What Do You Think?: Pharming Parties

Scenario:

Steve just moved to a new school this year. He is meeting new friends and becoming more and more popular. One day at lunch, his friends are talking about Billy’s party on Friday. They invite him and tell him it is a “Pharm Party” (Pharmaceutical Party). Steve is a little confused on what that is so he asks his friends about it. They tell him just to grab some pills from his parent’s medicine cabinet and bring them with him on Friday.

Friday comes along and Steve has three containers of pills. He doesn’t know what they are. Steve gets picked up by his friend and his friend’s mom and they head to the party. She drops them off at Billy’s house with pockets full of pills. They go inside, are handed a beer, and then they all sit around in a circle with a bowl in the middle. Everyone starts dumping in all their pills into the bowl. Billy mixes the pills and then tells everyone to take a couple and swallow them with their beers. Steve looks down and stares at the bowl not sure what to do next. 

Questions for Discussion:

1. What would you do if you were Steve?  What are the pros and cons of each path he could take?
2. What do you think are potential consequences of mixing different prescription drugs and alcohol?  Could Steve or his friends die from doing this type of partying?  
3. Considering how dangerous it is, why do you think the teens are participating in this type of partying?  What do they gain from it?
4. Is it worth it for Steve to take a risk just to be popular?  Could he turn down the pills without offending his new friends?  If so how?
5. How would his parents feel if they found out he not only stole their pills but then went to a party like this?  What if he or someone else was disabled or killed by taking their drugs?  Could his parents get in trouble with the law for that or would it be Steve’s fault?

Factoids:

** The new term "Pharm Party" refers to a party where prescription drugs are readily available in a potentially deadly mixture. The term "Pharm" is short for pharmaceuticals, which includes such drugs as Xanax, a strong tranquilizer and powerful pain killers like Vicodin and Oxycontin. Often times mind altering psychotropic drugs like Zoloft, Prozac, and Wellbutrin, commonly advertised on television, are taken in concert with other powerful pain pills and tranquilizers at these pharmaceutical cocktail parties. Pharm party goers often refer to this potentially lethal concoction as "trail mix". The "trail mix" is usually served up in large bowls or baggies and handed out to guests in the same fashion as a hostess serves snacks and drinks at a cocktail party.

** Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse notes that about 2.3 million kids, 12 to 17, took prescription drugs illegally in the past year, based on 2003 figures. That's a 212 percent increase from the early 1990s. 

** Part of the allure of prescription drugs is that they can be easier for kids to get than illicit drugs. Some trade on their own prescriptions (obtained legitimately or by faking symptoms), while others steal from family members or order drugs from online pharmacies.

** Experts note that "pharming parties are a new social twist that contributes to the growing problem of prescription drug abuse, which has worked its way into pop culture via message boards, song lyrics and even T-shirts."

** The fact that kids often alter the ways these drugs are to be taken increases the risk even further.  For example, they may crush the pills to achieve a quick high, even though many of these medications are meant to be slowly absorbed into the blood stream.  That leads to dangerous changes in heart rhythm and much more.

** The problem isn't just that kids can easily become addicted to painkillers like Oxycontin or Vicodin, antianxiety medicines like Valium or Xanax, or attention-deficit-disorder drugs like Ritalin and Adderall. Taken without proper supervision, those medicines can send kids to the emergency room. They can lead to difficulty breathing, a drop or rapid increase in heart rate or trouble responding when driving a car, especially when the drugs are combined with alcohol, as they often are.

** Experts of Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse say that of 9.4 million teenagers, 40 percent believe that prescription drugs are “much safer” than illegal drugs. Nearly three out of 10 teens also believe that there is “nothing wrong” with using prescription drugs without a prescription.

** Wrongful use of medicines can cause permanent physical disability as well as interfere with normal brain development.

What Mentors Can Do to Help With This:

** Do an exercise with your mentee. Bring a pair of glasses and have them try them on. Maybe even attempt to take a few steps. Let them know that it's a prescription, designed just for you (or whomever you borrowed them from), and that they're not for everyone, just like prescription medications. They can make you dizzy, fall down, feel out of place. You'd give them to someone else who lost their glasses, thinking it works for you, but it may not work for them in the same way. It's best to not take something that wasn't designed for you.

** Talk with your mentee about drugs and alcohol early and often. It’s always better to prepare them before they ever encounter it. Talk to them about the reasons why a person could choose to use drugs, and go over the consequences, and how they can powerfully destroy lives and families.

** Get educated on the subject of pharm parties and talk to your mentee about possible consequences of taking pills without a prescription, and especially mixing pills.

** Ask your mentee what he/she knows about pharm parties and if she/he has an opinion about it. 

 ** Help your mentee learn from other’s mistakes by sharing stories or personal experiences that did not end well

** Talk to your mentees about peer pressure and make them realize how making the wrong choice could have dangerous consequences. Advise your mentees about having personality and not simply doing what others consider to be cool. Help them come up with different things to say to get out of doing drugs without losing face with their friends.  Role play to practice so when the time comes they don’t have to think about it.

** Make sure your mentee knows the warning signs of an overdose, so if they are at a party and a friend is in trouble, they'll know what to look for and what to do...call 911. Remind them it's better for their friend to stay alive and get in trouble than to know that they could have saved them...and didn't. They should turn them on their left side, check for breathing, see if they are responsive when you force open their eyes to see if the pupils change size.

** Here are several of the most successful ways for a teen to turn down drugs, ask your mentee which one sounds good to them and practice it with them.

1.     Give your reason and make it a joke to reduce tension and perceived rejection-  “No thanks, I need all the brain cells I can get for this math test I have tomorrow.”   

2.     Blame your parents (even if its not true)- “I can’t, my parents randomly drug test me.”  Or “I have to check in with my parents every x hours so I have to be sober or they will know and I will get in big trouble.  Sorry it's just not worth it.”

3.     Bad experience (yours or others)- “A friend did that and he went blind for a week! (Or had to go to the hospital etc.)  I’m so freaked out about that I couldn’t enjoy it, no thanks.”

4.  "I'd rather not spend the entire night on the toilet if it's a diuretic."

** If your mentee is abusing prescription drugs encourage them to seek treatment, and then contact your case manager to discuss options. You can say something like, "I've noticed some changes. I'm concerned and I'm worried and I'd like to help you get help." Approach it from a point of caring, rather than accusing.

A True Story, as shared by the Sheriff at the Carpinteria Cares RX Drug Abuse Forum on 11/2/11:

A 2010 22-year-old UCSB graduate went to a grad party. After about 4 or 5 drinks, he was offered a Xanax, which he took. Not long after, someone came up to him and said, "Hey, you gotta try this awesome new drug." Buzzed off the drinks and the Xanax, he didn't really think before taking the offer. He soon fell asleep, and his friends thought he'd just sleep it off. When he wouldn't wake up after a while, his friends called an ambulance. Thankfully he was young, so he didn't die. BUT all 4 major organ systems were affected. The concoction in his system cut off the flow of oxygen in his blood; he forgot to breathe and all his pain receptors were numbed. He suffered a minor stroke with kidney and liver damage. Thankfully he survived, but not everyone is so lucky.

What Do You Think?: Managing Anger

Scenario:

Marina is a 6th grader and recently she has been getting in trouble at school for fighting with her classmates. When she was younger her parents used to fight constantly and her father struggled with alcoholism. He used to yell all the time and once he even hit her mother. But last year he got sober and is trying hard to mend things with his family. Although Marina likes seeing her mother so much happier and wants to be a close family again she can’t stop feeling angry at her father for what he put them through.
When she is at school she gets along well with her classmates and has many friends, but if things aren’t going her way or someone says something she doesn’t like she blows up and can’t control herself. Because of this she has been in several fights during and after school and is in danger of suspension or even expulsion. Marina knows she needs to stop fighting but she doesn’t know how to control herself and that only makes her angrier.

Questions for Discussion:

1. How do you think you would feel if you were Marina? Why does she fight?
2. What do you think she could do to control her anger besides fighting? Is there anyone she can got o for help?
3. What might happen if she doesn’t learn to manage her anger?
4. What could her parents or teacher do to help Marina?
5. What would you do if you were Marina’s friend?

Factoids:

** Anger in children is their way of telling us that there is something wrong, usually that a goal is blocked or needs are not being met.

** According to research (Fabes and Eisenberg, 1992) anger has three main components: the emotional state itself and physiological response, the resulting behavioral expression of anger, and the person’s understanding of their anger. Learning to manage anger effectively starts with an understanding of these three aspects, and children need extra help because they are just starting to learn about emotions and often have a limited ability to think critically about their own feelings and behaviors.

** Learning to deal with anger in a productive way is extremely important because people who are often angry are at an increased risk for a huge variety of physical ailments including high blood pressure, heart attacks, gastrointestinal problems, diabetes, and high levels of stress. In fact, chronic anger can shorten your lifespan by as much as 10-20 years!

** Chronic anger is also a leading cause of workplace dissatisfaction, depression, insomnia, anxiety, relationship problems, low self-esteem, and substance abuse.

** Anger, and the behaviors associated with it, is one of the many things children can learn from their parents. Children of an angry or abusive parent are 10 times more likely to be angry and abusive themselves!

** The frontal lobe is critical in managing anger and that part of the brain is not fully formed until about 24 years of age. This explains the difficulty children and teens have in regulating their emotions and shows why they need extra guidance to help them do so effectively. 

What Mentors Can Do to Help Prevent This?

** The best thing to do is to talk with your mentee about emotions in general, and about any anger they might be experiencing to try to help them understand the three components mentioned above. Depending on the age of your mentee you may have to spend more time simply educating them about emotions: the different types, what they look like, what they feel like, what you can do if the feel each one etc. But once they understand more about emotions you can talk to them specifically about ay anger they might have felt or be feeling and start explaining the 3 parts.

** The first component, the emotional state of anger, is the moment when someone becomes angry and feels the physical symptoms such as teeth grinding, fists clenching, flushing, paling, prickly sensations, numbness, sweating, muscle tensions and temperature changes. Many children don’t know or understand their physical reactions and they might make them more upset or agitated, so explain to your mentee what is going on in their body when they feel anger.

** Then you can touch on the second component, the behavior expression of their anger, and talk to them about what they did when they got angry. Did they react aggressively with angry words or even physical assault, or did they react passively by running away, sulking, bottling up their anger, seeking adult comfort etc? Let them talk openly and without judgment about their anger and subsequent behavior, and let them know that anger is a normal emotion and they should not be embarrassed or ashamed. You just want to help them handle it in the best way possible for their health and happiness.

** Then you can move to the third component, self analysis and understanding. Start helping them think critically about their anger and how they deal with it.

         ~Why are they really angry? What goal is being thwarted or need not being met? For example, if Marina is angry because a girl said something mean about her mom she is angry at that girl for not meeting her need for respect from her peers. But she is also angry at her father for years of not meeting her needs of safety and parental love/warmth. Obviously the first is a little easier to deal with than the second but understanding why she is angry is the first step.

         ~What can they do to deal with their anger effectively so they feel better and don’t hurt anyone or get in trouble. Brainstorm with them possible strategies and suggest some of these proven effective methods:
1. The best response is to talk with someone they trust about their feelings and try to be as rational as possible to come up with a solution to what is causing the anger. But if they can’t handle their anger while talking or need tips to cool down in the moment these next one will be more helpful.
2. Count to 10 slowly
3. Focus on taking deep slow breaths
4. Move to another room or go for a walk, get out of the angry space
5. Meditate or think of something nice that you enjoy.
6. Exercise or play a sport, or just get up and run around a little bit.
7. Teach them to keep a journal where they can write down all of their anger and get it out of their head.
8. Do art (drawing, painting, music etc) to help them express their anger in a creative way.
9. Have them release their anger into a pillow by squeezing, punching, or yelling into it. But don’t encourage lots of aggressive behavior as it will only help them practice a negative response.

** Let them choose which one of these responses they would like to try next time they get angry and practice it with them. If it doesn’t work for them try a different one until something works.

** For more tips and strategies visit these websites:
http://www.help-your-child-with-anger.com/anger-management-for-teenagers.html
http://www.athealth.com/consumer/issues/childsanger.html
http://www.effectiveparenting.org/tips1.asp