Teen Drug Abuse Cheese Heroin

Teen drug abuse takes on different trends in different areas of the country. Awhile back, Troubled Teen Resources linked to a report describing the entry of a new way in which heroin is being marketed to teenagers in Texas. It goes by the moniker of “cheese heroin” and it is sold for as little as two dollars per hit, with the specific purpose of getting young users hooked. “A teenage student has become the latest victim in Dallas to die from a powerful and highly addictive new street drug known as ‘cheese’. The rise of the drug, a mixture of black tar heroin and powdered headache tablets, has been described as an epidemic. Dealers often sell it at $2 a time to get youngsters hooked. Because it is snorted, teenagers do not realize they are taking such a lethal heroin-based drug.

Contd..

Since 2005 at least 23 teenagers in the Texan city have died after taking cheese, so called because it resembles crumbled Parmesan. The latest victim was 18-year-old Scott Clark, a volunteer for a local animal charity and a fitness fanatic. …The authorities are so concerned that a special regional ‘cheese task force’ has been set up to tackle the problem… Sergeant Jeremy Liebbe said: ‘To market heroin to kids, you’ve got to get rid of the needle because even the hardcore cheese users that we’ve identified and brought into custody have said “I wouldn’t stick a needle in me to get high, but I’ll snort it up my nose”. (unknown source) By Ann Walker