Pills become worrisome in area drug mix

SHARON — The effects of addiction on families — and strategies for dealing with an addict in the family — were the subject of a free-wheeling panel discussion and presentation at Sharon Hospital Tuesday, May 3.The workshop, “In Our Own Backyards: Teen Use, Abuse and Addiction,” was sponsored by Sharon Hospital, Housatonic Youth Services Bureau and Mountainside Treatment Center.Rebecca Malone, a family nurse practitioner working in Sharon, said she regularly asks her young patients all sorts of questions that might not have much to do with, for instance, the sports physical that is the reason for the visit.But Malone said she knows these young people. “I want to know if they are trying their friends’ Adderall” (a stimulant often prescribed for attention deficit disorders). Malone said that the teenagers she sees, while reluctant to disclose information about their friends, will open up to her. And the kids are curious and (somewhat) informed about the effects of drugs, licit and illicit, she reported.“They Google different drugs, and they think they know what they do. We can give them the correct information.”Sometimes parents make an appointment, not knowing why the child wishes to see Malone. “I start asking questions, about cigarettes and alcohol.”And gradually a picture emerges.Malone’s observations about the current drug and alcohol scene with area youth: “Alcohol and pot are common. What really worries me are pills, especially mixing them. ‘What kind of pills are you taking?’ I ask. ‘Whatever I can get,’ they say.”Malone is particularly alarmed by the increase in “Robo-dosing” — ingesting large amounts of over-the-counter cough medicines containing dextromethorphan (DXM), which in recommended doses serves as a cough suppressant but in larger doses produces visual distortions, feelings of dissociation, distortions of bodily perception, excitement or euphoria and a decreased sense of time. Drug users think of it as similar to “psychedelic” hallucinogens such as LSD or psilocybin.Malone said she recently admitted three teens to the hospital overnight for DXM intoxication, and worries about the long-term neurological damage a prolonged DXM habit could have.“They don’t think that taking cough syrup is a problem.”She also mentioned the ersatz cocaine products sold at some convenience stores, under the guise of being bath salts. Malone said use of these products can cause extreme paranoia, seizures and even suicide.And on the more traditional illegal side of the equation, Malone said flatly, “Heroin is here.” She said the typical path to a heroin habit begins with teens taking prescription opiate pain medications such as OxyContin — often obtained from the medicine cabinet at home.As the habit increases, the teens realize that heroin delivers much the same effect and is considerably cheaper.Malone stressed communication between parents and children is the place to start combating the allure of drugs. “If we can start the conversation, be open and available, then my role is to help you and your family.”“It’s like a fire drill,” she continued. “You need to have a system for when a teen is offered something” — such as a prearranged text message that means, “Come pick me up, this is not a good place to be right now.”Malone also said she is disturbed by another trend, one of older people “partying” with youths — often men in their late 20s or early 30s associating with teenage girls.“There is no good reason for a 30-year-old man to be partying with a teenage girl,” she said.Kyle S., a man in his early 20s who was treated at Mountainside in North Canaan for opiate addiction, confirmed what Malone said about the prescription-to-heroin progression.He said his promising career as a college soccer player collapsed as his addiction progressed.He admitted he became expert at manipulating his parents, and by the time everything came out in the open he was “a thief.”“I stole from my parents, from my mother’s purse, I forged checks.”It took a while, but Kyle has been clean and sober for two years now, and he said he has immersed himself in the recovery community — the men and women who attend 12-step programs and help newcomers in their midst.In contrast to his drug-taking days, Kyle said, “I can now say I trust four people 100 percent. Before, I didn’t trust anyone.”Elaine Trumpetto from the Council on Addiction Prevention and Education (CAPE), a New York state organization, said in Duchess County the profile of clients in trouble with the law has changed, with white suburban and rural youths (such as Kyle S.) getting caught up in the system.Trumpetto acknowledged that what brings youths to the attention of the authorities is “serious criminal activity.” But, she added, “Jails are not the best place to address such issues.”CAPE’s mission is to build awareness of drug and alcohol addiction in the public schools, and to offer information, referrals and assessments as part of a prevention model.“There’s a greater need for work with parents,” she said, noting that Kyle S.’s mother suspected something was wrong but wasn’t sure how to proceed.Pat Roza, also with CAPE, showed a short video depicting the brief life and untimely death of her son, Christopher, who followed the classic progession of cigarettes-marijuana-alcohol-prescription medications-heroin.“I decided if I could change the course of one child’s life, that would be the best way to honor Chris’ memory,” she said after the video.Diana Clark, who runs family workshops at Mountainside, informed the audience that, “I am the person the moms call” when drug or alcohol problems arise.She said that parents often feel guilty, as if they created the problem.But “we live in a culture that seeks to avoid [pain and struggle] at every turn,” said Clark. When adults confront teens on substance abuse, “We are asking young people to swim upstream.”Young people who decide to go into recovery “are walking a unique path,” Clark said.“But it’s an opportunity to become people who are admirable” — thus creating legitimate self-esteem, instead of the temporary kind that comes in powder or pill form.“Don’t protect your kids from experiencing the consequences of their behavior,” Clark advised. A woman in the audience said her son’s swimming coach had advised the child to drink Red Bull, a popular “energy” drink that contains considerable caffeine and sugar, before competing.Now, the woman continued, the child wants to drink Red Bull before his school exams.Clark said this was a dangerous pattern. “Tell him, ‘We’re not doing Red Bull.’”