NARCOTICS INVESTIGATORS SHARE TIPS ON SPOTTING DRUG ABUSE

WARNER ROBINS - Finding a small piece of aluminum foil folded up in your
child's wallet probably indicates a drug problem, a Houston County
sheriff's narcotics investigator said.

Sgt. Wayne Franklin talked with parents and teens Tuesday at Northside High
School about illegal street drugs and how to tell if your child may be hooked.

The drug LSD is often placed on blotter paper and wrapped in aluminum foil,
he said.

"Folks think that's an old hippie's drug," Franklin told the small group
gathered in the school's auditorium for a drug awareness workshop. "But
it's all over Warner Robins."

A potent dose of LSD can be found, Franklin said, on a piece of paper
smaller than a fingertip. A piece of paper laced with LSD - previously
seized during a narcotics investigation - was passed around for parents and
teens to examine during the workshop.

Children can simply place the paper under their tongue to ingest the drug,
Sgt. E.M. Quinones Jr. said.

Other drugs examined included a pound of marijuana with a street value of
$1,200 to a gallon freezer bag filled with methamphetamine molded into
corn-cob shapes with a street value of $500,000, Franklin said.

An ounce of cocaine, with a street value of $1,200, also was passed around
in the way it was smuggled - inside the compartment of a VCR tape.

Though parents may have qualms with looking in their child's wallet or
searching a bedroom, Franklin said such actions often are necessary.

He said drugs are rampant in Houston County and youths know all kinds of
ways to hide their drug use.

"It's not a big-city problem," Franklin said. "It's a Houston County problem."

During the two-hour session, Franklin discussed a litany of illegal drugs,
their common street names, street values and their effects on the body.

For example, Franklin talked about the dangers of a "date-rape" drug known
as "GHB," which was originally designed to be an anesthetic for surgery.

Franklin said the drug is tasteless and can be easily slipped undetected
into any kind of drink. He said it's very easy to overdose on the drug,
which sells for $20 an ounce.

He warned those in attendance, especially girls and women, not to set their
drinks down and to be watchful of their surroundings.

Franklin also discussed the rapidly increasing methamphetamine drug problem
and offered insight on how to recognize a meth lab. He said a key indicator
is a bad smell.

He said meth labs often are deceiving because they don't resemble typical
chemistry labs but instead consist of common household items that are mixed
together - including pseudoephedrine cold pills and lighter fluid - in
containers such as plastic buckets, he said.

The best advice Franklin said he could give parents is to become aware of
the types of drugs that are out there, become familiar with warning signs
and to diligently police your children before it's too late and they become
hooked.