Erica Hicks

October 3, 2005

16 Years old

The Death of Erica Hicks Highlights the Range of Illegal Substances Available to Triangle Teens

The night that 16-year-old Erica Hicks died, she and some of her friends had used ecstasy, cocaine and methamphetamine -- hard-core drugs that make typical high-school vices such as booze and marijuana seem almost quaint. But area high school students, even those who don't abuse drugs, say that finding a way to get high is pretty simple.

"It's just a phone call," said Jessica Perry, 16, a sophomore at Garner High School. "Not even that."

Last week, the 15-year-old who allegedly supplied Hicks the drugs was charged with second-degree murder for her death last fall. Hicks' sudden death jolted many parents of teens, even those who knew the children involved. "I was shocked," said Brynn Barquin, whose 17-year-old son was friends with Hicks while the two attended Southeast Raleigh High School. "Because really, the only thing I hear . about is someone drinking or doing pot. When you get into the heavy stuff, I don't hear about that."

Nowadays, a buffet of pills and powdered drugs can show up at teen hangouts -- everything from painkillers snatched from dad's medicine cabinet to powder cocaine bought from dealers.

According to a December 2005 survey of 50,000 teenagers nationwide, half of all teens will have tried drugs other than alcohol by the time they finish high school. The national survey of eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders found that one in 10 high school seniors reported using a drug other than marijuana in the past month.

Children as young as middle school even know how to get their hands on drugs. "You could go to any middle school in North Carolina, and you'll find people who could tell you where to buy ecstasy and methamphetamine," said Andy Jernigan, a drug detective with the Clayton police department. Nationally, 40 percent of high school seniors surveyed last year said they could score some ecstasy. Nearly 45 percent said they knew where to buy cocaine. In the Triangle in 2005, 291 children younger than 16 were sent to juvenile court for some sort of drug offense.

Like their parents, today's teenagers often say alcohol and marijuana are the most prevalent drugs among their peers. Southeast High senior Rebecca Waggy, 17, said drugs aren't common among her friends, nor at her school. But if someone wanted marijuana or something harsher, she said, it is just a matter of knowing the right person.

Teen buyers are most often children with spending money, those living in middle-to upper-class neighborhoods, national experts say. With allowances for some high schoolers topping $50 a month, it is easy to understand how they're feeding their habits, they say.

In 2001, when Jernigan worked at Clayton High School as a uniformed officer, a girl popped an ecstasy pill in the parking lot before school to try to stay awake. She started stroking a friend during class; her eyes were glazed. When Jernigan demanded to know what she had swallowed, she pulled out an identical yellow tablet with a smiley face on it. She refused to rat out the dealer, Jernigan said.

"Dealers are in it for the money," Jernigan said. "They don't care if the kid is 8 or 9. If he's got money, they've got a customer." Easy access at home Perry, the Garner sophomore, said some teens turn to a friend's medicine cabinet. Pills are shared, or sold, and kids can use prescription medication such as Adderall or Ritalin, commonly used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, as a means to get a stimulant high.

"They pretty much get it for free with their parents' insurance," Perry said. From 2000 to 2004, 37 North Carolina teenagers died from drug overdoses, according to the state medical examiner's office. Nearly all overdosed on prescription pain pills taken to get high, said Lisa Mayhew, child death investigator for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Pain pills such as OxyContin and methadone slow down the user's heart rate so dramatically that it can stop, Mayhew said.

Teens choose to dabble in drugs for a variety of reasons, experts say. Some want to fit in, others are bored and a few abuse narcotics because it numbs them from painful family situations.

"There's always going to be something in the medicine cabinet that gives you a unique feeling," said Jack Strandhoy, a professor of pharmacology at Wake Forest University who studies drug abuse. "For a teenager, that unique feeling is interpreted as high. Whether it's pleasant or not." Researchers are beginning to understand that teens may choose to use drugs because their brains are not fully developed. The human brain's frontal lobes -- areas used in problem-solving and decision-making -- aren't fully developed until after high school.

"[This] very significantly impacts one's decisions," said Dr. Tad Clodfelter, a psychologist with SouthLight, a drug and alcohol counseling center in Raleigh.

And, experts say, when children do start to abuse drugs regularly, signs appear in troubled relationships or school. Kids become moody and withdrawn or secretive about their whereabouts and friends, Clodfelter said. "If a parent has suspicions they need to take their hunches seriously," Clodfelter said. "We all sort of want, as parents, to believe that our kids are doing fine and OK. But in fact, they might need help."

US NC: Many Teens Use Hard-Core Drugs
by Jennifer Brevorka, (29 Jan 2006) News & Observer North Carolina