Two Workshops Will Focus On Teen Substance Abuse

By Amber Lester Kennedy Tuesday, October 26, 2010

York County parents will have a chance to learn about trends in substance abuse by teens at two workshops in the next two weeks.

The York County Parent-Teacher Association and the York County School Division are sponsoring two “Parent Universities” focusing on substance abuse on Thursday and Nov. 4. The first university will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium at York High School, and the second will be at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 in the auditorium at Bruton High School.

The discussions at the workshops will be led by Dr. Ann Marie Campolattaro, of the Tidewater Physicians Multispecialty Group, and Dr. Victoria Barrows, a psychiatrist with Riverside. Both doctors will discuss substance abuse by teens, sharing information on designer drugs, spice, marijuana, heroin, prescription medications and more. They will discuss the medical and psychological effects of each drug, before leading a question-and-answer session.

The PTA announced its intent to host the workshops last month after a York High School student suffered severe hallucinations as a result of experimenting with K2 spice. Spice is an herbal, smokable drug sold as “incense” that is marketed to produce a marijuana-like high. It is typically a mix of herbs and spices sprayed with a chemical with psychotropic properties; its side effects include vomiting, seizures, breathlessness and increased heart rate and blood pressure. The drug is legal, but not regulated, and buyers often have no idea what plant mix they might be consuming. It also does not show up on many urine drug tests. Read more about K2 spice here.

In September, Laurel Garrelts, president of the Parent-Teacher Association Council, told WY Daily that students who smoked K2 at York High were all facing disciplinary actions. They had purchased the drug at a Raceway gas station on Route 17, but Garrelts said the drug was available for purchase at gas stations across the county.

Last week, Virginia Statehouse News reported that a movement to ban man-made substitutes for marijuana is gaining ground in the General Assembly (read about it here). So far, 10 states have passed laws regulating its use.