Teen Drug Trends in Oakland County – Rochester Community Schools held a free symposium for concerned parents regarding recent drug trends in local schools. Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy spoke at length regarding bath salts, spices and other teen drug trends.
Here are portions of the transcripts from the meeting on teen drug trends in Oakland County MI.
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on alcohol use: “Alcohol remains the #1 drug of abuse. Statistics show that alcohol is appealing to younger and younger people. One of the unfortunate things about that is that it’s no longer just beer parties. These kids are drinking fifths of all kinds of alcohol. There are scads of Youtube videos of kids downing a fifth in less than 20 seconds. It’s very disturbing”.
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on forms of alcohol abuse such as “drunk tampons”: “Drunk tampons is kids soaking tampons in vodka or some kind of strong liquor and inserting them rectally or vaginally. The reason for this is the blood vessels in the vagina or in your rectum are very close to the surface and they quickly absorb the alcohol. The drunk that you get from this is intense. The main reason kids do this is because they say that you can’t smell it on their breath.”
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on forms of alcohol abuse such as “boozed gummi bears” or “drunk gummies”: “A problem we are having in this area in the local high schools is ‘boozed gummi bears.’ You can take two lbs of gummi bears and they will absorb a fifth of vodka. They double in size and get slimey but the high schools have caught kids bringing them in to school in baggies. These are so juice flavored and sweet that kids will eat/drink more.”
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on forms of alcohol abuse via energy drinks such as “Four Loko”: “Drinking one can of Four Loko has the same effect of drinking 4 bottles of beer, contains the sugar of one king size Kit Kat bar and drinking three, 8-ounce cups of caffeinated coffee. It’s cheaply sold at $2.50 a can. A person drinking ‘Four Loko’ may not be able to tell how intoxicated they are. So, if I drink one, I become intoxicated but the stimulants are causing me to have a lot of energy and be very alert. I may not be aware of how intoxicated that I am because I am so alert.”
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on marijuana use: “The youth of today don’t believe marijuana is a drug. Marijuana use has increased with the passing of medical marijuana. It’s believed to be 10x stronger than the pot that was being smoked in the 60’s and 70’s.
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on the use of synthetic forms of marijuana such as Spice, bath salts and K2: “Spice looks like potpourri and they spray chemicals on it so you’re just smoking tons of chemicals. Bath salts act as a high-powered stimulant similar to the effects you’ll find with cocaine, PCP, meth and ecstasy. Bath salts cause psychotic-like symptoms like dillusions, paranoia and self-harm. One of the biggest problems with this is self-harm. It makes you want to carve into your skin. Bath salts can be snorted, smoked or cooked down to use in IV form.”
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on the use of Salvia: “Salvia is the most hallucinogenic natural plant that can be grown. It leads to distortion of time, visions, feeling of being stuck, reliving past memories, overlapping reality and others. You can smoke it, chew it or blend it into tea.”
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on drug tests: “None of the things I’ve mentioned are going to be found in drug tests. Marijuana would but Salvia and the like won’t typically show up. That’s why a lot of kids are resorting to these alternative types of behaviors.”
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on opiates: “Opiates are a big problem. Vicodin use is huge right now. Heroin is on the rise – it’s up 41% in Flint.”
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives in Troy on how kids are getting some of their drugs: “Where are these kids getting some of these drugs like Vicodin? Your medicine cabinet. You have someone come over to baby sit… You have vicodin left over from when you’ve had your wisdom teeth pulled… They could steal it. That’s one way younger kids are getting pills and either using them or selling them in the area. ‘Pharming Parties’ is a place where kids throw a collection of pills in a pot. You have no idea what drugs are in the collections and they have no idea what they’re taking.”
Dr. Carpenter from Perspectives of Troy on the roles of parents: “You know what I get in my office? ”Well, I took away his cell phone for two days.’ Parents aren’t being parents any more, they’re being friends. Let’s not be niave.”
Dr. Carpenter is the Director of Addiction Services at Perpectives Counseling Centers in Troy, Michigan. Perspectives Counseling Center offers individual and family counseling, group therapy, addiction services and more.
Perspectives Counseling Centers
888 W Big Beaver Road suite #1450
Troy, Michigan 48084
248-244-8644
Originally posted in 2011.
