Pubdate: Sun, 15 Apr 2007
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://www.seattletimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Tawnell D. Hobbs and Jason Trahan, The Dallas Morning News
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

LETHAL HEROIN DRUG MIX PLAGUES DALLAS SCHOOLS

DALLAS -- The number of Dallas students getting hooked on a new drug 
called "cheese" is skyrocketing, with arrests for the heroin mix up 
82 percent this school year.

Dallas Independent School District police made 122 arrests through 
February for students either possessing or dealing the drug. At that 
time last school year, 67 cheese-related arrests had been made. The 
total reached 90 by summer.

School district officials have said they were slow to see cheese as a 
threat when it was detected in fall 2005 because they didn't know 
what it was. They say arrests increased because they now know what 
they're looking for.

There has been no evidence of the drug in Seattle, according to the 
police department's narcotics unit.

Cheese, which sells for as little as $2 a hit, is a highly addictive 
blend of black-tar heroin and crushed Tylenol PM or any similar 
medicine containing a sleep aid. The drug mix got its name because it 
looks like powdered Parmesan cheese.

Rehab centers are reporting a surge in requests for treatment from 
students, some as young as 9, who are hooked on the drug.

Don Smith, a research manager in the Dallas County Juvenile 
Department, has noticed the increase in felony drug cases turned in 
by school-district police.

"We still do get the cocaine cases and the methamphetamines, but 
what's fueled this increase has been the 'cheese' epidemic," Smith 
said. "This one is very disconcerting because they're targeting such 
a young population."

Students are vulnerable to the heroin mix because it's so addictive 
and they can't tolerate the physical symptoms of withdrawal. The 
average user is 14, male and Hispanic, according to the school 
district. Users typically snort the drug, and hits generally are 2 
percent to 7 percent heroin, the district says.

Officials blame cheese for the deaths of at least four teens in 
Dallas County since spring 2006. Officials are awaiting toxicology 
reports to determine whether it also killed a 15-year-old student in 
late March.

James Capra, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement 
Administration's (DEA) Dallas office, said agencies around the world 
have been asked whether they're seeing the drug. "This is the only 
place this is occurring," Capra said.

What's specific to the Dallas area is the mixing of black-tar heroin 
imported almost exclusively from Mexico with some from Colombia -- 
with Tylenol PM, Advil PM or any pill with the antihistamine called 
diphenhydramine, found in medications such as Benadryl.

"You don't cut heroin typically with Tylenol PM," Capra said. The 
amount of heroin used in the mix varies by dealer, making it even 
more dangerous.

"If you're used to taking it cut with 3 percent heroin, and you get 8 
percent, you're in the morgue," Capra said.

Police have not identified the origin of cheese but suspect it was a 
marketing ploy concocted by a street-level dealer trying to broaden 
his customer base. They believe there are up to 20 "mixers," or 
students who buy heroin from adult dealers and mix it with pills.

"Dope dealers understand that once they get their hooks into a kid, 
they've got a customer for life," Capra said. "And they don't care 
how short that life is."

[Sidebar]

About "cheese"

Attractions

Inexpensive: Each hit, about 1/10 of a gram, costs about $2.

Addictive: Withdrawal symptoms are so severe, even after the first or 
second use, that users seek another hit to escape the pain.

Easy to make: Reports show that teens are the mixers and users of the 
drug and sell to peers to support their habits. The mixture generally 
is 2 percent to 7 percent heroin, with Tylenol PM or a similar 
over-the-counter drug making up the remainder.

Easy to hide: Students bring it to school inside pens, belt buckles 
and the battery compartments of cellphones.

Dangers

Vulnerability: The average user is 14; 80 percent are male; 98 
percent are Hispanic.

Life-threatening: Consequences include liver and respiratory failure. 
Five teens are believed to have died from overdoses.

Withdrawal: Symptoms often mimic flu symptoms and include drowsiness, 
headaches, mood swings, abdominal pain and nausea.

Source: Dallas Independent

School District

The Dallas Morning News
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman