Pubdate: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 2007 The Tribune Co. Contact: http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/submissionform.htm Website: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446 Author: Luis Lopez Note: Luis Lopez is a Zephyrhills city councilman. 'CHEESE' - A DEADLY THREAT TO OUR YOUTH As if our communities and lives weren't complicated enough, a new threat has been emerging over the last two years. The threat is called "Cheese." Unlike store bought cheese, this cheese can kill you. This cheese is a concoction of Mexican black-tar heroin and nighttime cold medicine. When mixed together, it resembles grated Parmesan cheese. The most disturbing news is that drug dealers are targeting middle schools. Kids as young as 11 are getting hooked on this snortable high. The double sedative effects of the heroin and nighttime cold medicines make for a deadly brew. Our middle school youth already struggle with peer pressure, but now, it could cost them their lives. Cheese had it origin in Texas in 2005, where at least 21 youth have died from it and hundreds have been admitted to treatment facilities. Coined "cheese" by the youth addicted to it, drug counselors such as myself considered it a gateway drug to more advanced recreational street drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamines. Cheese is not only dangerous; it is very cheap. Sold for $1 to $2 for a single hit, it can be snorted with a straw or through a ballpoint pen. Its symptoms include drowsiness, sluggishness, euphoria, excessive thirst, and disorientation; That is, if the user survives. As parents and concerned citizens, we must understand the implication of "cheese" as a recreational drug. According to law enforcement drug experts, Cheese is a combination of black tar Mexican heroin and crushed medications that contain the antihistamine diphenhydramine, found in products such as Tylenol PM, Benadryl Tablets, and Excedrin PM, which are marketed as pain relievers and sleep aids. Combine this with the effects of heroin and you will get a double whammy to your body. You are getting two downers at once. The danger is very real. If you take your body and you start slowing everything inside it down, eventually you're going to slow down the heart until it stops and, when it stops, you're dead. It you survive, the withdrawal symptoms will generally appear as early as six hours after use. Who are the drug dealers? Our preconceived notion is of a 20-something standing near playgrounds, at a drug house, or in back alleys. However, be aware that the best dealer is one from within the target group. One 16-year-old user explained that students buy the tar heroin off campus, mix up the cheese at home and then sell it at school. In working with young drug abusers and addicts, I have come to two important realizations; first, drugs are a waste of time, they destroy your life, your memory, your self-respect, and everything that goes along with your self-esteem. Second, drugs never helped anybody study better, play sports better, sing better, play music better, or do anything better. All drugs can do for you is kill you; and kill you the long, slow, hard way. As a community we need to educate our youth on the extreme danger of Cheese and other drugs. Let us attack this new drug before we are faced with the sad undertaking of burying our children who could have been saved. Luis Lopez is a Zephyrhills city councilman. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek