Hide and Seek:

DRUG TALK PREVALENT ON NETWORKING SITES

Web-Savvy Teens Swap Tips on Ecstasy and Cocaine Online

You know your teen spends hours online. But instead of mere idle
gossip and song-swapping, it's possible he or she is seeking
information about ecstasy, heroin or DXM, a drug found in
over-the-counter cough medicine, according to a new study by Nielsen
BuzzMetrics.

Using search software much like Google, the study's researchers sifted
through 10.3 million messages posted between April 1, 2006, and March
31, 2007, on public sites such as Myspace.com and Teenspot.com. The
researchers, commissioned by a non-profit provider of drug and alcohol
treatment services in the United States, found that 160,000 messages,
or 1.6 per cent of the total, focused on drugs and alcohol. The top
choices? Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and LSD (acid).

Alcohol and marijuana were the most popular topics of discussion.
Outside of those, about 11 per cent of drug and alcohol-related online
chats involved teens seeking advice from peers on how to take illicit
drugs "safely" and without getting caught.

Teens have always swapped this kind of information behind their
parents' backs. But now, with the networking potential of the
Internet, the pool of potential peers is vast - and so is the library
of information.

"Five years ago, we weren't looking at this at all," says Janice
Styer, an addiction counsellor for Caron Treatment Centers, the
organization that sponsored the study.

Indeed, entire sites now exist to serve those curious about drugs. One
resource site, Erowid.com, has compiled one of the world's most
exhaustive and accurate collections of information on recreational
drugs and their use, according to a piece in this month's Harper's
Magazine.

And teens can organize into online groups based on drinking and drug
use. Teens logging on to networking sites such as Nexopia.com can list
among their interests clubbing, raving, partying and drinking.

The dissemination of faulty, even dangerous information worries Ms.
Styer most. "We have kids assuming the role of doctor," says the
counsellor, who works at a Caron centre in New York.

She has seen posts suggesting mixing Tylenol with heroin. Because of
this kind of advice, "kids are ending up in emergency rooms having
seizures on drugs."

But the thrill of clandestine topics of discussion is powerful. "They
love that parents aren't cool enough to be in on it," Ms. Styer says.
"It's their own private world. And it's a dark world."

The Nielsen BuzzMetrics study found beer and vodka were the most
popular topics when teens discussed alcohol, while recreational drugs
other than marijuana - including ecstasy, DXM and mushrooms - provided
the most fodder for questions. Teens want to know about the drugs'
effects, how they would feel if they were high and recommended dosage
levels.

Commonly asked questions included:

How long does it take for various drugs to clear the system in order
to pass a drug test?

Is there a way to modify ecstasy to be legal?

What is the metal tray on hookahs used for?

Some teens also posed questions comparing the effects of various drugs
and the risks of harder drugs compared with those of cigarettes and
alcohol.

While the study's authors say the research can't be extrapolated to
apply to all teens, they say it does provide valuable insight into
exactly how young people talk about drugs and alcohol.

"What we found was not a snapshot of all teens," Nielsen BuzzMetrics
vice-president Max Kalehoff says. "It was a window into a
self-selecting group of individuals."

So, if you're a parent and you're not savvy about the Internet, get
savvy, Ms. Styer says. She suggests learning the lingo, looking into
filters and safeguards and not allowing a computer in your teen's bedroom.

And with Internet use approaching 100 per cent among Canadian
students, this is an issue that experts predict will continue to grow.
Ninety-four per cent of students reported they have access to the
Internet at home in 2005, up from 79 per cent in 2001, according to a
study of 5,000 students in Grade 4 to 11 completed for the
Ottawa-based educational non-profit organization Media Awareness Network.

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TEEN DRUG LINGO

Candy flipping

A high achieved by combining LSD (acid) with MDMA (ecstasy).

"Let's go candy flipping tonight."

Crunk(ed)

To get high and drunk at the same time.

"We've got beer and weed. Let's get crunked."

DXM

Dextromorphan hydrobromide (DXM HBr) - a drug in over-the-counter
cough suppressants. More than 900 milligrams creates a hallucinogenic
effect.

"I'm out of weed, let's trip on DXM."

Pregame

To drink before going to a party.

"We should pregame before we go out tonight."

Salvia

Salvia divinorum - a plant native to Southern Mexico. It has a
hallucinogenic effect.

"Salvia highs make you see some scary stuff."

Triple Cs

Coricidin HBP Cough & Cold. Taking more than the recommended dose of the
cough medicine can have a hallucinogenic effect. Syn: skittles, robo trip,
poor man's X.

"I'm out of X but I've got Triple Cs. I'm going to robo
trip."

Source - Nielsen BuzzMetrics

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THE BUZZ

Of all online discussions in teen communities studied by Nielson
BuzzMetrics, 1.6 per cent were about drugs and alcohol. A breakdown of
which drugs teens discussed:

Meth: 4.0%

Acid/LSD: 7.2%

Oxy: 3.3%

Cocaine: 10.6%

Heroin: 2.8%

Mushrooms: 2.4%

Ecstasy: 2.0%

DXM: 0.4%

Vicodin: 0.6%

Special K: 0.9%

Adderall: 1.6%

Xanax: 1.8%

Marijuana: 27%

Source - Nielsen Buzzmetrics