DESIGNER DRUGS HIT HOME

SCOTTS VALLEY - When parents here see headlines about GHB or other designer
drugs, they think they don't have to worry.

They're wrong.

Sgt. Donna Lind said she has found kids in Scotts Valley are using
"ecstasy," a drug popular at raves, and abusing Coricidin, an
over-the-counter cold tablet. Police also have confiscated water bottles
filled with vodka from students at Scotts Valley High School.

One parent is so concerned about his son's drug use that he is considering
turning him in, Lind said.

Most parents, however, think drugs are something that are available
somewhere else - not in Scotts Valley, which has a reputation of being the
safest city in the county.

For Lind, that is the biggest problem.

"Parents don't think about having to deal with it," she said.

The following includes some of the situations she's encountered in the past
year:

* Police broke up a party on Granite Creek Road last April, but they
didn't learn until much later that party-goers were using ecstasy.

* A baggie full of ecstasy was seized from a young man trying to find a
rave party. Police say rave parties tend to be held just outside the city
limits, like Mount Hermon or Glenwood Drive.

* Girls at Scotts Valley Middle School told a school nurse they had
bruises from attending a rave.

* Parents found out that their daughter was getting ecstasy from a
neighbor boy, but when they told the boy's parents, their complaint was
dismissed as "Kids will be kids."

* A girl at Scotts Valley Middle School was airlifted to a hospital after
taking too many "red devils," the street name for Coricidin. Other teens
admitted to officer Mark Lopez they had taken the cold tablets, which can
have hallucinogenic effects.

All this makes Lind determined to get the word out to parents, who probably
are familiar with marijuana and LSD but may not know the latest in drug use.

Even Lind, who has been a police officer since 1978, said she had no idea
what "red devils" were.

"I had to ask," she said.

Other signs of drug problems include baby pacifiers and Vicks VapoRub.
Pacifiers help relax teens who clench their jaws after using ecstasy, Lind
said, and Vicks intensifies the effects of ecstasy.

One new tool in her educational campaign is a video provided by Diane
McNiel, whose son grew up in Scotts Valley and died of GHB addiction.

Parents sat in total silence after seeing the video, Lind said.

When one mom asked if the video would be shown to students, Lind said yes.

"Good," the mom replied. "I want my kids to see it."

Lind hopes more parents will want to educate their children.

"We're trying," she said.