Legal highs can be deadly

August 19, 2007

It seems youths always are experimenting, skirting the law in search of legal highs.

But some thrills have proven deadly — such as the “choking game.” In 2005, 50 teens in the United States died when that game went too far.

Played in groups at parties, during sleepovers and in locker rooms, the choking game has a number of names, including space monkey, fainting, passout game, blackout game, flatline and choke out. The object is to put pressure on the neck to deprive the brain of oxygen. There is a brief rush when the blood flow returns. But by reducing the blood pressure, the brain begins an irreversible process of dying.

This and other teen thrillseeking activities were the subject of one of the discussions at the recent Addictions Conference, held at Gulf Coast Community College by Bradford Health Services. It was aimed at health professionals, who treat people with a variety of addictions and mental conditions, to keep them abreast of the latest fads and help them identify warning signs.

“The best way to combat the choking game is to let young people know or they’ll wind up hanging themselves,” said Bryan Russell, regional marketing representative at Bradford Health Services, who led the discussion on legal highs. “Tell parents, mentors, school counselors and ministers to stay in their lives.”

Another dangerous game teens are playing is called “drifting.” This is a dangerous driving game in which teens maneuver their car or motorcycle sideways down a road while negotiating curves. Drifting is actually a sport that professional drivers play on special tracks built for it. The difference is that teens are drifting on winding public roads where they can’t always see approaching traffic.

Another dangerous highway game is car surfing.

“Kids jump on the roof or hood of a car and surf while the car is moving,” Russell said.

Those who can’t keep their balance are subject to serious injury, he said.

Web highs

Russell also talked about HELIO LLC, a new mobile service that makes it simple for teens to hook up and find parties by broadcasting their location over the system’s Buddy Beacon. HELIO has partnered with social networking site MySpace.com to allow teens to share their life as it happens. Unless a profile is changed to private, all MySpace.com users can see what individual teens are doing, which could make them a target for unwanted attention.

Parents might be unaware that when they give their teens gadgets — including Xbox, iTunes, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation, iPod and PSP — they also can be used to download pornography. It’s no different than accessing porn from a personal computer, Russell said.

Dozens of porn sites are available just for gaming systems. Even more worrisome, pedophiles posing as children are using the portable devices for a newer, easier and more secretive way to reach children.

Other highs

Another item, which Russell said he saw for sale on the counter of a Panama City convenience store for a couple of dollars, looks like a cheap novelty. A small rose inside a glass tube might look innocent, but the tube actually is used as a crack pipe.

Teens and college students also are using legal plants to get high. Salvia, or salvia divinorum, is a perennial herb in the mint family and has been widely available and smoked and chewed since the mid-1990s.

“It’s called ‘legal pot,’” Russell said. “You can get a seriously intense high from it. The leaves can be chewed, baked in brownies or brewed in tea in liquid form and can be bought over the Internet.”

Russell said a dose of 200 to 500 micrograms of salvia can cause hallucinations within 30 to 45 minutes, as well as intense perspiration, fear and panic.

“Kids are also chewing the seeds of jimson weed to get high,” Russell said. “It’s all around us like kudzu. It causes paranoia and combativeness.”

Nutmeg, a spice found in many kitchens and used in desserts, also can cause hallucinations, flu-like symptoms and nausea, Russell said.

Teens have been turning to cough medicine for yet another high.

“They call it ‘robo-tripping’ or ‘dexing,’” he said. “It’s chugging a big bottle of Robitussin.”

In response to this trend, many drug stores now keep these medicines behind the counter.

http://www.newsherald.com/headlines/articl...play.php?a=2922

[Monoliath]

Man...

I wonder when parents are going to realize that they're not spending enough time with their kids?

[aBore]

I remember in jr high friends wanted me to try the choking game. That shits been around forever. As for the rest, I just hope they don't make salvia illegal. Salvia scares the piss out of me and I have no intentions of using it again... but I always start wanting drugs when I can't have them

[Monoliath]

Originally posted by aBore@Aug 19 2007, 11:02 AM
but I always start wanting drugs when I can't have them

Funny how that works sometimes eh?

The scary thing is when salvia is seriously compared to pot.

[noid]

“The best way to combat the choking game is to let young people know or they’ll wind up hanging themselves,”

No, the best way is to let them have weed so they dont have to resort to this lame shit

PS is it just me or was this article posted before?

[Midknight]

I don't know, but I love the way it is a misleading article. Especially with salvia.

First it says that it's been being smoked and chewed since the early 90's. Well, that is partially true, but certain cultures have been using it for at least hundreds of years.

Also, 500 mc's of Salvia can't do anything. 500 mcg's of salavorin (sp?) a, yes. Salvia divinorum, no.

[ajkdslk]

The funny thing about this post is that my cellphone carrier is Helio!!!! LOL!!!!!!! I have a helio drift and heat!! Also last year I saw a news segment on the choking game and how a girl died in her closet by hanging herself just to play by herself, it was really sick. I mean I tried it a few or two times when i was like 11 or 12 but never really got into it as a "high". I think this is just ridiculous!

[hpi]

ha Great article.

Full of lies, very surprising.

I can ask most of the population and no ones gonna have a clue wtf jimson weed is.

Salvia is NO where NEAR a legal weed high, who in the fuck ever came up with that anyways?

It can cause fear and panic and perspiration and all, yes this is why you do physcedelics if your mentally prepared, Especially Sally D.

30+ mins to take effect? Which teen takes the time to turn it into a concotion? Most teens ive heard of are rolling sally spliffs like fkn morons or bonging it and then posting EXTREMELY STUPID AND NOOBISH videos on youtube of them high and being all stupid and fake and all.

Yes that means the teens are complete fucken idiots if there drifting in normal cars on a non designated course, gonna make the sport illegal in the professional world to?

Highway surfing, wow sorry parents but your kids really gotta be a piece of work to even remotely thinkg of pulling shit like this.

Who here has ever attended or would just love to attend one of these live meetings like in the article where they EDUCATE parents and mentors and counselors.

Wow do I gotta do, and im gonna walk in rolling my face off while speeding and me just finishing a spliff and Im gonna take a seat and be extra attentative and understandful and im gonna disprove everything they say in a very smart way just to show that im perfectly there and aware of what im doing.

Or just go sober as sin and blur out stupidity to everything those people gotta say.

[AdultSWIM]

Jesus, this article is horrible. Who are they passing through journalism school these days? It looks like it was written by a high schooler. (No offense high schoolers! Stay in school!)