County to present crash course on drug culture, slang

ZANESVILLE - If you know where to look, you may find them concealed ingeniously within everyday items: rolling papers hidden in a pack of gum, or drugs stored at the bottom of a modified pop can.

These are just some examples that professionals at Muskingum Behavioral Health have seen as they work with recovering addicts, CEO Steve Carrel said. But the techniques users have discovered to hide their drugs and paraphernalia are far more extensive and deceptive.

That's why Carrel's organization is bringing in a state program to help parents, teachers and police understand the myriad substances teens use to get high and the ever-changing lengths to which they'll go to hide their drug habits.

“We want to educate as many people as we can to learn about drugs, especially people who work with young people,” Carrel said.

It's a different approach to educating about drug abuse, he said. But Muskingum Behavioral Health sought to bring the program to the region as heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs continue to permeate the streets, killing users and straining law enforcement and health care professionals.

“The heroin and painkiller epidemic is riddling families,” and unintentional overdoses are increasing all the time, Carrel said. “We’re seeing more clients today than we ever have in any time in our history.”

The program, called Operation Street Smart, is designed to educate the public about drug abuse trends, including popular slang, concealment techniques and the evident effect on abusers both physically and mentally. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office created the program in 2002 as a collaboration between Drug Abuse Resistance Education, better known as DARE, and the Special Investigations Unit, which is the undercover branch.

Since then, two retired undercover detectives and one current detective have presented the program 1,500 times throughout the country. Zane State College will be host to two upcoming presentations on March 1 and April 5, the first time the program has come to Muskingum County, Carrel said.

About 120 people are already signed up for the March presentation at Zane State College, Carrel said. The campus center can accommodate roughly 280 people.

The detectives will cover examples of the drugs that teenagers commonly abuse, both more traditional drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin as well as so-called designer street drugs such as bath salts and K2/Spice.

The four-hour presentation also will look at the common warning signs that could indicate a teen is abusing drugs.

“We wanted to bring it here as a community service because their information is so fresh and so alive,” Carrel said. “When they present, it’ll be what’s hot that day.”

The public can register for the program for free, as Franklin County receives grant funding to bring the presentation to a limited number of communities a year, Carrel said.

elagatta@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

740-450-6753

Twitter: @EricLagatta

If you go

What: Operation Street Smart, a Franklin County Sheriff's Office program designed to educate the public about drug trends, terminology and physiological effects

When: 8 a.m. to noon March 1 and 1 to 5 p.m. April 5

Where: Zane State College Campus Center, 1425 Newark Road

FYI: The registration deadline is Feb. 16 for the March 1 presentation and March 16 for April 5 session. For a registration form or for more information, call Muskingum Behavioral Health at 740-454-1266.