JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ever heard of skittles parties or pharm parties? Chances are your teenager has been invited to one or knows about these kinds of parties.
Teenagers steal prescription medicines from their parents' or friend's medicine cabinet and take it to a party. All the medications are put into a bowl and then ingested at random by party goers.
The pills are not marked. The teenager has no idea what he or she is taking. The idea is to get high off the medication or to intensify intoxication brought on by alcohol or another drug.
Parents with college students who have been away at school or adults who are having young people visit for the Thanksgiving holiday need to take the time now to be aware of what medications are in your home. Lockup your medication or count your pills to track any that are missing.
Bob Liggero, a physician's assistant in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Wolfson Children's hospital, says the most prevalent drugs of choice for high school students are over the counter medications and prescription pills. These medications are prescribed by weight, a teenager taking a pill that is not prescribed to them is in danger of overdosing.
Liggero told me about treating a 16 year old who consumed a patch of Fentanyl, used to stick to the skin of a patient who needs intense medication. The teenager ate part of the patch and by the time she arrived at the hospital she was already brain dead, says Liggero. Fentanyl is a synthetic drug that is not detected during a routine drug screen.
Liggero says he also remembers treating a teenager who overdosed on an anti-hypertension medicine. The teen had to be put on a heart and lung machine for treatment.
Skittles parties have been a trend among young people for several years. Do not assume, however, that this is a problem isolated to high school students. Middle school students are just as at risk.
Last week, a 14-year-old girl in Tampa was hospitalized along with 4 of her classmates. Police say she brought medication to school from her parents' home and passed them out to her classmates. They became sick in class. The 14 year old is charged with possession of a controlled substance. She and her sickened classmates were treated and released from the hospital.
For those of you who have older relatives visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday who are unaccustomed to being around young children, ask them to be careful with their prescription medications. They may have a tendency to leave them on a dresser or counter without realizing a toddler could take them and eat them. Liggero warns, it does not take a lot of drug to become toxic for a small child.
There is an informational website comprised of questionnaires filled out by 50,000 middle school and high school students. They are asked questions about drug use. You may find it interesting: monitoringthefuture.org.
Keep this in mind. Liggero challenges you to ask your high school student if they know where they can buy a prescription medication and how much it would cost. He says you would be surprised by the answer.