Living Word Baptist Church

by Kim Kurth

“Fifteen-year-olds aren’t supposed to be in crack houses!” That’s the frightening reality that scared one Collin County girl back into rehab for the fifth time at the age of 15. The drugs Samantha (not her real name) started with – beer, marijuana and prescription drugs – are the initial drugs of choice for most teens, say experts. Whether they like it or not, parents are at least familiar with these drugs and the dangers they pose. But today there is a growing trend that has yet to register with parents and it comes from a seemingly benign source: ordinary household products. Samantha’s story and accounts from law enforcement agencies concerning the improbable products misused by kids to produce an altered state, expose a stunning reality: kids don’t have to go very far from home to get a deadly high. The dangers are real and often are “hidden” in plain sight.

Samantha provides a first-hand account of traditional drug abuse; fortunately, it looks as if her story will have a happy ending. Now 18, Samantha’s been clean for three years; but gaining and maintaining sobriety has not been easy. She agreed to talk with Frisco STYLE in hopes of opening parents’ eyes and giving them insight into what, she says, is happening with a lot of kids today. “Drugs are everywhere and they are so much easier to get than alcohol. I think that’s why a lot of kids turn to drugs,” says Samantha. Plus, she says, it’s important for parents to understand kids start doing drugs as a way to fit in socially. “A lot of kids are just looking for a way to feel okay in their own skin and they turn to drugs. It’s not just bad kids doing drugs. While doing drugs, I ran into kids from all kinds of homes and all backgrounds. A lot of the kids’ families were wealthy, others were middle class and some were from lower income families. The common thread was we all liked to do drugs, so it didn’t matter where we came from.”

Now, with a drug-free mind, it’s easy for Samantha to pinpoint the factors that played a role in the decisions she made which drove her life so far off track so quickly. One factor: watching her father struggle with an addiction to drugs and alcohol. “My dad had the bottom of the fridge full of beer and I knew that when my dad drank he seemed happier,” says Samantha.

“So I went in and got some beer with my friends and had my first drink at 13.” Even though Samantha says she didn’t really like beer, it didn’t stop her from taking advantage of the next opportunity that presented itself. “I had just turned 14 when I went over to my best friend’s house, just across the street. Her dad, who was like a father figure to me, told us that he would rather we try things with him than go out on the streets to try them. He had just bought some Shiner beer and told us we could drink with him. Next, he invited us to try smoking some marijuana and then he gave us some of his prescription pills, Xanax,” says Samantha. “I got hooked on the Xanax pills. They made me feel very relaxed. I knew it was wrong, but doing the pills gave me an escape from feeling bad about what was going on with my dad. I kept telling myself that I’m not my dad and I can handle this, because at that time I was only doing it a couple times a week and I was at my friend’s house. I was finding a way to justify it.”

According to the latest statistics released by the Frisco Police Department, marijuana makes up the largest number of drug arrests among people between the ages of 12-20. “The schools have dogs come in and almost every time they do, the dogs make a hit on marijuana,” says Sgt. Jason Ellis, who oversees School Resource Officers at half of Frisco’s high schools. The second largest group of arrests is for prescription drugs kids take from medicine cabinets in their own homes. “Prescription drugs are responsible for nearly all of the drug overdoses happening in Frisco, including among teenagers. Right behind that are inhalants and over-the-counter drugs.”

Frisco’s statistics reflect what’s happening across the rest of country. A national study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found an alarming number of today’s teenagers are more likely to have abused prescription and over-the-counter medications and products than a variety of illegal drugs like ecstasy, cocaine, crack and meth. Nearly one-in-five teens report abusing prescription medications to get high; one-in-ten report abusing cough medicine to get high.

Sadly, sheaves of statistics don’t carry as much weight with most teens as the pressure brought to bear by their peers. As one young man interviewed for this story said, “If I read a bunch of facts about how drugs are bad and some kid died from doing drugs just once and then I turn around and see my friends getting high and laughing at cartoons, I’m going to believe my eyes.”

“We have a situation where a widespread and dangerous teen behavior has become normalized and has found its way into our homes. The abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs has taken root among America’s teens and the behavior is not registering with parents,” says Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug Free America.

Another trend police and other experts worry doesn’t register with parents is the growing number of household products kids use to get high. There are more than 1,000 products, from spices to cleaners, which kids are turning to as a drug. Kids as young as 12-years-old are using them. “They’re starting younger and they’re using the products they can get from home and these kinds of products are what middleschool age kids can get their hands on,” says Sgt. Ellis. “Parents need to be aware of what’s around the house that your kids have access to. That’s going to be their main source – either your house or their friends’ houses.” However, children can buy these products legally and easily at the grocery store or other stores, with no questions asked. Some of the products include cough and cold medicine (liquid and pill form), poppy seeds, nutmeg, nail polish remover, energy drinks, spray paint, solvents, rubber cement, household cleaners, markers and highlighters, white out, air freshener, whipping cream aerosols, hairspray, deodorant spray, fabric protector spray and gasoline. This list is just a fraction of the products kids can die from, even after using just one time to get high. A lot of the products are things most people don’t think twice about allowing a teen to have in their room. “Dust Off. That’s a new one we’re seeing,” says Sgt. Ellis, referring to a popular cleaning product. “If you see that in your kid’s room it ought to be a clue your child is probably doing more than cleaning off dust from their computer keyboard.”

Getting high on some of these products, like pills and medicine, takes no preparation. Others require a little work, but the information on how to prepare them is easily obtained through friends or on the Internet. Unfortunately, experts say kids believe these household products and prescription drugs are less harmful than illegal drugs because they are easily available. The study conducted by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, showed that parents are largely unaware of the problem and feel ill equipped to respond. The study revealed three out of five parents report discussing drugs like marijuana “a lot” with their children, but only a third of parents report discussing the risks of using prescription medications or nonprescription cold or cough medicine to get high. “I think one of the biggest mistakes parents make is that they look away and say ‘this is just a phase and my child will out-grow it,’” says Samantha. “But it’s not a phase. Very few of the people I got high with stopped doing drugs because it was a phase. Smoking pot, drinking beer or taking prescription drugs – those are definitely gateway drugs that will lead you down a path to harder drugs and a worse addiction.” And that’s exactly what happened to Samantha.