LMAO “Is your kid doing drugs?”

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - Many teenagers have messy rooms. What some parents don’t know is that those messy rooms might camouflage the clues that can indicate their sons or daughters are using drugs or drinking alcohol.

Searching through those rooms is a parent’s responsibility, say some experts. “It might seem like an invasion of privacy, but it’s something you have to do if you are suspicious,” says Clarence Watson, a health educator from the Susan P. Byrnes Health Education Center in York.

Watson and fellow health educator Emmy Sasala teamed for a Lancaster County Prevention Forum conference, “Drugs 101: What Parents Need to Know.” The program was held Jan. 14 at the Best Western Eden Resort Inn and Suites, and presented by the Council on Drug & Alcohol Abuse.

Using a simulated teen room, which was actually a lot neater than those in many homes, Watson and Sasala left dozens of clues that parents can easily overlook, or misconstrue as being harmless.

A large flat children’s storybook, for example, might seem like a teen’s attempt to hang onto childhood. It could, in fact, be used to cut and roll marijuana joints. A squashed, empty soda can might be doubling as a marijuana pipe.

The same goes for a cardboard toilet-paper roll. It’s not just messiness; it’s about what seems out-of-place in a bedroom. That cardboard roll might also be serving as a makeshift marijuana pipe.

Parents who find cans of whipped cream might wonder if their teens are making ice cream sundaes in their bedrooms; it’s possible the young people are inhaling the fumes from the cans and getting high.

Teens might use cigarettes or flavored cigars and re-fill the papers with marijuana. It’s also possible that a yellow highlighter used to mark books is being used as a pipe.

“And here you’re thinking he’s being so diligent doing his homework,” says Watson.

He and Sasala offered many other clues for watchful parents, such as eye drops that often indicate marijuana use; sticker books used for holding Ecstasy; and lots of lollipops and water bottles that are sometimes used by Ecstasy users to quell the urge to chew and bite down.

“There are also a lot of gadgets that teens use that seem like the normal things,” said Sasala, demonstrating a lipstick and a flashlight keychain, each of which can serve as a pipe.

Watson and Sasala added that nearly all the items in their demo bedroom came from the Internet. They just searched for items, ordered then online and got them delivered right to their homes.

Similarly, teens “can also order prescription drugs online, anything they want, no doctor or prescription necessary,” noted Sasala.

Some teens attend what are called “pharming” or “pharm” parties. They have nothing to do with the Future Farmers of America. At one of these parties, each teen brings prescription pills from home. The pills are placed in a bowl and teens at the party reach in and grab a handful. Then they take them.

“They don’t know what they are. They just wait to see what happens,” added Watson.

The effects can be dire if they take several stimulants, several depressants or a dangerous combination. And they get the drugs right out of their parents’ medicine cabinets. Sometimes they even come from the family pet’s prescription.

Using skits and honest discussion, Watson and Sasala helped their adult students begin to understand drug users’ tricks of the trade. Everything from unusual behavior to a lack of hygiene can be clues to drug use, whether it’s using inhalants, marijuana, prescription drugs, alcohol, Ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine or extremely dangerous heroin.

“The first time a person uses heroin they are addicted,” Watson told the concerned parents.

And the scary news is that the heroin on the current drug market might be spiked with more dangerous substances and is much stronger than ever.

Some teens might try it once, overdose and die. Others resort to robbery and criminal behavior to get money to support their expensive habits.

Parents need to be aware of the signs of heroin use, such as a disheveled appearance, insomnia and nodding out. Moms and dads might overhear words such as smack, mud, sugar, black tar and junk; these are terms that refer to heroin.

The main lesson of Drugs 101 was that parents need to pay attention and be alert to obvious and not-so-obvious signs.

“You see a Bob Marley T-shirt or a shirt with a marijuana leaf and that’s a dead giveaway,” said Watson, adding that a popular T-shirt that says “Just Say N2O” might seem like it’s carrying a “Just say no to drugs” message. “What it really means is nitrous oxide, an inhalant sometimes known as laughing gas.”

The program was presented by the Council on Drug & Alcohol Abuse to help parents and professionals learn about new approaches to alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention, as well as current trends among youth and adolescents.

“I hope that Drugs 101 helped parents gain a better awareness of the youth drug culture,” Sasala said.

“Awareness is key to prevention.”

The Island →

by ~IceFireX

I must admit
I could never be with a girl who don’t smoke
Cause I feel so lonely if you don’t smoke with me
It’s like baby
Just come sit on my lap
While I roll up this mango
We’ll take a trip to a tropical island
I’ll treat you like an angel
Bend you in all the right angles
And I hope you treat me good
Cause your such a looker
High heels like a hooker

This lemon liqour got me tippin
This mango got me trippin
Got a boat load of bud trees
Lost somewhere on the island
Everyday sand in my toes
Lookin for my many o’s

Baby girl sittin next to me lookin into the abyss
Floatin on an island
Wish this was my land
But I can’t buy land

Cause Im lost like this island
She got her makeup running
Trying to fix that shit
I’m like baby just wash it off
That shit don’t fly with me
Get natural
Nice and clean
Smoke that green
Get bear naked
Eat some granola
Float in the ocean and forget about jewels and gold
Cause baby girl you and me were gonna get old
So for now just deal
Your hand is done just fold