By Malynda Fulton
LOWNDES COUNTY — Local law enforcement is urging area residents, especially parents, to educate themselves on a growing craze throughout the nation called “pharming.”
While no cases of “pharming” have been reported to Lowndes County authorities, word of “pharm” parties taking place in the community has begun to spread.
“‘Pharming’ is a new fad that we are beginning to see, and we need to educate parents to avoid problems in the future,” Lowndes County Sheriff Capt. J.D. Yeager stated in a letter to The Valdosta Daily Times. “There are enormous risks involved. ‘Pharming’ usually occurs when teenagers and young adults take drugs out of their medicine cabinets in the home and take them to parties. Everyone combines the drugs that they have brought into a bowl. Anyone can take as many different pills as they are willing to. Most of these parties also involve alcohol. Mixing different medications can be deadly and adding alcohol only increases the consequences.”
In response to circulating rumors about local students overdosing and dying from “pharming” in Lowndes County, Yeager said, “We have had no teen deaths in reference to this and have not had any problems within our county school system. We had one incident that involved a student who had taken too much cold medicine and had to be taken to the hospital, but nothing that suggested ‘pharming’ has been reported.”
Yeager added that the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is kept up-to-date on all incidents that occur in the school system.
According to articles in Time magazine and USA Today, prescription painkillers and stimulants are commonly used at “pharm” parties.
According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, the most dangerous prescription pain relievers are those containing drugs known as opioids, such as morphine and codeine. Drugs that contain these substances include Darvon, Demerol, Dilaudid, OxyContin, Tylenol with Codeine and Vicodin. Popular prescription stimulants include Ritalin and Aderall, which are commonly used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
In a 2005 survey by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 19 percent teenagers in the nation, which is the equivalent of approximately 4.5 million teens, reported that they had taken prescription painkillers or stimulants to get high.
The Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported that prescription and over-the-counter drug overdoses accounted for approximately 25 percent of the 1.3 million drug-related emergency room admissions in 2004.
The FDA warns that the risks of abusing or mixing prescription or over-the-counter drugs may result in poor concentration; disorientation; apathy; feelings of confusion, addiction, anxiety, hostility and aggression; respiratory depression; dizziness; slurred speech; excessive sweating; nausea and vomiting; tremors; convulsions; lack of energy; and coma. Because stimulants increase blood pressure and pulse rate, people who overdose may also experience an increased risk of stroke, heart attack or sudden death.
