Teens Able to Purchase 'Legal Pot,' Despite Potentially Dangerous Side Effects
Synthetic drugs that lawmakers and law enforcement officers say are potentially deadly are readily available to teenagers both online and in retail stores – despite a push to ban what high school kids call "legal pot," an ABC News investigation found.
After 18-year-old David Rozga suddenly took his own life with a rifle last year soon after graduating high school, his parents were convinced the synthetic drugs played a major part.
"He just continued to become agitated -- indicating that he felt like he
was in hell," David's father Mike Rozga said. His girlfriend at the
time said it was clear David was under the influence of something.
"David did not do this intentionally," girlfriend Carrie Jackson told ABC News. "He was like in an altered state and, you know, he would never do this or hurt us or hurt anyone else or hurt himself."
Mike Rozga said before his death his son went to a local mall and legally purchased a K2, a product like several others meant to mimic the effect of marijuana. An ABC News investigation found these products available on-line and at stores for anywhere from $15 to $85.
Pot Dealer's Tragic Choice Ended in Death Watch Video
Rozga's death has prompted lawmakers to push for a ban on the synthetic drugs, which poison control centers say have spurred a rash of emergencies. Since 2010 alone there have been 4,000 calls into poison control relating to the drugs and Missouri Poison Control Center Director Anthony Scalzo said the innocuous-sounding names belie sometimes devastating side effects.
Scalzo said the side effects include heart rate stimulation to exaggerated levels, extreme blood pressure elevation, agitation, paranoia, and hallucinations. "Beyond the acute effects [there] are psychiatric effects that have led individuals to harm themselves, sometimes fatally, and exhibit extreme paranoia and delusions not unlike schizophrenia or other psychoses," said Scalzo.
But retail store trade groups oppose the ban and say that as long as the products are legal, there is no reason not to sell it.
"A ban is dangerous," said Dan Francis of the Retail Compliance Association. "Because it sends it underground. And I'd like to ask the government what is wrong with euphoria and who gave them the right to regulate it?"
However, Detective Sergeant Brian Sher, who investigated David Rozga's death, places the blame for the boy's death directly on K2. "I want people to know that," said Sher. "There are nay-sayers, but I can say definitively there's just nothing in the investigation to show that. Given what we know about K2 and Spice, David's anxiety, his feeling like he was in hell, has happened in many other cases."
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Lindsay Lohan cleared in rehab fight probe
March 30, 2011 1:01 a.m. EDT
Lindsay Lohan will not face assault charges for an incident while she was in rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- County district attorney will not charge Lohan in Betty Ford Center incident
- She was investigated for the December 12, 2010, incident with a staffer
- Lohan still faces a felony theft charge in Los Angeles
Lohan, who faces a preliminary hearing on a felony grand theft charge April 22, could also go back to jail on a probation violation charge on the same day.
But the Riverside County, California, district attorney decided Tuesday not to pursue a possible assault charge against the actress for a December 12, 2010, incident with Dawn Holland, a Betty Ford Center staffer, the prosecutor's spokesman said.
"Our office has completed review of the case, and we will not file charges due to insufficient evidence," spokesman John Hall said.
Lindsay Lohan dropping her last name?
A Los Angeles County judge later ordered her to remain in the drug rehab program until January 3 for failing a drug test while on supervised probation for a 2007 drunken-driving charge.
An incident three weeks after she was released from rehab led to her latest legal problems. She allegedly walked out of a Venice, California, jewelry store wearing a necklace that she had not paid for, according to police.
Lohan rejected a plea deal last week, setting the stage for next month's preliminary hearing and a possible trial.
CNN's Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.
With Spike In Teen Drug Use, Parents Examine Their Role
A new national survey on Drug Use and Health
shows that teenagers are using marijuana more often and at younger ages.
The weekly parenting segment explores ways teens get their hands on
marijuana and how parents and guardians can better spark dialogues and
develop relationships that will lower the chances of teens abusing
marijuana. Host Michel Martin speaks with regular parenting contributors
Jolene Ivey and Leslie Morgan Steiner.MICHEL MARTIN, host:
I'm Michel Martina, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, but maybe you just need a few moms in your corner. Every week we check in with a diverse group of parents for their common sense and savvy parenting advice.
Now, we just heard from Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House Office of National Drug Policy about new figures from the national survey on drug use and health. And he described how 1 in 10 kids between 12 and 17 used an illegal drug in the past month, that according to the survey.
That all makes us want to hear what the moms have to say about it, so we invited our regular guest Jolene Ivey. She happens to be a member of the Maryland legislature. She's the co-founder of a parenting support group called the Mocha Moms and the mother of five boys. Also with us is Leslie Morgan Steiner. She's the author of the memoir "Crazy Love" and the anthology "Mommy Wars." And she's a mom of three. Welcome back ladies, moms.
Ms. JOLENE IVEY (Co-Founder, Mocha Moms): Hey, Michel.
Ms. LESLIE MORGAN STEINER (Author, "Mommy Wars"): Good to be here.
MARTIN: Now, you just heard the interview with Gil Kerlikowske stressing the role of parents and preventing drug abuse. And one of the things that he said -or drug use, I should say, because I think, you know, maybe there's an argument here about whether we're really talking about use or abuse.
And one of the points that he made is that the kind of acceptance of certain drugs has waxed and waned over the years. And now it seems that there's kind of national discussion around drug use that makes it more acceptable. And I wanted to know if you both agreed with that statement. Jolene?
Ms. IVEY: To a large extent, yes. I mean when we are right now in the middle of legalizing marijuana in some states already, and it could be nationally before long, when you're talking about medical uses of marijuana, of course my kids say, well, if it's got medicinal purposes, why is it illegal? Obviously, the conversation has already shifted.
MARTIN: What do you think? What do you tell your kids?
Ms. IVEY: Well, actually, I support the legalization of marijuana and we have talked about that. I have made it clear to them that even right now, even though alcohol is legal, it's not legal for them. And there are good reasons for that. And I wouldn't want them to smoke marijuana either. I'm not exactly sure how it would affect them, but I don't think it's worth finding out.
MARTIN: So, basically you say that the same rules as alcohol apply. Alcohol may be legal, but it's not legal for you.
Ms. IVEY: Absolutely.
MARTIN: It's that this is a grownup thing.
Ms. IVEY: And the problem right now with is being illegal is the people who are selling it aren't going to be carding anybody to say, are you old enough to smoke? No. They would sell it to my 10-year-old if he showed up with money. And I would rather have us in a position where there are responsible people who are regulating it, who are in charge of whether or not they're going to sell it to someone.
MARTIN: And who pay a price if they sell it to the wrong people.
Ms. IVEY: Absolutely.
MARTIN: Leslie, what about you?
Ms. STEINER: You know, I was surprised. I feel like what I've heard for decades has been that drug usage has been going down among kids. And it's definitely clear to me that parenting has changed so much since I was a kid in the '70s and '80s. And parents are much more involved in their kids' lives and talking candidly to kids about risks of drugs and other kinds of dangers of adolescence. So I was really surprised and a little puzzled by the fact that the numbers seemed to be growing.
MARTIN: Speaking of sort of interesting findings in the report, the report says that in 2009, over 90 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds believed their parents would strongly disapprove of them using marijuana, and yet those same reports says that more teens are using it and at younger ages. So, Leslie, that kind of speaks to your question, what do you think is going on here?
Ms. STEINER: You know, I think that the movement to legalize marijuana is clearly gaining steam and gaining a lot of visibility and that the kids are aware of that. And so there's more buzz about marijuana. And so perhaps that's driving more experimentation.
And, you know, I think anybody who has a teenager knows that just because you disapprove of something doesn't mean your kid isn't going to do it. And although the study did show that talking to kids about drug usage doesn't necessarily lower their chances of doing it. That monitoring kids' daily life does decrease the incidents.
But I think it's hard to parse these details when you're talking about something that's illegal and when you're talking about teenagers because of course they're going to hide this and not necessarily tell the truth about what their behavior is.
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White House Turns Attention To Teens And Drugs
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See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
MICHEL MARTIN, host: I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News.
Every parent of a teenage son or daughter keeps a laundry list of hopes and fears for their not-so-little boys and girls. And among the fears many parents have is drug use. And a new survey from the federal government suggests that those fears might not be so out of place.
According to the latest national survey on drug use and health, one in 10 kids between the ages of 12 and 17 used an illegal drug in the past month. And that's an increase from prior years. In a moment, we'll hear from our moms roundtable to tell us what they are telling their kids about illegal drugs.
But, first, though, we wanted to learn more about this survey and talk about its findings. So we've invited Gil Kerlikowske. He is the director of the White House Office of National Drug Policy. He was kind enough to stop by our Washington, D.C. studio.
Welcome back. Thanks for joining us once again.
Mr. GIL KERLIKOWSKE (Director, White House Office of National Drug Policy): And thanks, Michel, for having me.
MARTIN: What leaps out at you about this survey? What do you think is the most important finding?
Mr. KERLIKOWSKE: I think there are two important findings. One is that this increase in drug use is led by marijuana. And the second part is that the age of initiation - the first time a young person started using marijuana - dropped from 17.8 years to 17 years, and that's actually quite significant.
MARTIN: Because that's an average. So one has to assume that if that's the average, the actual earliest use for some people is much younger.
Mr. KERLIKOWSKE: And that's exactly right. And the concern there is that for the six years that we have had that data, the number had always gone up. This was a year that it not only went down, but it went down by a significant number.
MARTIN: Why do you think that is?
Mr. KERLIKOWSKE: Well, I think there are a couple of reasons. One is that there is a huge amount of public attention to equating medicine and marijuana. And that is the wrong message. I have met with high school kids from Portland to the Bronx. And when they talk about medicine and marijuana, they say this is sending the wrong message to us.
MARTIN: The survey points out that the current rate of marijuana use has actually gone back to where it was in 2002. There had been a steady decrease in the number of kids using it, and the age at which they had started using it was rising. And both of those numbers have reversed to where they were about a decade ago. Why do you think that is?
Mr. KERLIKOWSKE: Well, we saw two years ago in the survey work that kids' concerns or their perception of risk about drug use was decreasing. Remember, too, that we've also seen a big increase in the use of prescription drugs. Kids really don't perceive prescription drugs as dangerous because they say, hey. It's coming out of the medicine cabinet.
MARTIN: You pointed out just a minute ago that the conversations we are having around marijuana have changed. And, in fact, well, I think everybody knows that marijuana has been widely consumed for decades in this country. But recently, the tenor of the discussion has shifted. And I'm thinking particularly about California, and Governor Schwarzenegger there recently signed a law which downgrades the penalty for possession of under an ounce from a misdemeanor to an infraction that essentially carries a fine. It's a ticket.
But even more striking is that you've got a number of former leaders of government suggesting that, really, decriminalization is the way we ought to go. For example, here's former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders. And this is what she's been saying about the issue. This is a recent interview with her on CNN.
Ms. JOYCELYN ELDERS (Former Surgeon General): It's not a toxic substance that would cause people to die. And I just think that we can use our resources so much better. And I think we need to legalize marijuana for adults and tax it so we can use the money for much better things.
MARTIN: Well, what about that?
Mr. KERLIKOWSKE: Well, we don't think that that is actually a very good position. If you look at the research that tells you how much money a state and how much money the federal government collects in taxes - for instance, on alcohol, it's about for every dollar collected, they spend about $8 in health care and criminal justice costs. Look at drunk driving. Look at people going through alcohol treatment programs.
MARTIN: So you're saying that our efforts to sort of tax, regulate and educate about alcohol and prescription drugs aren't working particularly well now, so why add a third thing.
Mr. KERLIKOWSKE: Well, I think that's a good way of putting it. Why add another - as the San Diego Tribune said - another mind-altering substance out into the free market when we're doing such, virtually, a poor job with alcohol and prescription drugs?
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Mexican Teens In Different Worlds Share Tragic Fate
Enlarge Monica Ortiz Uribe for NPR
Tanya
Lozoya's parents stand by a mural of their daughter in her softball
uniform, painted in the backyard of their home near El Paso, Texas. A
stray bullet killed the teenager on May 16, 2009, while she attended a
baptism party in Juarez, Mexico. She is one of more than 30,000
casualties in Mexico's drug war.
At a community center high in the rough western hills of Juarez, Lupe sits on a worn love seat inside a small counseling room. Outside, a harsh wind splats desert sand against the window pane. Out of safety concerns, she doesn't want to be identified by her last name. Lupe agreed to meet at the center; she doesn't feel safe talking in her neighborhood, where her son was killed last summer.
He is one of the more than 30,000 people killed in the past four years in Mexico's war with drug cartels. Many were gang members or somehow tied to the cartels; many were police or soldiers. Others were random bystanders. They were old and young — like Lupe's son.
'The Biggest Tragedy Of My Life'
Lupe works at one of hundreds of maquiladoras, or factories, in Juarez.
"Life here is very difficult. When I married, I had to get a job so that I could help my husband," she says.
On a salary of about $10 a day, workers like Lupe manufacture parts for cars, cell phones and flat-screen TVs that later end up on store shelves in the United States. The workers live in poor squatter communities that are breeding grounds for criminals.
"There's a family of drug traffickers who live nearby. They recruit people from around the neighborhood. They watch and wait for just the right moment. Then they attack," she says.
Many caught in the drug war crossfire are innocent bystanders or victims of mistaken identity.
"That was beginning of the biggest tragedy of my life," Lupe says.
Her son soon began working for the drug traffickers. One day, the 18-year-old saw two fellow traffickers murdered by rival gangsters. Because he was a witness, that meant the end for him, too. Lupe says the gangsters ran over him with a four-wheel-drive truck. When she went to identify the body at the funeral home, she could barely recognize her son.
"And that's the image that I carry with me everywhere, when I eat, when I sleep, at every moment — my son's face torn to shreds," she says.
Lupe's son might have had a different future. As a boy, he got good grades and he was a promising saxophone player. But, Lupe says, once he was sucked into the drug gang, he couldn't get out.
An Abrupt, Unexpected End
Less than a mile from the Mexican border, Tanya Lozoya lived a far different life.
Her parents emigrated from Juarez to the United States hoping to give their children more opportunities. Tanya was a 15-year-old freshman at an affluent high school in nearby El Paso, Texas.
"She was very intelligent. She was a bright girl, very generous, very kind," says Veronica Lozoya, Tanya's mom. Her daughter was a straight-A student. She was in student council, honor society and softball. Her room was filled with school trophies. She dreamed of going to Harvard to study law.
"The teachers would always tell me that they wish there could be more students like her. That they wish she could be cloned, because she was very special," Veronica says.
No one expected Tanya's life would end so abruptly.
Innocents Killed
Like so many families who live on the border, the Lozoyas have relatives on both sides. On May 16, 2009, the family attended a baptism party at a home in Juarez. They sat in the living room with relatives when all of a sudden two strangers broke into the back of the house. They were gangsters. One chased the other into the living room and out the front door while shooting his gun. Everyone in the room dropped to the floor.
"When I got up, I turned around and she was on the floor just laying. She won't move. There was blood everywhere, but I didn't know if it was hers, and I started screaming for help," Veronica says.
A stray bullet punctured Tanya's neck. She died instantly.
"I wish it was a nightmare, because you wake up in a nightmare and it's gone. But it's not a nightmare. It's reality. It's a cruel reality that you have to live day by day, knowing that your daughter is not here no more," she says.
Inside the modest Lozoya home, Tanya's picture is everywhere. Her father, Abraham, tattooed her image on his bicep. And in their backyard is a mural of Tanya in her softball uniform, smiling. She is among the more than 200 Americans killed in Mexico since 2007.
Veronica Lozoya calls Tanya, her only daughter, her best friend. In a war fueled by the U.S. appetite for drugs, Veronica says it's wrong that innocents like her daughter die.
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Teen Drug, Alcohol Use Has Long-Term Effect
Professor Candice Odgers from the University of California at Irvine says the first clues have come from studies of rats.
"[The studies] find that they are more sensitive to the stimulating effects. They crave more. They become addicted faster," Odgers says. "So animal models are kind of pointing to this period as something that, that might be a critical period in alcohol exposure."
But Odgers says it would be unethical for scientists to intentionally expose young people to alcohol and look at their brains. Instead, researchers have been conducting a large, long-term study in New Zealand.
The Dunedin study has been collecting information about a group of more than one thousand children who were born in the 1970s and are now in their 30s. Among the data collected is how much alcohol and drugs the kids used as adolescents and when they started using it.
Odgers examined some of the Dunedin data that's been collected on how kids respond to alcohol over the long term.
"We found that kids who used substances before the age of 15… they were two to three times more likely to develop substance dependency later on, to develop a sexually transmitted disease, to fail in school or to be convicted of a crime," Odgers reports.
"And for the girls, those girls who were exposed to substances before the age of 15 were two to three times more likely to have an early pregnancy... that is, to have been pregnant before the age of 21," she says.
What Odgers and her colleagues found especially disturbing was that it was impossible to predict which kids would have problems with drugs and alcohol. Teens from so-called "good" families with stable, supportive parents and those from so-called "bad" families with abusive or neglectful adults were equally as likely to have bad outcomes. What did seem to make a difference, Odgers says, was whether the kids began using drugs or alcohol before the age of 15.
"So this tells us something about prevention efforts," she says. "If we are going to try to just target at-risk kids, we're going to miss half of our audience, those 50 percent of kids who don't look like they have risk factors or behavioral problems coming into that window. They're still at risk for developing these problems if they are exposed to substances."
Odgers says parents need to continue to be vigilant about monitoring their children's behavior and habits well into their teens.
Her paper is published in the journal Psychological Science.
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If you sell legal-pot to teens, it is not legal anymore. It is worse than selling them cigarettes and alcohol. We are beginning to accept these incidence as part of our normal society. Nobody is shocked anymore.
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