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At A Glance A designer drug is any substance that either builds on an existing drug or mimics a particular drug's effects, according to information provided by Mark Henry, director of the DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group, and Terry Lemming, director of the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group. The following are designer drugs their agencies have encountered. Ecstasy: An amphetamine and mild hallucinogen, it's considered the most popular "club drug." A tablet or pill can take effect in 30 minutes and last four to six hours. Known as the "hug drug," it can heighten the sense of touch and produce feelings of peacefulness, euphoria and self-confidence. Negative effects are hallucinations, depression, paranoia, panic attacks, irrational behavior and violence. Gamma-hydroxy-butyrate: Known as GHB and a "date-rape" drug, it depresses the central nervous system and produces feelings of euphoria and intoxication; it comes in a clear, odorless liquid and powder form. Ketamine: A legal animal tranquilizer in a powder form, it produces hallucinations and out-of-body experiences. Rohypnol: Also known as a "date-rape drug," a pill or liquid can make the user intoxicated without the hangover. It also can cause amnesia. PMA: A hallucinogen and amphetamine pill, it causes a racing pulse and elevated body temperatures of at least 104 degrees.
Naperville community comes together to discuss problems with drug abuse
by Diana Wallace Daily Herald Staff Writer (Excerpt) from Daily Herald Thursday, January 30, 2003
Richard Ballinger takes time outside of work to talk about drug abuse among young people because he'd rather not run into them at work. Ballinger runs the DuPage County morgue. He's seen over and over what can happen to addicts who don't recover. He's seen the aftermath of fatal substances young people put into their bodies: not just recreational drugs, but anti-freeze, aerosols and poisons.
"This is the only way you want to see me," the coroner said Wednesday evening, "when I have a chance to talk to somebody (who's) alive." Ballinger made his comments during a forum on teen substance abuse at Benedictine University in Lisle Wednesday sponsored by Healthy DuPage and the Daily Herald. The panel of substance-abuse professionals - and an audience of recovering addicts, moms and dads of addicts, educators, counselors and law enforcement officials - offered a revealing and sobering look at what panelist Felipe Armas of Metropolitan Family Services called "a monster."
The group discussed the early signs of drug use among teens - the change in appearance, friends, grades, behavior, even missing spoons. The group talked about why kids using Ecstasy or other club drugs use pacifiers and menthol rubs. Naperville Police Lt. David Hilderbrand discussed the department's crackdown on illegal teen drinking parties and how his agency has learned new ways of breaking up such parties so kids don't run to their cars and drive away drunk.
Theresa Blasucci, the co-founder of Help End Addiction with Love, a support group for families of addicts, described how her family filed for bankruptcy and used her addict son's college fund to pay for his drug treatment.
Mark Henry of the Illinois State Police and DuPage County's special drug task force, talked of kids from DuPage County driving to the West Side of Chicago to pick up heroin. He spoke of how that drug has become more accessible because it's in a purer form that kids don't have to inject intravenously to get high.
What emerged at the forum was a picture of committed people who share both a resolve to do something about the problem of teen drug use and a sense of exasperation.
Can we prevent teenagers from using drugs?
By Alicia Fabbre Daily Herald Staff Writer Excerpt from Daily Herald
It's the million dollar question - how do we keep kids from ever using drugs in the first place? Officials from the DuPage and Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Groups are out spreading the word about Ecstasy - to parents and teachers. The agencies developed a program to help make parents aware of the drug and its effects on their children.
"It's very difficult for a parent to talk about drugs, it's even more difficult to talk about drugs that they never heard of," said Mark Henry, director of the DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group. "Ecstasy wasn't even around 30 years ago, so how do you sit down with your kids and talk to them about it?" His group has also has a downloadable Powerpoint presentation on club drugs on its Web site: (www.dupagemeg.com/PowerPoint%20Rave%20Presentation%20Download%20Area.htm).
In the past year, Henry and Terry Lemming, director of the Lake County group, have conducted 100 informational sessions for parents and teachers. They talk about warning signs, why teens like Ecstasy and other issues related to the drug. Police also are working on stricter enforcement - and finding new ways to deal with drug addicts.
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