James R. Ginder, MS,NREMT,PI,CHES,NCEE

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James R. Ginder, MS,NREMT,PI,CHES,NCEE
Health Education Specialist
Hamilton County Health Department
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Define what the cinnamon challenge is.

List three health effects of smoking alcohol.
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Describe what drunken gummies are.
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Explain three effects of jimson weed.
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Recognize three effects of weed candy.
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Research on teens reveals that the frontal lobe of
the brain that controls executive decision making
and impulse control are not fully developed,
making them prone to poor choices
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Weighing the pros and cons and seeking solutions
are sometimes beyond their capabilities
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Teens were found capable of reasoning about
the possible harm or benefits of different courses
of action. However, in the real world, adolescents
still engaged in dangerous behaviors, despite
understanding the risks involved.
Steinberg L. Risk Taking in Adolescence: New Perspectives From Brain and Behavioral Science. Current Directions in Psychological Science 16 (2): 55 – 59. 2007.
Source: India Today
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What is it:
o A type of gum that has caffeine added to it
o Sold in a hexagon shape
o It is marketed to adults and it is not
recommended for children
o The manufacturer states it will “boost” your
energy
o Sold in packs of eight and is sugar-free
o 1 stick of gum = 40 mg of caffeine = 1/2 cup of
regular coffee
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How does it work?
o Caffeine is released in the saliva when the
gum is chewed
o The caffeine is absorbed directly into the
bloodstream through the cheeks and under
the tongue
o Some of the caffeine is swallowed
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What are the effects of the gum?
o Anxiety ,Restlessness, Sleeplessness
o Increased heart rate, heart arrhythmias
o Heart palpations
o Even seizures may develop in some cases
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What is it:
o A solid, waxy substance of concentrated THC
o THC can range from 70-90 percent
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Other names:
o Dabs
o Ear wax
o Wax
o Honey, Honey oil
o Shatter
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Who is it to marketed:
o Anyone that uses marijuana
o Smokers that want a higher potency with less quantity so it is easier to
transport and hide.
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How it’s made:
o Pot is blasted with butane that is then extracted
o Filtered with a coffee filter
o This will turn the pot into a wax
o After the pot has cooled it is put in small containers
to smoke or sell
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Health effects:
o Impaired short-term memory
o Brain damage with high amount of THC
o One hit may keep a person high for at least one day
o Slow reaction time
o Increased heart rate
o Altered mood
o Anxiety
Source: YouTube
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What is it:
o It begins with teens being dared to swallow a
spoonful of powered or ground cinnamon
without drinking water
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Other names:
o Cinnamon Dragon
o Dragon
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Immediate Effects:
o Gagging
o Vomiting
o Coughing
o Choking
o Throat irritation
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Health Effects:
o Asthma attacks
o Injuries to the mouth and
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throat
Damage to the lungs
Pneumonia
Respiratory distress
Respiratory arrest
Death
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What are they:
o Gummy bears or worms that have been soaked
in vodka
o 80 plus different recipes on YouTube
o They are put in plastic bags to look like
“normal” gummies
o Odorless
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What are the dangers:
o Teenagers are becoming intoxicated
o They do not know how much alcohol is in each
bear
o High risk of STD’s/STI’s
o Respiratory depression/arrest
o Death
Not Normal
Normal
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What are they:
o The “new” way to “do energy”
o This is a product that replaced energy drinks
o For anyone who needs a “boost” of energy
o Every strip has 20 mg of caffeine
o Four sheets = one energy drink
o Comes in Cinnamon Rush and Berry Blast
o The product states it:
• Has No Sugar
• Has No Calories
• Has No Crash
• Contains Vitamins B6,B12 & E
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Who should not use this product:
o Children under the age of 12
o Pregnant women
o Nursing mothers
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How do they work:
o Place under the tongue and let the sheet dissolve, then swallow the sheet
o The user will feel a cool, refreshing kick and boost of energy
o No aftertaste
o Takes about 15-20 minutes to work
o The company states “not to exceed four sheets in three hours”
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Health effects:
o Nervousness
o Sleepiness
o Increase heart rate
o High blood pressure
o Anxiety
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What is it:
o A 23 oz. fruit-flavored malt beverage that contains
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12 percent alcohol which is equivalent to drinking
four to five beers and as much caffeine as in a cup of
coffee
Slang names:
o Blackout in a can
o Liquid cocaine
How it is sold:
o Sold as a cheap and fast way to become intoxicated
o Flavors include:
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Blue raspberry
Lemonade
Cranberry lemonade
Orange blend
Fruit punch
Watermelon
Brazilian berry
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How it is classified:
o Stimulant and depressant
o The stimulant keeps the drinker
feeling wide awake so they consume
more of the product
o The depressant cause the drinker to
go into respiratory depression
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What is in it:
o Taurine
o Guarana
o Other energy boosting substances
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Health effects:
o Caffeine makes the person less aware of
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the effects of the alcohol
Dehydration
Diminished coordination, balance
Body temperature problems
Shortness of breath
Dizziness
Increased blood pressure/CVA
Heart attack
Nausea
Feeling of being “wide awake”
Death
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What are they:
o They are marketed as the first “relaxation brownie”
o They are meant as a dietary supplement to aid adults who
lead a stressful, energy drink-fueled lifestyle in order to
wind down and relax
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What is in a Mellow Munchies:
o Melatonin, sugar, water, eggs, chocolate, a variety of
herbal extracts (Rose hip, Valerian root, Passion flower)
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What is Melatonin:
o A hormone that is produced in the brain to help us sleep
o Healthy young and middle aged adults usually produce
about 5-25 micrograms of melatonin each night
o Mellow Munchies have 3.9 mg, which is 10 times more than
the body makes
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How are they sold:
o The brownie fits in the palm of one hand and is sold as
two servings
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What are the health effects:
o Central nervous depression
o Breathing difficulty
o Sleepiness, unable to stay awake
o Nausea/vomiting
o Death
Source: Cicero Fire Department
Parks Department
Source: Amanda Smith, Hamilton County
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What is it:
o A plant that grows wild throughout America, surviving in remote
areas, backyards and farm fields.
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Other names for it:
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Angel’s trumpet
Devil's weed
Devil’s snare
Green Dragon
Thorn apple
Jamestown weed
Stinkweed
Locoweed
Mad hatter
Mad seeds
Zombie cucumber
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What does it look like:
o A 3 to 5 foot tall green plant with large, soft
leaves and walnut sized seeds that are often
covered in spikes. Jimson weed’s distinctive
trumpet-like white-cream colored flowers
emit an unpleasant smell
o The pod is a little bigger than a golf ball and
contains dozens of greenish-brown seeds,
about the size of peppercorns.
o If you find it growing in your yard or garden,
you should remove it immediately as it is
extremely poisonous to humans and pets as
well
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Where is it found:
o Farm fields
o Gardens and yards
o Seeds can be bought on-line
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How is it abused:
o Smoking the leaves
o Ingesting the seeds or leaves
o Brewing the seeds into teas
o Eating the seeds
o Chewing the flower
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Effects of the drug:
o May take 1-4 hours for the drug to work
o The effects of the drug may last for days
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Users become:
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Violent
Paranoid
Hallucinogenic
Dissociated from reality
Completely unpredictable
Extremely unstable in mental status
Health effects:
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Amnesia
Spasmodic muscle movements
Flushed skin
Increased body temperature
Inability to urinate
Extremely dilated eyes which causes sensitivity to light
Dry mucous membranes
Difficulty swallowing
Difficulty speaking
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Overdose:
o Overdoses can occur easily as it is almost
impossible to gauge the strength of the
plant before ingestion
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Overdose health effects:
o Increased body temperature
o Rapid heartbeat
o Cardiac arrest
o Stroke
o Seizures
o Coma
o Death
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What is it:
o A tropical tree indigenous to Thailand, Malaysia,
Myanmar and other areas of Southeast Asia.
o Kratom has been described as producing both
stimulant and sedative.
o Traditionally, Kratom was mostly used as a
stimulant by Thai and Malaysian laborers and
farmers to overcome the burdens of hard work.
o Kratom is used in the treatment of morphine and
heroin addiction in Thailand but it is not
approved in the United States for any medical
use.
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Street Names:
o Thang, Kakuam, Thom, Ketum, Biak
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What does this drug due to the body?
At low doses it produces alertness, physical energy,
talkativeness and sociable behavior, nausea, itching,
sweating, dry mouth, constipation, increased urination, and
loss of appetite.
o At high doses it produces sedative and euphoric effects and
opiate effects as well.
o Other effects of the drug include, psychotic symptoms such as
hallucinations, delusion, and confusion, respiratory
depression, nervousness, agitation, aggression.
o
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How is the drug used?
o In the U.S. it is mixed as a tea or it can be chewed to
cause a pleasant buzz.
o The abuser usually takes 2-10 mg to reach the desired
effect of the drug.
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How long are the effects of the drug?
o Effects occur within 5 to 10 minutes after ingestion and
last for 2 to 5 hours.
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What are the withdrawal symptoms?
o Withdrawal effects include symptoms of
hostility, aggression, mood swings, runny nose,
achy muscles and bones, and jerky movement
of the limbs.
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What is it:
o It is ethyl alcohol encapsulated by sugar which
makes it look like powder.
o The user adds water or other liquid to the
powder to “activate” the drink.
o The drink is intended for hikers and backpackers
who might want to enjoy a drink after a long
day on the train, the company states on their
web site.
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What is the alcoholic content when
consuming it?
o By adding five ounces of liquid to it, it is equal to
a standard mix drink.
o One package weights about an ounce.
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What is in powdered alcohol?
o Alcohol and in the cocktail versions, natural flavoring
and sucralose as a sweetener.
o The ingredients of each version are listed on the front
of the package.
o There could be a chemical in it call Cyclodextrins which
has been shown to cause kidney damage.
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What are the flavors?
o The powder comes in vodka and rum, along with a
cosmopolitan, a mojito, a powderita (margarita) and
lemon drop.
o Also V and R:
• V which is powder made from premium vodka distilled
four times.
• R which is powder made from premium Puerto Rican
rum.
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What are the health effects?
o The risk of abuse is high.
o The convenience of the packets could
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encourage over-consumption of alcohol as well
as accidents caused by intoxication, such as
drunken driving.
Adults and teens may inhale it for a quicker
high.
Easy to carry and hide.
People may mix the powder with alcohol with
liquid alcohol to increase the effect.
May have the same effects as traditional
alcohol.
More research needs to be completed.
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What is it?
o Caffeine is synthesized by boiling plant parts (like
stems, beans, and leaves) in water.
o After the plant parts are removed and the water
evaporates, what is left is a dry, white, crystalline
powder, known as anhydrous caffeine (anhydrous
means “without water”).
o Anhydrous caffeine powder is concentrated enough
to produce toxic and even lethal effects within
minutes, and in as little as a spoonful.
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How is pure caffeine supplied?
o Pure powder caffeine is sold as a white powder.
o One teaspoon is equivalent to 25 cups of coffee. (FDA)
o Pure powder caffeine is sold on-line.
o It is sold as a sport supplement to “increase” energy.
o It is nearly impossible to measure caffeine powder
without a professional milligram scale.
o People will mix pure caffeine powder with energy
drinks.
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Who uses pure powder caffeine?
o Many high school students and young adults use this
product due to the immediate effects which include:
• Feeling more alert
• Increased metabolism
• Increased urination
• Increased body temperature
• Increased production of acid in the digestive system.
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What are the health effects?
o Erratic heartbeat, Increased heart rate,
o Muscle tightening, Irritability, Anxiety
o Headaches, Sleeplessness, Nausea
o Seizures, Disorientation
o Diarrhea, Vomiting
o Increased blood pressure, Stroke, Tremors
o Death
Source; YouTube
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What is it:
o A handful of table salt is put on the teen’s hand
or arm and then ice cubes are placed over the
salt.
o Some teens will have their friends push the ice
cubes on the salt as hard as they can so the
burning will occur faster
o They try to see who can “handle” the pain the
longest
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How does it work:
o Adding salt to ice will lower the temperature
and make it colder than the regular
temperature of ice
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What happens:
o The mixture soaks up heat from the
surrounding skin cells, causing a partial
or full thickness burn
o Frostbite may even develop in this area
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Long term effects:
o May need surgery to debride the burn
o May have scarring
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How do you treat the burn:
o Like a chemical burn
o Need to transport to a burn center
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What is it:
o A new way for teenagers to become
drunk without the extra calories
o Many teens say it helps them lose
weight
o The alcohol does not circulate in the
blood so they don’t get a hangover
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How is it done:
o They inhale alcohol vapors and become
intoxicated
o May add dry ice
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How does it work in the body:
o The vapor go directly into the lungs, where it enters the
bloodstream and goes to the brain
o The person will go from sober to drunk within seconds
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Health effects:
o Alcohol poisoning
o Headaches
o Dizziness
o Brain damage
o Lung damage
o Dries out the nose and mouth
o Too much carbon dioxide in the blood
o Blood-alcohol levels may not reflect the person’s true
intoxication
o Respiratory distress and arrest
o Death
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What is it?
o Is derived from mixing prescription-strength cough
syrups which contain codeine, an opiate, and the
antihistamine promethazine with clear soda (Sprite,
7-Up or Mountain Dew) and jolly rancher candy, which
adds a sweeter flavor to the syrup
o Most often sizzurp is purple, hence the “purple drink”
name. The purple color comes from the dye in the
cough syrup
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How is the drug taken?
o The “drink” is usually drank from a Styrofoam cup
o Sizzurp-sized helpings of cough syrup can exceed up to
25 times the recommended dose of cough syrup
prescribed to a person
o Many times vodka or crushed painkillers are tossed into
the drink as well
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What is this drug classified as?
o Sizzurp is a depressant , due to the codeine and
promethazine it contains
o Because codeine is an opiate, it can be highly
addictive if abused
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Slang names?
o Drank, Barre, Purple drank, Purple jelly, Water,
Lean and Texas tea
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What are the effects:
o Anxiety
o Raspy voice
o Loss of muscle control
o Slower heart rate
o Seizures
o Lack of coordination
o STD/STI’s
o Rape
o Slurred speech
o Respiratory arrest/Cardiac arrest
o Death
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What is it:
o A drinking game where teens and young adults pour
vodka directly into the eye
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Why does it cause damage:
o Vodka had 40% pure ethyl alcohol and is highly
corrosive.
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Why are teens and young adults doing this:
o They think that alcohol will pass through the mucous
membrane of the eye and enter the bloodstream
faster , giving them a quicker buzz then drinking
o According to the American Academy of
Ophthalmology this does not make them have a
quicker buzz
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What are the effects:
o Can damage the surface of the eye, which can cause an infection
o Can lead to permanent visual damage
o Corneal Ulcers
o Scarring
o Cloudy vision
o Pain
o Blindness
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How to treat:
o Flush with water
o Cover both eyes
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What is weed candy:
o Marijuana that is made into a candy form
o Usually contains high amounts of THC
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How it is made:
o “Pot” is ground into a fine powder, heated in
vegetable oil for up to an hour and then passed
through a cheesecloth to remove any solids.
o Artificial flavorings are added, such as:
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Cherry (Most common)
Orange
Root beer
Sour apple
Coffee
Butter rum
Source: DEA
o Unlike pot brownies or cookies, hard marijuana
candy is made with highly concentrated
marijuana oil or extract
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How is it taken:
o It is broken into bite-sized pieces and can be smoked, but it is usually eaten
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Symptoms of use:
o Red blurry eyes
o Bloodshot eyes
o Rapid heart rate
o Hunger
o Dry mouth
o Anxiety
o Paranoia, fear
o Poor memory
o Poor coordination/slow reaction time
o Nausea & Vomiting
o Fear of loss of control
Source: DEA
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E- Cigarettes
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Hookah and Pens
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Drinking Liquid Nicotine
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Other Things?
[email protected]
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ABC News
American Association Of Poison Centers
American Academy Of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Pediatrics
Banner Poison Center
CBS News
CNN News
California Drug Task Force
FDA
Indiana Poison Center
Mayo Clinic
Merion Township Police Department
National Drug Intelligence
National Institute of Health
North Texas Poison Center
St. Louis County Drug Task Force
Riley Children's Hospital
Westfield Police Department