8th-graders found with new kind of meth

1.    Aulds, T.J. (2013, October 10).  8^th-graders found with new kind of meth.  Galveston County The Daily News, A1/A3.

2.    Category of problem:  Health

3.    Level of problem:  Local / National level

4.    The article concerns:  Six middle-school students have been suspended ant the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation after small amounts of a new form of liquid methamphetamine were found on campus at Blocker Middle School in Texas City.

5.    Why is this important to families / individuals OR how does it affect individuals / families?

a.    The methamphetamine found by authorities is packaged in a new method – a stamped sized piece of paper wrapped in foil.  They have not been able to determine the street name or the street value of the drug, and are concerned that innocent people could absorb the drug just from handling the package.

6.    What are your views on the issue / policy?

a.    The students in question in the article are 8^th graders in middle school.  They are also all girls!  Thirteen to 14 year old kids with access to a very dangerous drug – it is unfathomable!  It is not known how the girls are related – if they are part of a group that hang out together, or just a random number of students who got their hands on this new drug.  Obviously, they don’t know the perils of meth, or maybe they just thought it would be cool to show off to their friends.  Methamphetamines can adversely affect the brain leading to severe addiction, and compulsion to take other, even more dangerous, drugs.  But, not only does it affect the brain and nervous system, it can cause noticeable, physical changes in a person as well.  Severe weight loss and dental problems are two of the more serious side effects of the drug, but it can lead to debilitating diseases like HIV and AIDS if a person graduates to using infected needles while injecting the drug.  I cannot imagine what was going through these girls’ minds when they took possession of the meth.  I was their age once, and it never crossed my mind to try something like that.  Theoretically, girls are supposed to be more mature than boys at that age, and the fact that no boys were caught in custody of those drugs really causes a lot of concern.  But, I think the biggest concern for the police and the girls’ parents ought to be where they got the drugs and how they received it.  To me, there is no worse offender than someone supplying drugs to kids, and, if I had my choice, the punishment for these creeps need to be very severe.  With all the drug awareness programs bombarding kids at school and television, these people still find a way to entice children for the sake of making money.  It is very sick!