The highs of 2009 and how to know if your teen is doing them

by Apollonia Jordan

I surveyed a bunch of high-school-aged teens between 15 and 17 to find out what are the new drugs they’re using to get high. As a teen I struggled with some drug addiction, but many of the new drugs teens are getting high off of are crazy and can lead to brain damage and even death. Below, I put together a list of the top five drugs that teens are doing in the year 2009. It’s time to put a stop to this …

PROMOTIONAL LINK

Help prevent drug addiction among teens by educating them about the negative consequences of drug use. Know someone locally suffering from dependency? Here is a list of San Francisco drug rehab centers and here is a national list of drug rehabs.

smarties, The highs of 2009 and how to know if your teen is doing them, Local News & Views 5. Smarties – yes, Smarties, the childhood candy we all grew up enjoying at birthday parties and even given away as snacks from teachers at school, have become a drug for youth as young as the sixth grade. They crush the candy up and then smoke the powder as if they were smoking cigarettes. There are even clips on YouTube showing children as young as 12 crushing the candy up, smoking and snorting it through their nostrils to get high. Many schools throughout the United States have banned the candy, but many parents don’t see this as an issue. The use of this candy as a drug, however, can cause harmful affects to the brain and sinuses. Smoking or snorting Smarties is not very smart. They shou

salvia, The highs of 2009 and how to know if your teen is doing them, Local News & Views

4. Salvia is a psychoactive herb which induces strong dissociative effects. It is a relative of the mint and originally used in divination and healing, but many inner city youth have been using this hallucinogenic herb to get high. The high only lasts less than 10 minutes, but it is said to give the youth an out of body experience. The herb is legal and is sold at many neighborhood stores and smoke shops. They even sell it at the store right next door to my apartment complex. Many of the children smoke it in zig-zags or with marijuana and it causes them to act strangely. A girl I met at Antioch High told me that she buys it from a smoke shop and that they don’t ID her because it’s not tobacco or alcohol and it’s legal for any age to buy. When I asked her if her mom knows, she told me no. A common nickname for Salvia is Sally-D. Salvia is banned in five countries: Australia, Italy, Denmark, Norway and South Korea. There are no bans in the United States for this drug, although it has become very popular with inner city youth. Be on the look out and keep an open mind and relationship with your child. If you find a bag filled with something that looks like seasoning … it isn’t oregano.

crystal-meth, The highs of 2009 and how to know if your teen is doing them, Local News & Views

3. Crystal meth is at number three and 50 percent of the teenagers I talked to, ages 16 to 18, told me that they had smoked crystal meth at least once in their lives and that they got the drug from an older friend they hang out with. Females especially, be careful when hanging with guys getting high. When I was 16 years old, this older guy my friend was going out with was smoking some weed with us sitting in his van. After smoking for a while, he made a comment about how anyone who smokes with him is smoking thee – thee is a street name for crystal meth; sometimes it is also called ice or thee-thee. That’s when I realized that I had been smoking crystal meth when I hit his blunt, which was laced. I have friends who became addicted to crystal meth and then started abusing stronger drugs like cocaine.

ecstasy, The highs of 2009 and how to know if your teen is doing them, Local News & Views

2. Ecstacy, thangers, pills, smackers are all common names for the drug ecstasy. I have written about this drug before and I can’t stress the fact enough that this drug has taken over the Black community and many teenagers and young adults worldwide. I have even written about my experience with the drug in past articles. I first encountered it from an ex-boyfriend who gave me some to sell but, instead of selling them, I took them and gave them away to my friends when I was 16 years old. Teens are using ecstasy at parties, dances and even prom and graduation.

marijuana, The highs of 2009 and how to know if your teen is doing them, Local News & Views

1. Marijuana, weed, trees, grapes and purple is at the number one spot as the drug that the teens I surveyed named most often. Jackie, a 15-year-old friend of my little cousin, told me she started smoking at the age of 9 with her older sister. It reminded me of how I started smoking weed with my older sister back when I was 12 and how she used to sneak and let me hit her graffix bong in the bathroom when my mother wasn’t around. It’s crazy how the same things are happening to young girls now even years later. You can find weed being sold on campuses at middle schools and high schools worldwide. Many of the teens I surveyed said that they could buy a sack at school any time of the day and that they had sold weed at least once in their life.

If you suspect your child is abusing any type of drugs, I suggest you talk to them and try to find out the reason behind why they are experimenting. I know that when I experimented as a teen I was just curious. Make sure you know who your teen is going out with and hanging around. Another reason I experimented with drugs was because of the company I hung around, but I was smart enough to stop hanging with that company and they turned out to become young addicts.

For more information on getting your teen help and to receive educational information about the use of drugs, contact the Ohlhoff Recovery Program at (877) 677-4543 or online at www.ohlhoff.org. When I was 16, I went and took outpatient classes at the Ohlhoff Program and they helped me with my addiction issues.

Bay View staff writer Apollonia Jordan can be reached at apollonia@sfbayview.com.