Expert: L.I. Teens Taking Handfuls Of Drugs At Random At Parties
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - Authorities on Long Island are warning about the hazards of so-called "Skittles" drug parties, which seem to be gaining in popularity.
As WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported, teens have been bringing prescription painkillers to a party, putting them in a bowl and grabbing a handful and consuming whatever they have in their hands.
"From their parent's medicine cabinet, any number of pills, they go into a bowl and your peers consume them at random. That bowl can contain anything from Oxycontin and Vicodin to Xanax and Valium," Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds from the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence told Hall. "Lately, the introduction of drugs like Molly [MDMA], ecstasy and other synthetic compounds."
Expert: L.I. Teens Taking Handfuls Of Drugs At Random At Parties
A lawmaker said the Skittles parties are like playing Russian roulette.
"These parties almost always involve kids who are already intoxicated and some of these kids require medical help. They can't even communicate and their peers can't communicate to emergency personnel exactly what they've put into their bodies," Reynolds told Hall.
Reynolds said taking prescription pills while drinking greatly increases the risk of an overdose.
Anyone can turn in unused or unneeded pills in their home at the bins at police departments across Long Island at any time of day to dispose of them properly, no questions asked.
The issue of Skittles parties, named for the bite-sized candies, came up Wednesday at a State Senate committee meeting on heroin and prescription drug use.
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