Pubdate: Tue, 04 Dec 2007
Source: Sentinel, The (Carlisle, PA)
Copyright: 2007 The Sentinel, a division of Lee Enterprise
Contact:  http://www.cumberlink.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4268
Author: Heather Stauffer

DRUG TEST: PARENTS INSPECT MOCK TEEN BEDROOM FOR SIGNS  OF DRUG USE

They got the beer bong, the aerosol air freshener, the  angry snowman
T-shirt and the pacifiers.

But when Clarence Watson held up the tube of lipstick  parents had
missed while searching a teen's bedroom for  signs of drug use, their
reaction made it obvious they  hadn't gotten that.

"This is actually a marijuana pipe," said Watson,  demonstrating how
the tube could transition from  cosmetic aid to illicit
paraphernalia.

An audible "Oh dang" emanated from the audience,  followed soon by an
"Oh man" as Watson deftly revealed  a similar pipe inside a
fluorescent yellow highlighter.

"Our goal today is, number one, to make you aware of  what is
happening in the drug environment today," said  Watson, who with Emmy
Sasala works for the Susan P.  Byrnes Health Education Center in York.

For example, he said, many parents might not be aware  that marijuana
today can be up to 10 times as potent as  it was when they were young.

Speaking to an audience of about 15 people in Carlisle  High School's
McGowan Auditorium Monday night, the two  told parents that not all
drug users fit the inner-city  stereotype.

"About 49 percent of high school kids in the city try  drugs," Watson
said. "About 49 percent of suburban kids  also have tried drugs. We
cannot pigeonhole them."

But before they started talking about heroin and crack  cocaine, the
two stressed that parents should not take  lightly the possibility
that their children could be  doing "gateway drugs" -- tobacco,
alcohol, inhalants.

"They are just as dangerous as some of the other  drugs," Sasala
said.

She noted that tobacco is the number one preventable  cause of death
- -- more than all other drugs combined.  It's less noticeable, she
said, because it's more  socially acceptable and more slowly
debilitating, but  the statistics also offer parents hope.

"If you can get them through high school without  smoking, chances are
that they're not going to start,"  she said.

Inhalants should also be of particular concern to  parents, Sasala
said, because although parents tend to  see it as the equivalent of
trying a cigarette, the  immediate danger quotient of what young
thrill-seekers  may call "air blast, bagging, buzz bomb, gluey, hippie
  crack, moon gas, oz, snappers and quicksilver" is  actually much
higher. A large percentage of people die  after trying inhalants just
once, she says, and the  typical age for first users is 10 to 13.

Gesturing toward the mock bedroom where participants  had identified
about 30 of the 70 drug indicators  present, Watson said, "We order
this stuff off the  Internet." Many online pharmacies don't require
prescriptions or other forms of verification, he said,  and when the
packages arrive in the mail, they don't  look like drugs.

Someone in the audience raised a hand and asked, "Who  are these
people? Why are they selling these things?"

"This is for tobacco," said Watson, assuming a mock  innocent
expression. "I can't believe they're using it  for drugs."

They talked about raves, about "pharming" parties  featuring
prescription pills, about combinations of  Viagra and ecstasy that
often add unprotected sex to  the dangers of drug use.

"How much does this cost?" someone asked, and Watson  said dealers
keep prices low so they can sell more.  "Five dollars a pill, ten
dollars a pill," he said.  Even hits of crack cocaine can be obtained
for as  little as $5, Watson added.

In addition to educating themselves, Watson and Sasala  said, the most
important thing parents can do is to  establish and maintain good
relationships with their  children.

Afterward, as attendees clustered around the mock  bedroom again,
Sasala said that even though they would  have liked to see a larger
audience, they consider  their work worthwhile if it helps even one
child.

"You never know what's going to happen," said assistant  high school
principal Paul Wysocki, "especially when  you play between the
holidays." The event was sponsored  by the Carlisle Health and
Wellness Foundation in  cooperation with Carlisle Area School District.

Bruce Clash, who has one child in middle school and two  in elementary
school, said he and his wife decided to  come even though they have no
reason to think their  children are considering trying drugs.

"I don't think it's ever too early," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Steve Heath