High school drug problems/Opiate use in your town

[karinothing]

They sent drug sniffing dogs to our high schools today. A middle schooler OD'd. The pharmacies now all have signs urging people to get Narcan if you know of an addict in your house. We live in a wealthy UMC area (so a lot of parents here seem to be in denial). Just wondering what others are seeing. The principals seem to be downplaying the issue, but again why the OD and drug sniffing dogs.

Just wondering what others are seeing in your high schools.

[Deleted]

I know opiate deaths in my city are way up in the last 18 months, but I don't know much beyond that.

[redheadbaker]

I live in Philly, so ...

[bowies]

I'm assuming it's bad just because it was bad when I was in high school.

[karinothing]

it is depressing, there was a lot of drug use in my HS. Well, I was a part of it so it seemed like a lot because it was everyone I knew. I don't know how it was related to the entire student body population. BUT it was not opioids. Just hallucinogenics, weed and some stimulant (coke/meth) use. I wonder if opioid use/problems is surpassing meth?

[vicky]

People shoot up on my street, two blocks down from a K-8 and 6 blocks from a high school.
I was watching a man shoot between his toes on the sidewalk in broad daylight last Friday.
This shit is everywhere.

[karinothing]

May 26, 2017 9:35:41 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

i know the drugs are bad but i came from a really bad drug school - as in a kid got busted for 1/2lb of coke in the parking lot - so i tend to think drugs of this level as not shocking.

however, i understand how bad it is and that the parents here in general suck about dealing with it. for reference, 35 parents showed up to the board meeting about the drugs in school, while the proposed time change for school had 100s b/c people wanted to complain about their kids not being able to practice sports after school

Well I think parents like to stick their heads in the sand, no one wants to think it is their child. I was one of those kids. Still maintain a 4.0 GPA and was a pretty decent kid aside from that. I think people are so used to looking for the stereotypical drug user they miss what is in front of their face.

[wambam]

It's a huge problem in my city. There was a news piece I saw on FB a couple days ago about my county's morgue being too full because of all the drug related deaths.

PDQ: My sister is also an RX drug abuser and has been for many years.

[CheeringCharm]

We live in upstate NY. It's definitely a problem in the broader area but I'm not sure about our town and hs specifically. 

[jeaniebueller]

They are putting narcan in schools here, it was a really recent headline.

[karinothing]

May 26, 2017 9:40:13 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

May 26, 2017 9:36:25 GMT -5 karinothing said:

it is depressing, there was a lot of drug use in my HS. Well, I was a part of it so it seemed like a lot because it was everyone I knew. I don't know how it was related to the entire student body population. BUT it was not opioids. Just hallucinogenics, weed and some stimulant (coke/meth) use. I wonder if opioid use/problems is surpassing meth?

right.

i think the shift to RX and opioid has increased a lot of the problems

Yeah, I guess kids don't often OD on LSD or weed and I think it is harder for a lot of folks to make the jump to coke or meth than it is to make it to prescription meds. What a mess.

[erbear]

There are a lot of drugs in the high school where I teach (some in the middle school too, but much much less). Here, it's pot and alcohol more than anything else though. There are some harder drugs and prescription drugs, but not nearly as much.

This is not different from when I was in high school 20 years ago.

[t]

It's pretty horrible in certain parts of my county and the one adjacent. I just saw in the news yesterday that two drug counselors were found dead from OD (heroin/fentanyl) on the same day at the same halfway house where they were employed. That is so depressing to me.

[theoriginalbean]

I was FLOORED when another parent friend of mine told me that the kids in her daughter's high school were into heroin. That was 3 years ago, and we've moved to a different part of the country and it's also an issue in the high schools over here. It's terrifying, to me. I did my share of stupid things in high school, but this just feels so much more dangerous.

[RoxMonster]

I teach in a rural district, and drug use is a big problem there. It is just normal for them to bring in the dogs--they do so once each semester, unannounced. Usually at least 4-5 students are caught with drugs and/or paraphernalia in their locker or vehicle. We have also had several former, and recently one current, student OD.

It's awful, and it's everywhere. This town is pretty small, kind of out in the middle of nowhere. Doesn't matter. It happens everywhere.

ETA: Often times, it's prescription pills here.

[Deleted]

May 26, 2017 9:45:19 GMT -5 karinothing said:

May 26, 2017 9:40:13 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

right.

i think the shift to RX and opioid has increased a lot of the problems

Yeah, I guess kids don't often OD on LSD or weed and I think it is harder for a lot of folks to make the jump to coke or meth than it is to make it to prescription meds. What a mess.

You literally can't OD on weed. It doesn't stop your heart or lungs like narcotics can, or poison your liver  and cause you to black out like alcohol does. Our bodies have built in "receptors" for weed.

[cattledogkisses]

When I was in high school there were some kids who smoked pot, and the usual underage drinking around prom/graduation, but that was about it (to my knowledge). I don't know what things are like there now, but I know the greater Boston area in general has become a big problem area for heroin. 

Middle school is so young.

[robyn]

I haven't seen much about the opiate epidemic in my area, but I'm sure it is coming. I also don't have a school age child so I don't have as much info on what, if anything, is in schools now. I am going to ask a teacher friend and a school social worker friend for an update. One of our suburbs was the much touted "meth capital of the world" for many years in the 90's, but that's mostly ceased. The opiate epidemic is much scarier. There were drugs in my high school, but nothing like this that was overwhelming morgues and making social workers/EMT's out of librarians. It's so scary.

[karinothing]

May 26, 2017 9:48:58 GMT -5 @bellakitty said:

May 26, 2017 9:45:19 GMT -5 karinothing said:

Yeah, I guess kids don't often OD on LSD or weed and I think it is harder for a lot of folks to make the jump to coke or meth than it is to make it to prescription meds. What a mess.

You literally can't OD on weed. It doesn't stop your heart or lungs like narcotics can, or poison your liver  and cause you to black out like alcohol does. Our bodies have built in "receptors" for weed.

Yes, sorry I knew that. I wasn't really being clear. I just meant that the ultimate consequences for either of those two aren't as life threatening. Assuming you don't freak out and run into traffic or drive your car into something obviously.

[Mrs.flang]

Its a huge problem here in NJ.  I don't even know much about how prevalent or publicized a problem it is in the high schools, but I personally know adults that have prescription drug problems.  DHs old dentist recently got in trouble for over-prescribing.  It seems like its just so, so easy to get.

Edit - I just remembered - I witnessed an OD at a high school football game a few years ago.  So yeah, I'm sure it's a problem in schools as well.

[imimahoney]

I live and teach north of Boston and this area has been a mess with drugs for over a decade. We keep narcan at our school but thankfully have not had to use it.

We have a fulltime drug counselor on staff for students dealing with addiction as well. There aee always kids who disappear for a few months while they are in rehab.

In the past 5 years we've had about 15 graduates die from overdoses.

[cookiemdough]

So what is the Great Schools Score?

The drug problem has grown because we continue to believe kids in suburbia are:

"just experimenting"
"have anxiety from all the hard tests"
"Will grow out of it"
"Have the wrong friends"
"Are being ostracized at school"

As long as people delude themselves and make excuses then it will continue. It is very sad, but at least they are treating it like a medical issue. Our kids are locked up for "going through a phase".

[jeaniebueller]

Also, I'll add that marijuana is huge. Partially because of the legalized medical marijuana (makes it much easier to get if mom or dad have med mj cards and don't properly lock up their stash). Pills (adderall, etc) are also major issues, but in kids, we see a lot more alcohol and marijuana I think.

[karinothing]

May 26, 2017 10:20:31 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

So what is the Great Schools Score?

The drug problem has grown because we continue to believe kids in suburbia are:

"just experimenting"
"have anxiety from all the hard tests"
"Will grow out of it"
"Have the wrong friends"
"Are being ostracized at school"

As long as people delude themselves and make excuses then it will continue. It is very sad, but at least they are treating it like a medical issue. Our kids are locked up for "going through a phase".

Oh I agree with this all 100%. The scores at the schools with the biggest issue are all at a  9/10. The school that is listed as the bad school doesn't appear to have as big of an issue, at least there is no known issue in the gossip mill. OD was at a top ranked MS. We also have had a rash of suicides at all these high performing schools. Nothing makes me want to send my kid there.

[andwhat]

May 26, 2017 10:20:31 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

So what is the Great Schools Score?

The drug problem has grown because we continue to believe kids in suburbia are:

"just experimenting"
"have anxiety from all the hard tests"
"Will grow out of it"
"Have the wrong friends"
"Are being ostracized at school"

As long as people delude themselves and make excuses then it will continue. It is very sad, but at least they are treating it like a medical issue. Our kids are locked up for "going through a phase".

I just did a Google search and going back to 2015 there are articles about the rise of opiate use in our suburbs, but nothing for our county specifically. Have you heard more on this? I don't know many people with school aged children in the county.

[somersault72]

Heroin use is bad here. Bad, bad, bad. My 21 year old cousin is an addict. It's just awful.

[amandakisser]

The problem is huge in my state (RI). In fact, there was just a major bust on drug dealers/traffickers on Tuesday. Almost all of them were 18 or 19.

The route up the east coast through New England is RIFE with trafficking. The ports are also a major inlet for drugs, so it's really everywhere.

There has been a push for our police officers to carry Narcan on them, but some people (mostly white mothers) are saying it is a waste of money and training because the drug addicts should just die from their habits

Hey, honey, it's probably YOUR private-school son who is most likely to be abusing drugs. Bet you'd change your tune real quick if the tables were turned...

[cattledogkisses]

Heroin seems like it just keeps getting deadlier too. In addition to being laced with fentanyl, now the new thing is elephant tranquilizer. It's so potent that accidental contact can cause an OD, and there have been a bunch of PSAs about the danger for police and first responders.

[sunshineluv]

May 26, 2017 10:44:01 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

Heroin seems like it just keeps getting deadlier too. In addition to being laced with fentanyl, now the new thing is elephant tranquilizer. It's so potent that accidental contact can cause an OD, and there have been a bunch of PSAs about the danger for police and first responders.

I was listening to a news story where a cop put his head in the car and the fumes from the drugs made him pass out and have to be hospitalized. It was partially elephant tranquilizer. It's so terrifying to think how potentially deadly that is to someone shooting it up.

[jreeds]

May 26, 2017 10:44:01 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

Heroin seems like it just keeps getting deadlier too. In addition to being laced with fentanyl, now the new thing is elephant tranquilizer. It's so potent that accidental contact can cause an OD, and there have been a bunch of PSAs about the danger for police and first responders.

This is what has started popping up where I am. Scary shit.