31 replies to this topic

[New Girl]

Sadly this is very true. Three separate instances. Three distraught Folsom families and hundreds of bewildered friends.

[Redone]

Was one of these kids friends with the person who died a couple of years ago from heroin ?

[Steve Heard]

A lot of kids are under a lot of pressure to perform in school, in sports and maintain an unreal body image. There is so much pressure to conform to an image (a very narrowly defined image) in Folsom, to look and be a certain way, is it any wonder that so many of the kids here are turning to drugs?

 

I'm sure that social and familial pressures are contributing factors for some, but what amazes me is how many kids just seem to be doing it to get a greater high.  

 

One of my daughters' high school friends, at the time playing with the Folsom High jazz band, told me 'all of the great musicians did heroin'. He went on to name Hendrix, Morrison, and Joplin. I said, 'You do realize that they died because of it, don't you?'

 

I was recently told by a Folsom vice cop that they are busting kids carrying both heroin and Narcan, in case one of them overdoses. 

 

One parent who is concerned about his teen said that his son told him, 'I don't care. All I want to do is party' 

 

 

I was wondering how I missed this story so I googled the suspects. Although drugs are still a current problem, this story is from 2011link. However, I bet many high school parents are still unaware that heroin and other drugs are being abused by Folsom teenagers. I know the media walks a fine line in reporting or not reporting drug use,  including arrests and overdoses, but its easy to live in the Folsom Bubble and believe it doesn't happen here unless you know someone directly effected by drugs. 

 

I did not see a date on that report, so I'll defer to you on it, but know that the threat is real and seems to be greater today than ever.

 

 

Was one of these kids friends with the person who died a couple of years ago from heroin ?

 

My youngest daughter (now 21) lost her friend Tanner a few years ago. His mom found him dead in the back yard when she went out in the morning.  

 

Last year another one she knew died. 

 

Last week she came home and asked me if I remembered a particular kid. I didn't. She told me he died of an overdose. 

 

On Friday, she told me that a friend of the one who died last week just died, and that it was the same kid who was shooting up with the one who died last year. Apparently, the deaths of 2 of his friends was not enough of a deterrent.

 

There have been quite a few others, too.

 

A few of their friends have escaped. One is a drug counselor now. Another says he doesn't use any more but I'm not so sure, and another moved away and cut off contact with all of his old friends. 

 

I remember one kid came to say goodbye because he finally admitted he needed rehab and was going to be away for 3 months. I wished him well. He left after a week. Couldn't take it.  

 

People try drugs for a variety of reasons, and heroin is apparently blissful the first time, but one can almost immediately become addicted, and once addicted, it's hard to stop. 

[firemedic238]

As a 20 year medic, Heroin has never left the street. What is new, "rich white kids are doing it". Heroin has become Cheaper the RX drugs. Having treated 100s of Heroin user and overdoses, I can tell you, its all about the high. Kids don't Jump to Heroin because they have bad grades or where yelled at. Most will tell you they started with having "fun" small time drugs and RX drugs then moved up the "chain" They become addicted to the High. Heroin on the street goes as cheap as 20 a hit vs. up to 50 for a Oxy or Vicodine. A junkie coming off a high is very painful and they will do almost anything to avoid it. Methadone also has a lot of issues.

 

Also in the news, a Drug called Narcan (Naloxone) has been approved for use by non-medical trained users. Narcan reverses the effects that Narcotics(Heroin)  Respiratory depression is what kills you. I don't know how you get it. MD should be able to help.

 

Also in Calif, If you call 911 for a drug related emergency say a Overdose, you and or others will not be prosecuted if you are also under the influence of said drugs. This laws is to prevent people from not calling 911 because they don't want to go to jail.

[supermom]

I can only assume that NewGirls post is accurate since she posted it and it sounds like she personally knows the families.

 

As for the news story, yes, I believe it is from 2011. Usually all the local news outlets would carry such a story and I was surprised that I hadn't seen it until it was posted here. I watched the video in the original link and then googled the suspects names which produced links from all the local news outlets which had datelines from Sep/Oct 2011. 

This may or may not be true, however it is being played on local news currently, at this time/

[supermom]

As a 20 year medic, Heroin has never left the street. What is new, "rich white kids are doing it". Heroin has become Cheaper the RX drugs. Having treated 100s of Heroin user and overdoses, I can tell you, its all about the high. Kids don't Jump to Heroin because they have bad grades or where yelled at. Most will tell you they started with having "fun" small time drugs and RX drugs then moved up the "chain" They become addicted to the High. Heroin on the street goes as cheap as 20 a hit vs. up to 50 for a Oxy or Vicodine. A junkie coming off a high is very painful and they will do almost anything to avoid it. Methadone also has a lot of issues.

 

Also in the news, a Drug called Narcan (Naloxone) has been approved for use by non-medical trained users. Narcan reverses the effects that Narcotics(Heroin)  Respiratory depression is what kills you. I don't know how you get it. MD should be able to help.

 

Also in Calif, If you call 911 for a drug related emergency say a Overdose, you and or others will not be prosecuted if you are also under the influence of said drugs. This laws is to prevent people from not calling 911 because they don't want to go to jail.

if this is for no medically- trained professionals- then whom is this for? coaches, parents? Im assuming that if it is for trained personnel that they must have some sort of license to buy it? How are teens getting it, unless someone isstealing it from pharmacies and selling it to kids? What if it expires and a kid dies? This stuff needs to be controlled!

[aztransplant]

http://www.newsworks...ktype=hp_impact

APRIL 5, 2014
Responding to rise in overdoses, FDA approves Narcan auto-injection device

Move over EpiPen, a new automated medical device, brand name Evzio, can halt a heroin or other opioid overdose in its tracks.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the new tool on Thursday, after a fast-tracked evaluation process of 15 weeks.

The medicine inside the device, naloxone, sometimes known as Narcan, has been around for years. But the traditional delivery method needle and syringe has been a barrier to use, said Dr. Wilson Compton, Deputy Director with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

He said that overdosing is not new, but "the scale and the increasing numbers of people dying from these substances has created a public health crisis...that's really what's driving the new approaches and willingness to try all sorts of new ideas."

"Having this in an easy-to-use device, that can be administered by minimally-trained persons, is a terrific advance," says Compton.

Talking technology

Unlike EpiPen, Evzio talks.

A small, plastic and box about the size of a deck of cards Evzio speaks in a tinny woman's voice, instructing the user step-by-step. First, the device asks if the user is ready, then it times the injection for five seconds, and finally tells the user to seek emergency medical attention.

Compton calls this feature one of the device's strengths, and compares the voiced instructions to another now-commonplace medical technology: defibrillators.

Putting it to use

In Philadelphia, Prevention Point is the only community organization authorized to distribute naloxone. Founded in 1991 as "an underground syringe exchange organization," it now offers a range of services from case management to HIV counseling.

Program Director Silvana Mazzella, says anything that makes naloxone more affordable and accessible is a step in the right direction. She also says the fast-tracked FDA approval shows that public perception of addiction and its treatment is changing.

"I think it's gaining more traction and it's going to be seen more as a public health issue and less as an issue that's related to drug use," says Mazzella. "Right now when people think of overdose, they think of a certain type of drug, a certain type of person, but people don't think about this as a medical issue and it is."

Naloxone is only availably by prescription, so states are taking different approaches to making the technology available to first responders or perhaps even the general public.

Both Maryland and Massachusetts prescribe and train first responders, outreach workers, and family members of addicts to administer naloxone. Ohio, California, Vermont and New Jersey also have programs in place or are experimenting with pilot programs. In Pennsylvania, officials in Delaware County spoke up earlier this year in support of a proposed bill to permit police to carry the drug.

Mazzella says her organization has reversed 200 self-reported overdoses since 2006 and that number is likely lower than the true figure.

Nationally, 100 people die from an overdose every day according to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control.

[firemedic238]

Facts about Narcon (naloxone)

 

You need a RX to get it but  laws are changing

EPI pins and many over the counter meds have more side effects then Narcan

No real side effects from Narcan.

Narcan works in less then 1 min after it is given. Its very dramatic, they go from dead to talking in about a 1 min!  

Pts. May become violent after you wake them, yes they almost died but all they care about is you wiped out their  High

You can give it  IV, injected(shot) or inhaled via nebulizer. which is the "non medical person" way of giving it. you shoot it up the nose like a flu "shot"

It use to be given to most unconscious patients to rule out Narcotic use and overdose.  

This will save folks who take narcotics  legally who accidently overdose (Morphine).  It happen more then you would think 

If its expires It may still work for year after it expires. What do you do when your aspirin expires? 

 

Man has used Narcotics In many forms and for many reasons for thousands of year, It will never go away

This will save lives !!!!    

[supermom]

Is Narcan addictive?

 

Well, I didnt find an answer to that, but I found other startling discoveries.

 

If someone takes pills or has them in their system that include codeine or morphine, then Narcan reverses its usefullness and becomes a serious threat. 

 

Someone can die if injected with Narcan if they have heroin and prescription pills in their system.

 

This is scary stuff. 

 

If someone in your family has access to this drug, please make sure they understand the implications of giving this drug to someone and not knowing for sure what the persons drug intake history has been!

[jpow5]

AP just did a three part series on the heroin problem:

 

Heroin Spreads Misery In U.S. link

 

Heroin Addicts Face Barriers To Treatment - link

 

At 21, recovering heroin addict starts over - link

 

 

[firemedic238]

Narcan is Not addictive

 

I have NEVER seen nor read of a death from giving a person Narcan. True a person who is taking a narcotic for pain relief will lose the pain relief for a short time. Narcan has saved hundreds of life's of people who have accidently taken a narcotic overdose on there pain meds. overdoses happen more then you would think.  Aspirin will kill you faster then Narcan if taken with a certain type of drug class. 

Narcan is a very safe drug that saves lifes 

[firemedic238]

I can't link it but go to You Tube and watch "heroin addict comes back to life" its a 4 min CNN report also watch "Overdose at Jack in the box". Narcan got there to late. both happen everyday on our streets both are powerful videos.

[4thgenFolsomite]

Peaches Geldof?  where is all this heroin coming from?  Mexico?  the middle east?

[Homer]

Peaches Geldof?  where is all this heroin coming from?  Mexico?  the middle east?

 

 

 

A lot of the heroin is coming from Mexico, The Mexican drug cartels have long established networks with prison and street gangs here that distribute it for them. Although it's an older article that is linked below it provides some answers.

 

 

 http://www.dailymail...ds-America.html

[SacKen]

Since this has hit the news in the past week, I've read a few articles about the heroin epidemic in the US right now.  I've noticed that many of the stories mention how the addict was on various ADHD/anxiety/depression drugs when they were young kids.  I wonder if anyone is looking into that as a possible reason for the current problem, not just the easy access to their parents' pain pills as the gateway.  We have a generation of young adults that were raised to believe that it is perfectly normal and acceptable to alter your mood and behavior with drugs on a regular basis.  We had easy access to pain pills as kids, too, but weren't part of the ADHD generation.  We knew it was wrong and weren't raised to believe that it is perfectly normal and expected that you regularly take drugs to alter your mental state.  Of course, some still did drugs or stole mommy's Vicodin for old fashioned reasons, but there was never a sense that it was acceptable to do so.

 

I've seen possible evidence of this while working with foster youth; they have grown up being told that they need to take all these drugs to alter their mental state and how they feel physically.  It is pretty standard practice to prescribe ADHD and depression drugs to foster youth without question.  All those drugs make them feel like crap and have other side-effects that they don't like, so they all try other things - marijuana at first - to alter their state without feeling bad or having other side-effects.  From what I hear, heroin is the silver-bullet drug for feeling great... at first.  Every single addict I've read about or known says that one hit gets you hooked because it is the best feeling you've ever experienced.  It seems like a natural progression for these drugged-up kids looking to feel better because they've been trained that seeking the perfect altered state is normal.

 

These kids I've talked to are very open about their drug use and seem to have this attitude that it is normal and they aren't doing anything wrong.  I'm amazed every time I sit in a school conference with the kid, teachers, social workers and lawyers all in the room and everyone is openly talking about the kid's smoking habit and drug use as if we are talking about how he bites his nails.  It truly is surreal coming from a generation where the goal was to make sure adults had no clue that you smoke, drank, or did any kind of drugs.