Teens and substance abuse: Law Enforcement Officers Encourage Community to 'Wake Up'

You use it one time, and more than likely you’re going to be hooked.”

Lieutenant Andre Jenkins of the City of Charleston Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit believes heroin is the worst drug on the streets today. It’s a habit that can become draining for users – not only financially (some spend up to $300 a day to get high), but also physically and mentally, he said.

“The more they use, the more they have to have it.”

Lt. Jenkins has been working the local Charleston drug scene for 18 years. From his vantage point, it is an ever changing fight that forces officers to continuously stay up to speed on what substances are being used and how they are obtained. Most of the heroin found locally originates in Mexico, said Jenkins.

“We have a pretty good idea of where drugs are being distributed, and where overdoses are happening,” he added. “For a long time, most of our heroin was isolated to just downtown and now it’s starting to spread out a little bit, especially with the influx of people moving in from other states…We are starting to see it spread out to the islands – West Ashley, James Island, Daniel Island – but it’s isolated incidents.”

Still, law enforcement officers agree the problem is worsening. Jason Sandoval, the Resident Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Charleston, believes heroin and opioid use has reached epidemic levels both in the U.S. and in our region.

“I always hesitate to use the word ‘crisis’, but to be honest, we are at crisis levels,” said Sandoval. “…The heroin and opioid threat is real. It’s palpable, and people are dying.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the heroin use rate among 18-25 year olds climbed 109 percent from 2002 to 2013. And during that same period, heroin-related overdose deaths increased some 286 percent. Fortunately, the trends are not quite as alarming for younger users. In fact, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2015 Monitoring the Future Survey) reports decreasing use of alcohol, cigarette and certain illicit drugs among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders over the last five years. But the NIDA report also highlighted the fact that there has been a “softening of attitudes around some types of drug use” among teens – a problem Sandoval fears is contributing to what he is seeing on the streets.

A pill popping culture

“It’s a multi-layered problem that has a lot of roots,” added Sandoval. “There is sort of this cavalier attitude that popular culture has put forth about drug use and the party scene – that you can use drugs with no consequence.”

Of particular concern when it comes to kids is the increase in pill use among teens, he noted.

“What we’ve seen over the last year and a half to two years is an extreme rise in teenagers, age 16, 17, to 23, 25, with pills. They use these pills and they get the same feeling – they think of them more as ‘party drugs,’ so they use Xanax, Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Adderall, and those types of drugs…They walk around and get that feeling of being high…and not having to smoke marijuana and smell like marijuana.”

And Sandoval is quick to point out, just because a drug comes from a parents’ medicine cabinet doesn’t mean it’s safe.

“Those medications are good at helping people relieve chronic pain…so to malign them for their intended use is not our goal,” he said. “But we’re trying to educate people about that fact that once that pain has passed, whether it’s five days or several weeks, people need to return those drugs to ‘Take Back’ locations that we’re identifying in the Lowcountry. They are a ticking time bomb sitting in the medicine cabinet.”

According to Sandoval, the powerful opioid fentanyl is a synthetically produced pain reliever that is 30 to 50 times stronger than heroin and 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine.

“Fentanyl can come in pill form,” added Jenkins. “But usually it comes mixed with heroin or it comes under the assumption that’s its heroin.”

And how do teens obtain these sorts of illicit drugs?

“From older kids,” he said. “…There is somebody who has a connection with somebody locally, whether it’s somebody from downtown, somebody from wherever…That’s how they get started.”

As officers have discovered, pills can lead to bigger problems.

“A lot of addicts these days are starting out with prescription pain meds, and you can actually get a good high with OxyContin and drugs like that,” said Sandoval. “…Those are relatively regulated and after a while the doctors won’t prescribe them anymore. An equivalent high can be found in heroin, so they turn to that. Initially, they avoid the stigma of shooting up…they can snort and smoke it for a while, chasing that great high.”

‘Wake Up’ campaign launched locally

In an effort to raise awareness, Sandoval has helped launch a new campaign, aptly titled #WakeUp, to get the word out about the dangers of heroin and opioid use in our communities.

“Even if you can overcome the addiction and work the rest of your life not to relapse, it’s not a party that they should be wanting to go to,” added Sandoval. “We are looking to partner with anybody and everybody on this – basically as concerned citizens who are ready to link arms and say enough is enough.”

Joining him in the effort is the family of the late Creighton Shipman, a 19-year-old Mount Pleasant resident who passed away from a heroin overdose in July. Creighton is one of an estimated 129 people a day who lose their lives as a result of drug abuse. And of those 129 fatalities, 79 are the result of heroin and opioid use, said Sandoval. Creighton’s addiction, which surfaced during his first year in college, has been linked to opioids he was prescribed while recovering from a lacrosse injury in 2011.

“We’ve lost enough young people,” continued Sandoval. “That’s the sad part of this, the young people across our community and country who are dying as a result of this problem.”

What’s happening on Daniel Island?

When it comes to drug use on Daniel Island in particular, Lt. James Byrne, commanding officer of the City of Charleston Police Department’s Team 5, said that there has not been a marked increase in the number of incidents involving drugs, but he does see certain usage trends.

“We’re seeing a couple of different things,” he said. “We’re seeing marijuana and we’re seeing prescription abuse. We’re seeing pills – and the high potency cough medicines – being used.”

Byrne noted that recently officers have had a number of teens who have been caught on the island that have either had in their possession drug paraphernalia or have discussed it.

“They’re using household items to make smoking devices,” added Byrne. “As opposed to having to go out and buy specialty pipes and paraphernalia. There’s a lot of that going around.”

Byrne also reports that it is difficult to pinpoint a particular place on the island where teens are going to use drugs, although they typically will seek out places that are private and away from the eyes of others.

“Bellinger Island and places like that are easy to point to,” he said. “Because they are attractive to kids, a fun place to walk around, and there’s not a lot of supervision and visibility there. But at Team 5, we’ve seen it move from one place to another…When it comes to drugs, the scary part is most of them are in houses.”

Marijuana use – no big deal?

One popular assumption among teens is that marijuana is “no big deal.” In fact, according to the website www.teenrehabcenter.org, 35.1 percent of 12th graders have smoked pot in the last year. Additionally, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (www.drugabuse.gov) reports that about 68 percent of high school students do not view regular marijuana smoking as harmful.

The law enforcement officers interviewed by The Daniel Island News cautioned against that way of thinking.

“I’m not here to debate the medical side of it,” said Byrne. “I can tell you there are plenty of people who have been under the influence of marijuana who have been involved in traffic collisions, have been involved in dumb behavior that has led to criminal charges, and ruined lives, where other people have gotten hurt or they have hurt themselves.”

“It usually starts with marijuana,” added Jenkins. “It’s the gateway drug. People for some reason seem to think that marijuana is not bad and it won’t do anything to you. But it starts the process…It just leads you down avenues you don’t want to go down.”

“Kids are telling me that pot is so pervasive that almost everybody smokes it in high schools,” said Sandoval. “…With marijuana and other substance abuse, it just kind of ups the ante…I talk to people who are recovering…It often starts with marijuana use and from marijuana use someone tells them if you really like that high, pop an Ecstasy or a ‘Molly’ pill…and then someone suggests snorting cocaine or crack. One domino falls, and then another.”

Signs and symptoms of drug use

How can parents determine if their teens might be using illicit substances? Byrne said there are a number of signs and symptoms to look for, including changes in behavior and physical appearance. Take note if they’re acting differently, hanging out with a new friend group, listening to new music or watching programs they haven’t watched before, he said. Also be aware if their sleeping and eating habits have changed, if they suddenly become more excitable or more withdrawn, or if they lose interest in activities they used to enjoy. Not wanting to share information or talk about their plans or activities could be additional warning signs.

“If they’re not willing to discuss what they did that day, some people may say ‘well, that’s just teenagers,’ but a parent will know if that’s their teenager,” said Byrne. “I know kids that won’t tell their parents anything about what they did that day, and that’s the way they’ve always been and probably always will be. But it’s those changes, those derivations from the normal that parents need to first look for.”

Physical evidence of drug use can also be present, he added. Look for signs of injury or marks on the skin. Drug paraphernalia can include empty ink pens, metal or glass pipes, lighters, plastic bags, and waxy paper. In addition, harmful substances can come in many forms – such as pills, powder, or candy. Often, it’s not the drugs that will kill you, explained Byrne, but the behavior that follows.

“With so many of these drugs, it reduces your inhibitions and it reduces the perception of reality or your ability to deal with situations in the same way you might were you not under the influence,” said Byrne. “And it’s the behavior that results while under the influence of some of these drugs that is damaging.”

Lt. Jenkins offered the following advice for parents struggling to monitor their teens’ behavior.

“I always tell people the first step is to be a parent,” he said. “You’re not there to be a friend. Be that parent. They’re living in your house. You go into their rooms. Check what they’re doing. Monitor what they’re doing on social media sites. Monitor the activities that they go to with their friends. Know who their friends are and what their friends are in to. All of those things are very important.”

Jenkins, Byrne and Sandoval urged the entire community to become part of the conversation and get engaged in combating the problem through increased awareness, education and intervention.

“It’s a fight,” added Jenkins. “My guys do a really good job. They come in every day and they give it their all. Drugs are rampant – and we’re fighting every day to try and make it better.”

‘Wake Up’
Charleston!

Join the fight against heroin and opioid use in our community. For additional information on the recently launched “Wake Up” campaign, please visit the initiative’s Facebook page – “Wake Up Charleston.” Both the Facebook page and a comprehensive website will be up and running soon.

The Drug Enforcement Agency also recommends taking leftover prescriptions in home medicine cabinets to “Take Back” locations in your community. Below are two sites in the Charleston region that accept unused medications 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

Walgreens
1120 N. Main St.
Summerville

MUSC
101 Doughty St.
Charleston

DRUG USE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
In his book How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents, author Joseph A. Califano, Jr, offers a comprehensive guide to parents about what they need to know when it comes to identifying drug use and abuse, as well as how parents can help their children take steps towards recovery. Califano calls parents a child’s “first line of defense.” Following is a partial list of the “Siren Signals” and symptoms he provides in the book that could indicate a problem may be brewing.
Califano’s “Siren Signals”
*Dropping old friends and getting new ones
*Borrowing or stealing money
*Dropping activities
*Increased secrecy
*Declining grades
*Aggressiveness
*Irritability
*Chronic restlessness
*Sleeping too much or too little
*Difficulty concentrating
*Use of stimulants to study
*Loss of interest in physical appearance or personal hygiene

Some possible symptoms of
substance abuse
*Excessive talking, rapid or slurred speech
*Difficulty expressing thoughts
*Nervous twitches or ticks
*Erratic behavior
*Bloodshot eyes
*Dilated or very small pupils
*Excessive sweating
*Constantly popping breath mints or chewing gum
*Missing prescription medication (OxyContin, Vicodin, or Xanax)

What should you do if you suspect your child/teen might be using?
Califano offers the following tips for parents:
*Listen to your gut – you know what behavior is normal for your child
*If you suspect a problem, discuss your concerns with your child
*Enforce consequences
*Assess the situation (is it a one-time situation or something long term?)
*Monitor your child closely
*Seek professional advice if you think your child is regularly using – call a local center, or the Al-Anon or Alateen national hotline at (888-4AL-ANON or 888-425-2666).

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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