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Police fight ‘pharm’ parties in Oklahoma
BY JANE GLENN CANNON
Oklahoman
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Published: November 23, 2008
NORMAN — Acting on a tip from a
Pauls Valley parent,
Garvin County deputies last month busted a "pharm” party, a gathering of young people exchanging and taking prescription drugs to get high. This was the second "pharm” party deputies had interrupted in recent weeks, Undersheriff
Steve Brooks said. "It’s not just a Garvin County problem. It’s not just a
Cleveland County problem or an
Oklahoma City or
Tulsa problem. It’s a problem everywhere. It crosses socio-economic lines and is not limited by gender or race,” said
Mike Snowden, a drug agent with the
Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control. Parties where young people share prescription drugs are a growing problem, and they can be deadly, Snowden said. Eighty-one percent of drug-related deaths in
Oklahoma each year are attributed to prescription drugs, he said. Many of those reported deaths are of young people. Before the "pharm” party last month, a parent overheard her son talking about plans for the party, refused to let him go out that evening and called authorities, Undersheriff Steve Brooks said. Deputies set up surveillance outside the house until it looked like a party was under way, then interrupted it, Brooks said. Inside the residence, deputies found about 25 teenagers ranging in age from 14 to 17 with an assortment of drugs that included muscle relaxers, tranquilizers and the painkillers morphine and
OxyContin, Brooks said. Concerned about the growing incidence of prescription drug abuse, Snowden developed a two-hour seminar a few years ago that he presents to groups of parents, teachers or others who work with youth. Recently, he has expanded his seminar to include talks with doctors and medical personnel. Brooks said a presentation to parents in Pauls Valley last spring led to telephone tips to the sheriff’s department, resulting in the "pharm” party busts. Other calls led to interventions with young people who had become addicted to prescription drugs, he said. "People think it’s safe to take prescription medicine, because it’s medicine prescribed by a doctor,” Snowden said. "There are legitimate uses for these medications, but taking them when there is no medical reason and/or mixing medications can have fatal results.”
More Info
KEY FACTS
Common drug sources
• Home, relatives’ medicine chests
• Prescriptions
• Internet Source: Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
AT A GLANCE
Signs of prescription drug abuse
• An unexplained drop in grades
• Skipping school
• Frequent school suspensions or expulsion
• Change in friends
•
• Increased disrespect or defiance of authority Source: Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs
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