XPost: aus.legal, can.legal, talk.politics.drugs   
   XPost: uk.legal, uk.politics.drugs   
   From: ultra@man.jp   
      
   >> Deadly $2 heroin targets teens   
   >> Story Highlights   
   >> . Authorities say there have been 21 "cheese" deaths in the Dallas   
   >> area since 2005   
   >> . Schools, police have begun campaign to try to stop the drug from   
   >> spreading . Middle schoolers cheer after detective says U.S. has the   
   >> most drug users . Dad of a teenager who died says: "All it takes is   
   >> once"   
   >> From Tracy Sabo   
   >> CNN   
   >>   
   >> DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- A cheap, highly addictive drug known as   
   >> "cheese heroin" has killed 21 teenagers in the Dallas area over the   
   >> past two years, and authorities say they are hoping they can stop   
   >> the fad before it spreads across the nation.   
   >>   
   >> "Cheese heroin" is a blend of so-called black tar Mexican heroin and   
   >> crushed over-the-counter medications that contain the antihistamine   
   >> diphenhydramine, found in products such as Tylenol PM, police say.   
   >> The sedative effects of the heroin and the nighttime sleep aids make   
   >> for a deadly brew.   
   >> "A double whammy -- you're getting two downers at once," says Dallas   
   >> police detective Monty Moncibais. "If you take the body and you start   
   >> slowing everything down, everything inside your body, eventually   
   >> you're going to slow down the heart until it stops and, when it   
   >> stops, you're dead." (Audio slide show: A father describes his teen   
   >> son's death)   
   >> Steve Robertson, a special agent with the Drug Enforcement   
   >> Administration in Washington, says authorities are closely monitoring   
   >> the use of "cheese" in Dallas.   
   >>   
   >> Trying to keep the drug from spreading to other cities, the DEA is   
   >> working with Dallas officials to raise public awareness about the   
   >> problem. Authorities also are trying to identify the traffickers,   
   >> Robertson says.   
   >> "We are concerned about any drug trend that is new because we want to   
   >> stop it," he says.   
   >>   
   >> Why should a parent outside Dallas care about what's happening there?   
   >>   
   >> Robertson says it's simple: The ease of communication via the   
   >> Internet and cell phones allows a drug trend to spread rapidly across   
   >> the country.   
   >> "A parent in New York should be very concerned about a drug trend in   
   >> Dallas, a drug trend in Kansas City, a drug trend anywhere throughout   
   >> the United States," he says.   
   >>   
   >> Middle schoolers acknowledge 'cheese'   
   >> "Cheese" is not only dangerous. It's cheap. About $2 for a single hit   
   >> and as little as $10 per gram. The drug can be snorted with a straw   
   >> or through a ballpoint pen, authorities say. It causes drowsiness and   
   >> lethargy, as well as euphoria, excessive thirst and disorientation.   
   >> That is, if the user survives. (Interactive: What is "cheese"? )   
   >>   
   >> Authorities aren't exactly sure how the drug got its name "cheese."   
   >> It's most likely because the ground-up, tan substance looks like   
   >> Parmesan cheese. The other theory is it's shorthand for the Spanish   
   >> word "chiva," which is street slang for heroin.   
   >>   
   >> By using the name "cheese," drug dealers are marketing the low-grade   
   >> heroin to a younger crowd -- many of them middle schoolers -- unaware   
   >> of its potential dangers, authorities say.   
   >>   
   >> "These are street dealers, dope dealers," Moncibais recently warned   
   >> students at Sam Tasby Middle School. "They give you a lethal dose.   
   >> What do they care?"   
   >>   
   >> Moncibais then asked how many students knew a "cheese" user. Just   
   >> about everyone in the auditorium raised a hand. At one point, when he   
   >> mentioned that the United States has the highest rate of drug users   
   >> in the world, the middle schoolers cheered. (Watch middle schoolers   
   >> raise hands, admit they know drug users)   
   >>   
   >> "You know, I know being No. 1 is important, but being the No. 1   
   >> dopeheads in the world, I don't know whether [that] bears applause,"   
   >> Moncibais shot back.   
   >> Authorities say the number of arrests involving possession of   
   >> "cheese" in the Dallas area this school year was 146, up from about   
   >> 90 the year before. School is out for the summer, and authorities   
   >> fear that the students, with more time on their hands, could turn to   
   >> the drug.   
   >> 'Cheese' as common a problem as pot   
   >> School officials and police have been holding assemblies,   
   >> professional lectures, PTA meetings and classroom discussions to get   
   >> the word out about the drug. A public service announcement made by   
   >> Dallas students is airing on local TV, and a hotline number has been   
   >> created for those seeking assistance.   
   >>   
   >> Drug treatment centers in Dallas say teen "cheese" addicts are now as   
   >> common as those seeking help for a marijuana addiction. "It is the   
   >> first drug to have even come close in my experience here," says   
   >> Michelle Hemm, director of Phoenix House in Dallas.   
   >>   
   >> From September 2005 to September 2006, Phoenix House received 69   
   >> "cheese" referral calls from parents. Hemm says that in the last   
   >> eight months alone, that number has nearly doubled to 136. The   
   >> message from the parents is always, "My kid is using 'cheese,' " she   
   >> says.   
   >> Phoenix House refers them to detoxification units first, but Hemm   
   >> says at least 62 teens have received additional treatment at her   
   >> facility since last September.   
   >>   
   >> Fernando Cortez Sr. knows all too well how devastating cheese heroin   
   >> can be. A reformed drug user who has spent time in prison, Cortez had   
   >> spoken to his children about the pitfalls of drug use. He thought his   
   >> 15-year-old son was on the right track.   
   >>   
   >> But on March 31, his boy, Fernando "Nando" Cortez Jr., was found dead   
   >> after using cheese heroin.   
   >>   
   >> "I should have had a better talk with him," he says. "All it takes is   
   >> once. You get high once and you die, and that's what happened to my   
   >> son."   
   >> He knows it's too late for his son. Now, he is using his son's story   
   >> to help others.   
   >>   
   >> "All I can do is try to help people now. Help the kids, help the   
   >> parents."   
   >> CNN.com senior producer Wayne Drash contributed to this report.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)