Pharming
by Phillip Ohnemus
CBS 42 News
2007-11-26 20:00:00.0
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Drug abuse with teenagers is nothing new. But there's a growing trend in prescription medication abuse that local teens are turning to.
Melissa Fraiser discovered the scary trend in its infancy. "When I was like 12 years old, I was looking through my mother's medicine cabinet a lot."
That behavior escalated into 16 years of legal troubles. Now Fraiser is 28 years old and a recovering addict.
So what set her straight?
In short, all things she can't remember doing after getting high. "There's a lot of things that happen, there's some things that did happen but there's a lot that could have, but didn't."
Prescription abuse is rapidly expanding across the United States and here in Alabama. "I am hearing repeatedly from the students themselves and from parents and law enforcement that this is a common practice even in the schools or on the weekends at home with their friends," said Donna Parker, who council’s teens at Safe Harbor.
Parker says teens are sneaking pills out of prescription bottles and bringing them along for a good time, also known as a “pharm party.” "They'll throw them into a bowl or in a baggie, mix them together. They might throw dice to see how many pills they need to take."
In many cases few teens have any idea what kind of pills have been added to the cocktail. Parker says that can result in a deadly mix. "The child can't tell you what they've taken. And it can be a life and death decision there in the emergency room and the outcome is often not pleasant."
22-year-old Shasta Ellison was attending these kinds of parties when she was just 16. She says she's seen the dark side of it. So why do it? Shasta says she did it as a reality escape. "You could die going down the road. I should have done been dead and had wrecks because of it but I haven't. I was lucky."
Now Ellison wants other teens to learn from her experience. "Thinking that you're cool cause you're sitting here passing out or nodding out. All it does is lead to jail, prison, and having to go in and out of rehabs."
Charles Ash is CEO of EDPM, a drug testing clinic in Birmingham. He says that school systems are increasingly turning to drug testing. "Here at EDPM we're testing students in about 20 school systems around the State of Alabama."
Experts say parents are not talking to their children enough, and those who do often forget to point out prescription drugs can be just as addictive and debilitating as acid, crack, and crystal meth. "The difference between having dinner with your kids 5 times a week and two days a week or less can make a substantial difference in whether or not your children have a chance of surviving their childhood without abusing drugs."
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