Teens find new ways to get "high"

WILLIAMSBURG, Va (WAVY) - It's just a can of air used to clean keyboards, but a Jamestown High School student died last fall after huffing it.

Sandy Fagan, Executive Director of Bacon Street , an alcohol and drug treatment center in Williamsburg said, "All of our kids are at risk, and we as families, and we as parents are the ones who should be in control."

Fagan contends many parents don't have a clue what their kids are exposed to. He said many use prescription drugs like Adderall, which is used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), because it's easy to get.

Some even sell it to buy other drugs like marijuana, "or heroin for that matter, another drug that's come back in terms of its availability."

He says heroin is especially a problem in Poquoson, but cautions it's not just drugs, addictive behavior can be played out in many ways.

The CDC just conducted its first large-scale survey on something called "the choking game," where players intentionally strangle themselves for what they describe as a brief sense of euphoria.

A survey done in Oregon polled 10,000 eighth graders who were asked about the choking game; 36 percent said they had heard of it and 1 in 15 said they've tried it -- but most parents say they've never heard of it.

That's why Fagan insists parents get online, call community resource centers and get all the information they can.

"The most powerful source in prevention is definitely the parents," he said.

Related Links:

Parents; The Anti-Drug

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment