LSD in Schools – Connecting with Kids

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LSD In Schools

At three to five dollars a
hit, LSD is making a comeback among young dealers in school hallways.

“I
know somebody that brought some one day and was selling it. He brought
it in a little tin foil packet,” says eighteen-year-old Tracy.

The difficulty LSD presents
to parents and school officials is that it’s easy to hide and difficult
to discern even if spotted.

“It doesn’t
look bizarre. It doesn’t look troubling. It doesn’t throw
up any red flags that I need to check and see what this looks like.
That’s why it’s so insidious because it seems so innocent,”
explains Garry McGiboney, a school security expert.

Parents should keep an eye
out for anything in a notebook or book bag that looks out of place,
particularly if it’s a small sheet or a tiny square.

“Things like that
are what parents need to be vigilant about and not be naïve and
not be reticent to ask the family physician or school counselor or school
administrator or even mention it to a teacher. Just say this is something
I found and I don’t want to overreact, but is it something I should
be concerned about?” suggests McGiboney.

“It doesn’t
look bizarre. It doesn’t look troubling. It doesn’t throw up
any red flags that I need to check and see what this looks like. That’s
why it’s so insidious because it seems so innocent”

– Garry
McGiboney
 

WHAT
PARENTS SHOULD KNOW

Page hits (or “sheets”) are drug
laced squares that fit inside notebooks. Their popularity is on the rise
and surfacing in schools all across the country. This style of drug is
actually LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) in microthin gelatin squares.
It is convenient and not easily detected by parents and teachers. LSD
is increasing in popularity among suburban middle class teens and young
adults.

Ecstasy is another popular drug recently
turning up among our youth. Like page hits, Ecstasy is an amphetamine
which can cause hallucinations and can be fatal. Ecstasy is routinely
sold in gelatin capsules but is also pressed into tablets.

These types of hallucinogenic drugs distort
perception of objective reality and can produce unpredictable, erratic,
and violent behavior. Users can lose sense of direction. Distance and
time become disoriented. The effects of hallucinogens can last up to 12
hours

LSD is extremely dangerous. It produces tolerance,
so users who take it repeatedly must take higher and higher doses in order
to achieve the same state of intoxication. Given the drugs unpredictability,
it can result in increased risk of convulsions, coma, heart and lung failure,
as well as death.

Talk about it!

  1. Listen Carefully: Surveys
    involving students indicate that when parents listen attentively
    to their children’s concerns and feelings, they will feel
    more comfortable talking to them and are more likely to stay drug
    free.
  2. Build Self-Esteem: Kids are
    much less likely to turn to illegal substances to get high if
    they feel good about who they are. Enhance your child’s self-image
    by offering lots of praise, criticize actions— not the person
    and spend one on one time listening and learning about what they
    are doing in their day. Let them know you care.
  3. Let Kids Know its Okay to Act
    Independently    : Peer pressure is one reason kids try drugs.
    Talk to your child about what makes a good friend. Research shows
    that kids who have close relationships with their peers are less
    likely to get involved in drugs and alcohol.
  4. Provide Age-Appropriate Information:
    Make sure that the information you offer fits your child’s
    age and cognitive level. Role-playing can be very beneficial for
    young kids.

Look at the Statistics

According to the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 1997 National Household
Survey on Drug Abuse:

  • 35.6% (77 million) of Americans
    aged 12 and older reported some use of an illicit drug at least
    once during their lifetime.
  • 11.2% reported use during the past
    year.
  • 6.4% reported use in the month before
    the survey was conducted.

According to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse (NIDA) 1998 Monitoring the Future Study:

  • 54.1% of high school seniors reported
    use of an illicit drug at least once in their lives.
  • 41.4% reported use of an illicit
    drug within the past year.
  • 25.6% reported use in the past month.

ONDCP Drug Policy Information Clearinghouse,
April 2000.

Resources
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more information on
parenting issues contact us:
Connecting with
Kids