Forum at Springfield Middle School will inform parents.
How often do you and your teenagers discuss the latest trends in drug and alcohol?
You might be surprised to learn how different the scene is from what you remember.
In an effort to keep parents informed, the Springfield Middle School PTA invites the community to its program, "A Frank Discussion of Drugs and Alcohol for Fort Mill Parents" on Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria.
Panelists include SMS Principal Keith Griffin, York County Coroner Sabrina Gast, SMS Resource Officer Jonathan Gilbert, Felicia Pickering, Keystone Substance Abuse Services Senior Prevention Specialist and York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit Investigator Walter Beck.
"This program will be for adults only," said Lisa Hudson, SMS PTA vice president. "We will see specific items and hear about Fort Mill issues."
Janet Martini, Executive Director of Keystone Substance Abuse Services in Rock Hill, said, "Many of these products can be bought right in your local gas station or convenience store. Alcohol energy drinks contain the dangerous combination of alcohol and caffeine which turns people into wide-awake drunks. We see disastrous results."
Martini said marijuana and alcohol are the top two drugs they see kids abusing; 75 percent of Keystone's clients also have tried synthetic marijuana, known as K2 or Spice.
"Most recently we have seen a few kids come in using salvia or sage," said Martini. This readily available herb might not cause alarm until parents realize kids are drying it, cutting it and smoking it, she said.
Corree Carelock, Keystone's prevention director, says, "In South Carolina, kids report that the average age of their first alcoholic drink is 13. Nationally, one in five eighth-graders is a current drinker."
Martini also warns of trends that haven't yet gained local prominence.
"Although we haven't seen any kids with this yet, the newest trend we hear about is bath salts," Martini said.
These aren't the relaxing bath salts parents know but rather a small packet of chemicals that are snorted, smoked or injected. Known as "Ivory Wave," "White Lightning" or "Hurricane Charlie," the effects are similar to methamphetamine, according to Martini.
"Parents are still kids' No. 1 influence. Ask your child, 'What are you seeing out there?'" Martini said. "They know already, and parents are usually the last ones to find out."
For more information on "A Frank Discussion of Drugs and Alcohol for Fort Mill Parents," visit www.springfieldmiddlepta.com .
Subscribe to The Charlotte Observer .
This affects comments on all stories.
The Charlotte Observer welcomes your comments on news of the day. The more voices engaged in conversation, the better for us all, but do keep it civil. Please refrain from profanity, obscenity, spam, name-calling or attacking others for their views. Read more Read less
The Charlotte region is vast and diverse. The more voices engaged in conversation, the better for us all. The Charlotte Observer welcomes your comments on news of the day, but we ask that you keep the discourse civil.
Do not use profanity or obscenities. And don't try to camouflage profanity with asterisks, abbreviations or other symbols or foreign phrases. Do not use threatening language. Talk of violence won't be tolerated. No racial, gender or sexual-orientation name-calling. Do not attack other commenters for their views. Do not libel or defame anyone or violate their privacy. Keep your comments succinct and stay on topic. Comments that bear no relation to the story may be deleted. Do not add images to your comments. Do not report comments as abusive simply because you disagree with them. Report them only if they violate these guidelines. Do not post spam or advertising of any kind. Do not post a comment using all capital letters.
We do not monitor each and every posting, but we reserve the right to block or delete comments that violate these rules.
You can help: Notify us of violations by hitting the "Report Abuse" link. Users who continue posting comments that violate these guidelines may, at our discretion, be blocked from submitting future comments as well.
And finally, as Mark Twain said: "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."
Enjoy the discussion.
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment