By Maggie Smith
Carmel parents who attended Parent Awareness Night Nov. 20 evening at Carmel High School may be seeing gummy bears in a different light after James Ginder, a Health Education Specialist for the Hamilton County Health Department, told them about one of the latest forms of teen drug abuse called drunken gummies.
Ginder explained that teens soak gummy bears or gummy worms in vodka. There is no odor, but a telltale sign that a gummy has been soaked in vodka is the expanded appearance. This practice can cause alcohol poisoning because teens don’t realize how much alcohol they are ingesting.
Ginder’s presentation at CHS was part of the parent awareness program that student assistance coordinator Jane Wildman has been organizing for 10 years. The event was only for parents, and no kids were allowed.
“We’ve had anywhere from 15 parents to 300,” Wildman said regarding attendance at Parent Awareness Night programs.
The most recent event was well attended with more than 200 parents in the audience.
Ginder began his presentation by sharing the latest research on the teenage brain to help explain why teens are more prone to risky behaviors. He said the pre-frontal cortex in the frontal lobe of the brain controls decision-making and impulse control, and that this area of the brain continues to grow until the age of 25.
“Smoking alcohol” is just one of those risky behaviors Ginder covered.
Instead of drinking alcohol, teens inhale the vapors, which means the alcohol goes directly into the lungs, where it enters the bloodstream and travels to the brain. Ginder explained the numerous dangers involved with activity, including alcohol poisoning, brain damage, increased carbon dioxide levels in the blood, respiratory distress, respiratory arrest and lung damage.
Another seemingly harmless trend known as the cinnamon challenge can also cause lung damage.
The cinnamon challenge begins with a teen taking the dare to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon without water. Inhalation is followed by what has been dubbed “dragon breath” where the user expels a big puff of cinnamon.
Ginder said the cinnamon challenge can even cause death.
Wildman said if parents want to receive information from the teen drug abuse presentation, they can send her an email at [email protected].
