on other topics in an attempt to get a handle on things.

This type of grassroots effort, started by parents, educators, teens and
concerned citizens, is the way to get things done in a community. It's the
right way to go.

We hope people in other communities take a look at how PACA is doing things
and come up with something that can work in their towns.