Local Voices: Cheap Drugs Accessible to Teens

I used to rent an apartment near Aliso Niguel High School and caught a couple of young men shooting up in the men's room near the pool area.  I assumed they must have just scored and this was the closest private place to shoot up.  I asked them to pack up their things and to move along. They did.

I've since moved further down Aliso Creek Road.  Now I've got another drug dealer in my neighborhood. 

On multiple occasions, I have had to ask recent narcotic purchasers to engage in their drug use somewhere other than in front of my home.  Deputies tell me there is a dealer living in the condominium complex across the street. One of my neighbors told me a marijuana dealer lives a couple of doors down.  That might explain the young man with the blunt the size of a cigar "chillin" on the sidewalk.  No really ... he was and it was. 

Drug use comes in cycles.  I remember when meth was all the rage.  No one lives to be very old on meth.  Now the drug of choice is heroin.  Heroin is cheap and available in today's market.

Teenagers are under a lot of pressure.  Divorced parents, mounds of homework, and just the normal challenges of youth.  Some teens turn to drugs as an outlet.

I was a police officer for about 17 years and encountered all different types of drug users.  So here are some warning signs parents can look for when concerned about possible heroin use by their kids:

• Drop in grades
• New friends you don't approve of
• Poor hygiene
• Listlessness
• Small squares of aluminum foil in their room
• Small balloons
• Odd body odor
• Your spoons go missing
• Bent spoons with residue
• Brown tar like spots from splatter caused from cooking the drug

Keep the lines of communication open.  Encourage your child to share their feelings.  I know this is easier said than done.  Research also shows that being involved in positive activities decreases the chance of substance abuse.  Get them involved in something and around positive peer influences.

Bottom line — drug use is one of the greatest health concerns facing our society and it is destroying the lives of far too many young people.