Pubdate: Tue, 19 Jun 2007
Source: USA Today (US)
Page: 4A
Copyright: 2007 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY

STUDY: DRUG CHAT PERVASIVE ONLINE

Teens Use Internet to Share Stories, Get How-to Advice

Ashley Duffy, 18, knew her parents wouldn't tap into her online
journal so she wrote freely about her drug use. She says she used the
Internet to contact her dealer and connect at parties with people who
had drugs.

"Kids are really open about it. I see posts from other people
describing a night on acid or whatever," says Duffy of West Chester,
Pa., who underwent treatment and says she has been drug-free for 16
months. "I think they think their parents are clueless. And I guess
they are."

A study being released today of more than 10 million online messages
written by teens in the past year shows they regularly chat about
drinking alcohol, smoking pot, partying and hooking up. The Caron
Treatment Centers, a non-profit program in Wernersville, Pa., that
also funds research into drug addiction, commissioned the study by
Nielsen BuzzMetrics.

Nielsen analysts used a computer program to search blogs, public chat
rooms, message boards and other places that attract teens. About 2% of
the posts specifically mentioned drugs or alcohol.

The study offers insight into what teens talk about online and
classifies the messages into common themes. Many of the teens who
posted messages about drugs or alcohol often traded information about
using illicit substances without getting hurt or caught. Some teens
debated drug legalization and the drinking age. Other teens recounted
their partying experiences, including sexual liaisons while drunk or
high, the study says.

Kids often use code words they believe their parents won't understand,
says Duffy, who was treated at Caron. "You can't use any words like
pot and mary jane and weed because your parents will know that."

Lucky O'Donnell, 19, of New York, used to refer to cocaine as "yay" or
"cocoa" and heroin as "skag" when he posted messages on friends' sites
on MySpace.

O'Donnell, who says he has been drug-free since Dec. 12, 2005, had
used the Internet to research how much cocaine he could carry without
risking arrest for drug dealing and how much he could take -- and in
what combinations with other drugs -- without getting sick.

He says his research landed him in the intensive care unit just before
his 17th birthday. He says his mother found him convulsing on the
floor after he had combined cocaine with Tylenol PM and alcohol.

"One site said it was fine, one site said it wasn't," O'Donnell says.
"I wasn't able to differentiate the information. You want to believe
everything you read."

The misinformation on the Internet about drugs is staggering, says
Carol Falkowski, director of research communications for Hazelden
Foundation, an addiction treatment, education and research center in
Center City, Minn. "What kids used to learn about drugs on street
corners, they now learn online," Falkowski says. The Internet "erases
geographic and social boundaries," she says. "Kids who live in remote
areas can develop a camaraderie online of drug-abusing kids. They can
share stories about drug experiences."

Janice Styer, an addiction counselor at Caron, says the treatment
center now urges parents to monitor their teens' Web surfing and to
keep the computer in a family room. "Five years ago, we weren't even
thinking about this," Styer says.

Scott Burns, deputy director of the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy, says he had a blistering fight with his teenage
daughter when he insisted on moving the computer to the family room.
He also learned the abbreviation "POS" -- parent over shoulder.

"It's a lot easier said than done, I know," Burns says. "As a parent,
it's hard to keep up with your teens and their technologies. If you're
not tech savvy, if you don't have Internet skills, you need to learn
them."

The study's analysis of alcohol messages found that teens mentioned
hooking up and having sex while drunk, being drunk at parties, getting
help for a friend who drinks too much and drinking until getting sick.
The most popular drinks mentioned in the messages were beer and vodka.

In a sample message included with the study, one unnamed teen wrote:
"I've had alcohol once or twice (once to the point of being drunk) and
sex is waaaaay better."

In postings about marijuana, teens asked about possible addiction and
whether it alleviated depression, the study shows. Teens also shared
stories about cutting class, drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and
mutilating themselves while getting high.

Another message from an unnamed teen included in the study asked about
marijuana: "Has anyone ever passed out from smoking weed? I was at the
beach and I just collapsed and I don't remember that happening."

In posts about other drugs, teens sought or offered information on
Ecstasy, hallucinogenic mushrooms, LSD and heroin. They talked about
experimentation with drugs and sought advice on taking drugs safely.

An unnamed teen in one post included in the study asked for
information about DXM, a drug found in over-the-counter cough syrup:

"I tried DXM for the first time on Saturday (200mg) and it was
interesting. Can I try it again ... say tomorrow ... or should I wait
longer. I read somewhere you should give DXM at least a week until you
try it again. Anyone know?"

[sidebar]

TALKING IN CODE

Lingo some teens use when talking about drugs:

Candy flipping: Getting high by combining LSD with
Ecstasy.

Crank: Low-quality crystal methamphetamine.

Crunk(ed): To get high and drunk simultaneously, as in, "Yo, we've got
beer and weed. Let's get crunked."

Dank: An especially strong type of marijuana that is sticky and
hairy. Also, something really great. "That's some strong dank."

DXM: Dextromethorphan hydrobromide. A drug found in over-the-counter
cough medicine, which in large quantities causes hallucinations. "I'm
out of weed, let's trip on DXM."

Hotboxed: Smoking marijuana in a confined space so it fills with
smoke, as in, "Let's hotbox the car."

Krippy: Highest grade of marijuana.

Shake: The end bits of a bag of marijuana. "All I've got left from my
stash is some shake."

Skag: Heroin.

Skunk: A crossbred type of marijuana.

Triple Cs: Coricidin cough and cold medicine. In large quantities, it
causes hallucinations. "I'm out of X, but I've got Triple Cs."

Yay: Cocaine.
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