Heroin Use on the Rise Among Teens in Southern California

According to a story from the Crescenta Valley Sun (a Southern California local newspaper), local law enforcement authorities are seeing a rise in heroin use and talk about heroin among area teens. According to the story, law enforcement officials often hear rumors about problems or events among teenagers before word reaches the general public. Recently, they have been hearing a lot about heroin.

According to talk among teens, heroin is no longer injected with syringes but heated up to be smoked or inhaled. A popular misconception among teens is that smoked heroin is not as addictive as injected heroin. When law enforcement officials recently gave a presentation at a local high school, many teens expressed surprise that smoked heroin is just as addictive. Deputy Scott Shinagawa, interviewed for the story, said, “Heroin seems to be the [young drug users’] new drug of choice.”

In addition, law enforcement officers feel that parents are often unprepared to recognize or deal with drug pushers. According to officers, pushers don’t always come from outside the community. Many of them appear to be regular neighborhood kids or upstanding adults in the community. In addition, pushers who do come from outside the area are likely to be involved with gangs; these individuals are involved in violent lifestyles and represent a heightened threat to teens who become involved with them. (Source: CrescentaValleyOnline.com)

Labels: teen-drug-abuse, teen-substance-abuse

posted by jgarcia @ 11:31 AM