Pubdate: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 Source: Ladysmith-Chemanius Chronicle (CN BC) Copyright: 2000 BC Newspaper Group & New Media Development Contact: http://www.ladysmithchronicle.com Author: Jolene Alberg AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION There's decidedly something scary about holding a point of heroin in your hand. Even if it is inside a sealed RCMP bag, intended for educational purposes only, it is uncomfortable to simply hold drugs in your hands. It makes you feel as if they might just jump down your veins and turn your life into a blindfolded walk through a minefield. To feel uncomfortable handling potentially lethal drugs is normal. But to avoid learning about drugs - what they are, how they work, what they look like, and how to know if your children are using them - is akin to turning your back on a wild and dangerous animal. Kids are taught to 'Just Say No', but sometimes they 'just say yes'. For parents who don't know the difference between an acid tab and a pokemon trading card, it's time to get educated and to know the signs that could indicate your young person is using drugs. One of the first things to look for in a suspected drug user is major behavioural change. Local addictions counsellor Sue Balderston suggests that keeping an eye on what's happening with kids at school is a good starting point. "School is a good place to start," she said. "Look at their grades and watch for any big changes. Changing friends is also very common. They might start hanging out with kids who are two or three years older than them or who aren't in school anymore. They also might not want you to meet their friends." Balderston said when kids start to get in trouble at school, with the law and at home, and have a general disregard for rules, it may indicate experimentation with drug use. "As parents, you might find yourselves frantically imposing curfews when before you never needed them," said Balderston. "This can happen even when parents have had close relationships with their kids and had good communication, but all of a sudden things change." "Parents can start to feel very volatile." The minute a young person gets started in a pattern of drug use, their lives are changed, and that change is usually reflected in a number ways. They often change the way they dress and their room decoration , and they may care less about their personal hygiene. Some people who use marijuana frequently lack ambition and that can be directly linked to the drug's effect on the part of the brain that actually causes ambition, according to Balderston. "When a young person gets involved in drugs they might take on an 'I don't care' attitude," she explained. "A young person who has been very active in sports might stop participating or things that might have really mattered before might not matter as much to them anymore." A young person's financial situation can also be an indicator that something is wrong. If a child is working, but is constantly borrowing money, and never has any material item to show for it, they could be using their part-time job to fuel a drug habit. By the same token, kids who always seem to be bringing home expensive items that they try explain away as a 'good deal' could be involved in selling drugs. By keeping on top of behavioural changes, parents can avoid taking steps they really don't want to in order to find out if their child has a drug problem. "If you want to know if your kids are using drugs, the best way to get the answer is by talking to them," Balderston advised. "They are the ones who are going to tell you the most about what's going on with them." Resorting to violation of a young person's privacy is something Balderston cautions parents about, but suggests that if a parent thinks their child has a serious problem, they have to use their judgment as parents, to know how far to go. "It's really hard to know how far is too far for parents to go," Balderston said. "I certainly wouldn't condone parents reading their children's diaries." The decision to violate a child's privacy by rifling through their personal belongings or reading personal diaries is difficult, but if a child's safety is at risk, sometimes parents are forced into taking such drastic measures. For parents who have found enough behavioural signs to suspect their child may be involved in a dangerous drug situation and plan to investigate the home or clothing, hiding places range from the dead obvious to the absolute ingenious. The sock drawer and under the mattress are still used, but also try looking for false pop cans with twist off tops that make perfect stash spots. Film canisters, or anything else that provides a tight seal, are used to store unrolled marijuana, because they keep the strong smell and moisture contained. Rolled marijuana cigarettes are sometimes stored in cigarette packages. Before starting a drug search, it's important to know what to look for. An old looking spoon, beer caps or an old shoelace might not look like drug paraphernalia, but they can be. As for the drugs themselves, each has its own characteristics. Some, especially marijuana, are easy to spot. Others, such as acid, are small, odourless and may even be disguised with cute cartoon characters. How available are these drugs? Marijuana is cheap and bountiful locally. At $15 per gram, which breaks down to about three or four joints or cigarettes that sell for about $5 each, pot is cheaper than alcohol and can be a high school students' drug of choice. And times have changed since the flowery powdery cannabis of the 1960s. Marijuana's THC content is about 10 times greater than it was in the '60s. It is now up to about 20 per cent, when previously it was down around two per cent. Recognizing marijuana is easy. The smell of it is hard to mistake and anyone who is smoking it will have a hard time covering up the smell. Ladysmith RCMP Staff Sgt. Charlie Schaal likens the smell of burning pot to burning rope. The smell sticks to hair, clothing and to the fingers that hold the joint. To cut the marijuana to fit it into rolling papers, small scissors are normally used and they can get blackish-green tips from contact with the vegetative matter. They will likely smell, too. Where there is pot, rolling papers normally aren't far away. If a child doesn't smoke or roll their own tobacco cigarettes, a simple thing like rolling papers is a good indicator that they are using drugs. If a person comes home smelling strange and is overly giddy, a little stupefied, somewhat zoned out with an insatiable hunger, especially for junk food, they could be high from smoking marijuana. Also be aware of how this person's eyes look. If their pupils are dilated and the whites of the eyes are red, but not bloodshot, and they have the above-mentioned symptoms, chances are even better that they are high. Someone who is a frequent pot smoker may show some behavioural traits commonly linked to drug use. A heavy user may have little or no ambition. Marijuana is one of the most frequently used drugs for teens along with alcohol and tobacco. Marijuana is known as a psychoactive drug that is the most widely used and abused family of drugs around. Caffeine is also a psychoactive drug, but the most widely abused is alcohol, followed by nicotine and pot. When young people graduate from smoking pot into using even more harmful and powerful drugs, it can become more difficult to identify the signs. But behavioural changes and paraphernalia used to consume high end drugs can still tell parents a lot about if their kids are on drugs. Higher end drugs cost more. At $80 per gram, cocaine isn't a bargain, but it isn't too expensive for a student with a part-time job. It's sold in 'eight-balls', which is one-eighth of an ounce. A 'spit-ball' is one quarter of a gram and sells for about $40. Forty dollars won't last an addict very long, but will get three people high for a few hours. Cocaine is also commonly stored in 'flaps', which are folded paper squares. These days snorting coke isn't very common. It's more commonly converted to crack by cooking it in either sudsy ammonia or baking soda. Look for a blackened spoon, or bottle caps, that have been used to cook the drug. Pipes can be ornate with carved wood or copper piping or even fashioned out of a bic pen. A pop can may be made into a crude pipe with holes poked near the bottom, flattened in the middle and black around the holes where the crack has been burnt. Cocaine can also be mixed with water and injected. Needle marks or 'tracks' on the user's arms or other parts of the body can indicate that person is shooting up. Someone who is high on cocaine will likely sweat a lot and have a certain degree of paranoia. They may be hyperactive and have trouble sleeping, and will have an increased heart rate and blood pressure. One of today's most popular party drugs is ecstasy, which usually comes in pill or caplet form in varying colours. At the going rate of $20 per tablet, which is one-tenth of a gram, it's relatively inexpensive and will keep kids partying all night. Ecstasy is hallucinogenic and will likely produce dilated pupils. It can cause a person to sweat and act in a bizarre manner. Some E labs are now lacing ecstasy with heroine or cocaine. Drug labs can be as crude as a couple of garbage cans in a garage where the drug, in its pure form, is mixed into various powders to make up pills. Heroin costs about $30 for one-tenth of a gram or a 'point'. A heroin habit can cost $300 per day and beyond. It is normally injected into the users arm. In severe addictions, users can run out of decent veins to inject into. The cost of using heroin is more than just its price, however. Addicts often become anti-social and become preoccupied with getting their next fix. Getting the money to support a habit is just part of the degeneration of a heroin addict, and they often turn to crime to get money for their next fix. After shooting up, users often can't control their motor skills or speak coherently. They experience everything from nausea and vomiting to facial itching and twitches. Because illegal drugs aren't regulated, there is no quality control process. No one checks to make sure that kids aren't getting heroin in place of the 'fun-time party pill' they think they're buying. That means faith is being put in dealers who are selling kids drugs, and in the people who are manufacturing drugs. According to information provided by Balderston, nearly two-thirds of all street-drug samples tested in 1988 by the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario were found to be different from what the seller alleged they were. Knowing what to look for if you suspect a person you love is using drugs is only a tiny piece of the pie. Anyone can keep an eye open for behavioural changes and other indicators of drug use. Something not everyone can do is take a proactive step to get a person to stop using. But getting professional advice from someone like Balderston can make it easier to handle a delicate situation. Ideally, parents already have the kind of relationship with their kids where there can be open and honest conversations about drugs. Unfortunately, life isn't always ideal, and confronting a young person about a drug problem might not be as simple as asking. Balderston operates out of the Ladysmith Resources Centre. She can help parents with everything from advice about prevention, to what to do if you suspect someone you know, whether it's child, father, mother or friend, has a problem with drugs. As well, the Resources Centre are joining forces with the RCMP and other agencies to provide an informative series of presentations called Empowering Parents. The concept for the series is to provide information, parenting skills and options not only about drugs, but about the entire gamut of problems and pitfalls our children can encounter as they grow into teenagers and young adults. The first presentation of the series was held earlier this month, providing a wealth of information about drugs. Other presentations with a variety of guest speakers are planned for the coming months, and will be announced as dates are confirmed. Anyone is welcome and encouraged to attend these sessions. Be careful, be aware and don't be afraid to ask for help. - --- MAP posted-by: GD