PCP? Meth?

[slsh]

Posting on here because it gets more traffic than the teens/SA board. Going to google these 2 right now but thought I'd come here for any firsthand experience.

Is PCP still sprinkled on pot? I'm terribly old and am having a hard time drawing to mind exactly what PCP is - is it the horse tranquilizer?

How is meth ingested? For some reason I was thinking it was smoked, but difficult child is admitting to doing "coke" and staff thinks perhaps it's meth instead - does that make sense?

Also - does anyone know if street drugs can cause dark urine?

He's bringing new meaning to the term oppositional but he was also stoned when I talked to him so... well, it was rather surreal.

Any info/links/experiences would be appreciated.

 

[susiestar]

I am sorry you are dealing with this. I don't have any info. I do know that if he isn't drinking enough fluids his urine will be dark.

I also know phenergan (promethazine) used in the US for nausea and in other countries for allergies shows up as meth on drug screens. That is why they first thought I was on meth withdrawal in Sept when I had the seizure.

I am woefully ignorant of much of this anymore.

 

[allhaileris]

I smoke pot (have a prescrip due to pain and I'm in CA where that's legal) and have never once had it laced with PCP or even heard about it from somebody. The THC in pot these days is more than in the "old days" and if somebody is used to the mexican brown stuff, the good stuff from mendo will make them think it's laced. If you're thinking tranquilzer, then it's probably special K (Ketamine sp?), which is large cat tranq and big with the party scene (they do it after coming down from acid or E I think, never tried the stuff).

Back in the day when I was stupid and young I tried meth (thank goddess I didn't like it), you can smoke it like you do crack, in a glass tube (or lightbulb), but generally you do a line of it and it's usually very white (but will be cut with various things or be a little dirty). Coke is still around and I know my friend's ex was way into it before he ran out of money and started doing just meth. It costs way more money (I have no idea how much though). You can also shoot meth up, but only junkies do that (meaning he'd have to be way into it).

If he's not drinking enough water and his kidneys are flushing out the gunk in his system it makes sense that it would be dark, but if you're snorting things, you want to drink water to get that awful taste out of the back of your throat.

 

[allhaileris]

Oh, and it is common for people who do coke and pot to put those to together for coco-puffs. Just sprinkle a little coke on top of the bowl of pot.

 

[DammitJanet]

Phenergan shows up as meth?!?

PCP ...I have no first hand experience with only have seen the results of it being used to spike 2 peoples drinks and I wouldnt use it on a bet. Both people ended up completely damaged. Meth can be snorted, smoked or otherwise ingested. Its called Ice now.

What in the H is thank you doing? You have got to get him out of that environment. Pot is bad enough but these other drugs will kill him. You are scaring me.

 

[slsh]

He tested positive for PCP, meth, THC. I'm quite sure it's meth, not something more benign.

PCP was/is a veterinary anesthetic. And probably was in the pot 'cuz I'm not finding a ton referencing it as a stand alone drug. Not sure I get the whole logic (oxymoron) behing doing pot/PCP and meth (speed) at the same time but.... I don't suppose logic has had a place in difficult child's life in a while.

He claims to be drinking 6-8 glasses of juice a day, but again he was stoned so who knows.

I'm not enjoying this research. I feel just physically ill and I don't know what the heck we're supposed to do since he can/is refusing any attempts at discussing it much less treatment.

 

[allhaileris]

That's weird that he would be doing pot and meth at the same time. For most it's one or the other. It was always that sign when I was younger that somebody went to the dark side and turned into a tweeker when they turned down pot. It's hard to get stoned on pot if you're tweeked on meth.

 

[slsh]

Well, Sandy (as I try to hold on to my very dark supposed-sense-of-humor), if it's weird, it makes perfect sense to my kid. More probably, he's not sophisticated enough to know the difference in highs and is just being offered drugs and is taking whatever is handed to him.

Guess I forgot to mention the booze as well, sigh. Alcohol is a diuretic and probably is messing with output as well at this point.

House staff is watching him and I've put in SOS emails to his case manager and the head of case managers. Hopefully we can come up with a plan tomorrow though... it's a discussion we've been having for quite a long time and it still is going to boil down to difficult child's cooperation, until/unless he collapses or flips out.

I am seriously deeply angry right now with this age of consent being 12 in this darn state. They have lost their ever lovin' minds.

 

[DammitJanet]

Sue....how far into this is he? I really really dont want to see thank you going down this road. I have seen men die this way.

 

[TerryJ2]

Sue, I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am, and to lend support. This is so hard.
{{hugs}}

 

[totoro]

Been around lots who smoked pot and did meth. The pot helped bring them down so to speak, at least help them *feel* like they were more mellow. Not flying so high after a day or two.
Smoke it, snort it, shoot it... any thing can be done with that stuff as well as coke.
With the meth they are up longer and a lot more agitated!
Meth is so ugly...
I wish and hope he was not doing any of it.

 

[Steely]

Sue,

Gosh, I am so sorry!

I hate to admit to it, but I did a bunch of drugs from 18-21. So here are my thoughts.

PCP was never something most people really wanted to do as a stand alone, but it was often laced onto the pot, and gave people a high like acid. I personally was never too into pot, because it made me hallucinate too much. However, I was all about the meth, my drug of choice, and crack. At the time, in the 80's, meth was rarely smoked, but was snorted, like coke. Crack was coming around the corner, and we had started to smoke that, and that is also how meth is mostly done now.

The one thing to consider it that all of this stays in your body for up to 6 weeks. So thank you could have done meth one day, and then a week later, smoked some weed laced with PCP, and it all show up on his UA.

How much access does he have to get out and do this stuff? Is Meth showing up weekly on his UA? If so, that is a huge point of concern. Meth is unbelievably addictive.

The PCP, I think I would chalk up to a one time incidence - and the pot - well, he might be out there and smoking it when he can? It is extremely prevalent in our society. Seriously, it is almost the norm at parties. I went to my bosses house the other day, and she just casually asks me if I mind if she lights up a bowl. And she is the manager of a huge corporate company. Unfortunately it is everywhere, and if thank you is experimenting, than it is easy to find.

Focus for now on the meth, and see if you can find out how often that is showing up. If he is actually addicted, than he needs to be moved to a drug rehab.

(As for the urine, I think is just mean he is dehydrated - drugs usually do not show up as a color in the urine.)

Many hugs. Keep us posted.

 

[Lothlorien]

Just sending hugs Sue. I have no experience with this.

 

[susiestar]

Sending very gentle hugs. This is very scary and I am so sorry your thank you is going down this road.

I am also angry that the age of consent is 12 in your state! I will keep thank you and your entire family in my prayers!

 

[KTMom91]

Sending hugs as well. How scary for you.

 

[slsh]

So basically it boils down to TLP is not giving him any cash whatsoever. He'll still find drugs. They'll "talk" to him again.

I found Nar-Anon mtgs in my area. I'm so thrilled I get to add that to my resume but I have to do it because - today? I swear I think I'm losing my mind.

And I'm livid with my son and getting angrier as the day goes on. This nothing short of abuse. He knows I get the calls in the middle of the night when he's AWOL, I get the results of the drug test, and I cannot do a darn thing about it because *he* doesn't think he has a problem. So be it. I'm unplugging my phone at 8:00 p.m. from now on. There's absolutely *nothing* they could be calling me about in the middle of the night that won't wait until morning - nothing. He's 18 in a month. At that point, I'm going to tell them to quit calling me unless/until he decides he wants help.

He told staff he won't ask for help until he hits bottom. I'm not going there with him. Enough.

 

[trinityroyal]

Sue, I'm so very sorry.
I don't have any experience with drugs, but do understand the torture of having a difficult child who is completely unwilling to do ANYTHING to contribute to his own survival, let alone success.

Saying prayers and sending many gentle hugs your way.
Trinity

 

[DammitJanet]

Sue...I simply do not know what to say. I never dreamed thank you would be in this position. I am furious with the TLP. No way, no how they should have allowed this to get this far. It could have been nipped in the bud quite easily. Talk to him? OMG! How about some consequences for his actions way back in the beginning that he would have really taken notice of? They let him wander into dangerous situations when he wasnt capable of making those decisions. That is irresponsible. Are they gonna let him go buy a gun when he turns 18? If he has no felonies all he has to do is walk into walmart and buy a shotgun....no problem. There is no database for mental illness. All he has to do is say no. TLP might talk to him and tell him it isnt wise...lol. Of course, drugs arent either.

 

[slsh]

Janet - he was arrested in 11/2007 for possession, which TLP called in. Big doggone deal in his eyes, you know? Realistically - what could TLP have done? What could *we* have done if he were living here? Nothing. What consequences would have had any meaning to him? Even with them giving him no cash, he's going to have to eventually spend down his SSI $ (though hopefully the medical bills will take care of that once he hits 18), so he'll purchase whatever, which he will pawn, etc., etc., you know the drill.

He's 6'2"/6'3" - no way is anyone in this world going to physically restrain him from leaving.

Remember - age of consent is 12 here. I can't/couldn't have moved him because he's dead set against it. Heck, I can't even get him medically checked out today because he's refusing (and AWOL again).

Maybe I'm a fatalist, Janet. With his diagnosis(es), his history... would you *really* have expected any different? I guess I ... don't want to say I expected it, but I was certainly prepared for it, kinda, as prepared as you can be.

I'm not giving TLP a pass, anymore than I'm giving husband or me a pass on this one. I'm not sure what we could have/should have done differently in terms of this mess but maybe once my head clears I'll figure it out. But right now, everyone's hands are tied because he is the one who makes all the calls. All we can do is make it more difficult/more costly - but as you well know, he's able to withstand a truly impressive amt of misery if it means he can do things his way.

by the way - IL actually does keep a database of us crazy people. One psychiatric admit and you are no longer eligible to (legally) purchase a gun in this state - really ticked me off, even though I'm not a gun person. Just to be told I will never be able to do something because I was trying to be responsible - well, it brought out the closet difficult child in me.

 

[DammitJanet]

Sue...you have got to be kidding me! Dont you dare blame yourself for any of this. I dont think anyone has done more for their kid than you have. You and I have fought this fight for oh so many years. I know that I am not facing the hard drugs only by the grace of god. Cory is scared of them. Plus living on his own he cant afford them. Hey...maybe that will be thank you's saving grace! I know Cory smoked a whole lot more before he got out on his own because now he has bills to pay. Im not condoning his smoking but hey..I cant do a thing about it and it isnt in my house. His life.