Have you heard of black tsar, manteca, poppy, Cloud 9, Mad Hatter or Black Mamba? Did you know teens are hiding marijuana and other drugs in all kinds of common objects, including deodorant and lip balm?
“Things are changing so fast in the illegal drug industry, it’s hard to keep up,” said Lynn Riemer, president of ACT on Drugs, who spoke to Durango High School students during the day Monday and to parents and community members Monday night. “And there’s lots of conflicting information out there, you have to look for reputable scientific studies.”
Riemer, who has a background as a forensic chemist with the Drug Enforcement Agency and also worked with the North Metro Drug Force on the Front Range, told the students she wasn’t here to preach.
“I’m not here representing the ‘Just Say No’ program because it doesn’t work,” Riemer said. “I’m not here to judge you or tell you how to live your life. I’m just going to stand here and give you factual information.”
Drugs are glamorized everywhere, she said, on the Internet by friends and in music and the movies.
“But there’s nothing glamorous about drug abuse,” Riemer said, proceeding to share a number of frightening statistics, including the fact that the THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, is significantly more potent today than it was even 15 years ago. “It used to be 2 to 3 percent in the 1970s, and by 2002, it was 13-14 percent. Today, wax or dabs have THC content of 50 to 90 percent.”
Students should avoid drugs not only because of the potential legal consequences, she said, but because drugs are particularly damaging to forming brains, and once damaged, they don’t recover.
“Brains aren’t fully developed until you’re 25,” she said, “and now research is showing the male brain may not be developed until you’re closer to 30. Teen brains are more likely to become addicted, and because drugs make you feel good, unbelievably good, better than anything natural, they make it so your brain can’t uptake serotonin and dopamine and can’t naturally feel happiness any more.”
Colorado’s students have particular challenges.
“You’re living at ground zero for marijuana,” Riemer said. “It’s the most potent here, and we have the largest black market – Mexican cartels no longer bring it up here, they grow it here. The big drug they’re bringing up is heroin.”
Because marijuana on the black market is often laced with other psychotropic drugs, including PCP, heroin, cocaine and Adderall, its addictive properties are greatly increased, Riemer said.
Research shows IQ may drop as much as six to eight points, Riemer said, and the only part of the forming brain not impacted by marijuana use is the vision center.
For parents, if you want to know what all those drug terms mean, a good source is an urban dictionary.
“They’ll even tell you how to use it in a sentence,” she said, which might come in handy for talking about drugs with your kids. “Parents need to remain calm when kids ask questions about drugs. Keep the lines of communication open, be involved in their lives, check all social media.”
Most of all, parents need to pay attention.
“Pay attention to what you see, pay attention to what you smell, pay attention to what you hear,” Riemer said. “And please don’t think drug dealers still look like a homeless guy under a bridge. They look like everyone in this room.”
abutler@durangoherald.com
To learn more
Visit www.actondrugs.org to learn more about a wide cross-section of illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia and resources.
