Transcript Drug Awareness

Drug Awareness
Sergeant Todd Caufield
Sergeant Troy Boice
Cortland County Sheriff's Department
Cortland County Drug Task Force
Drug Awareness
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The Obvious
The not-so-obvious
The Inobvious
The drug market is an underground world
not meant to be seen by casual observers.
If you wanted to go out today and buy a
piece of crack cocaine, could you do it?
Do you know where to go, what to look
for, who to ask, or even how to ask for it?
What about your 15 year old?
Cortland County - Most Prevalent
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Marijuana
Cocaine (powder and rock)
MDMA (ecstasy)
Pharmaceutical and OTC drugs
LSD (blotter most, microdot occasional)
Methamphetamine (crank)
Psilocybin Mushrooms
Heroin
Marijuana
• Cannabis Sativa plant
• Tetrahydracannabinol (THC) is the active
ingredient
• 72 strains of cannabis - only one sativa (w/
THC)
• All of the strains are referred to as “hemp”
but THC not needed to make clothes!!
Marijuana - continued
• Used in 3200 B.C. China as cure for
“absenmindedness”
• Sale to anyone under 18 is class D Felony
• Smoked using rolling papers or specialty
pipes and bongs
• Approximately 2-3% THC in 60’ and 70’s now around 15-18%
You can get it in plant form...
You can get it packaged...
And you can get it in the mail!!
Grows as well in the garden...
As it does in the corn!!
Things to look for
• Packaging material (sandwich bags, small
jewelers bags, film canisters)
• Smoking implements (obvious pipes,
disguised pipes, rolling papers)
• Assorted items indicating an interest, not
necessarily use
If you use a school bus to dry your
marijuana… You might be a redneck!!
Cocaine - Powder
• Central Nervous System Stimulant
• $80 - $100 per gram
• Typically “cut” w/ inositol, baking soda,
even rat poison!
• Snorted or injected
• About 20 minutes to take effect and last
about an hour
Cocaine - powder
• “Freebase” was early form of smoking
cocaine. Was mixed in a spoon with ether
or acetone and a flame held under the
spoon. Was extremely volatile (Richard
Pryor)
• Powder was so expensive it was labeled
“rich man’s drug”
Cocaine - crack
• Was developed as a “safe” form of
freebasing cocaine. Could now be smoked
w/o blowing up in your face
• Also brought the price down so even kids
could afford it
• One of the most addictive drugs available
today
Cocaine - crack
• Takes effect almost immediately (10-12
seconds)
• Intense high
• Lasts about 10-15 minutes
• After coming down it leaves the user with
the urge to do more to regain that high
Crack pipes w/ Chore Boy
Not-so-obvious pipes
MDMA (ecstacy)
• Stimulant and mild-hallucinogen
• Most popular w/ high school and college
age
• Most common in pill form
• “candy necklaces” are sometimes used to
disguise their appearance
• Rave party drug
MDMA - continued
• Glow sticks, light sticks, candy necklace,
sports drinks, baby pacifiers are all items
that could be attributed to the drug
• Causes heightened sensory perception and
teeth grinding
• Fast growing abused drug (654 seizures in
1993 compared to 954,000 seizures in 1999)
MDMA pills
LSD
• Hallucinogen
• Blotter, Gel-tabs, and microdot are most
common form
• Causes giddiness and hallucinations,
depending on amount taken
• Are extremely small in size and can be
hidden almost anywhere
One “hit” of LSD (not the penny)
400 Hits of Blotter LSD
Methamphteamine
• Powder similar to cocaine except slightly
tannish color and chunkier
• Smoking meth can cause abusers to have
psychotic-like episodes and become very
dangerous
• Snorted or smoked with glass pipe
Methamphetamine - continued
• Stimulant - sometimes referred to as crystal
or crank
• Small meth labs are becoming the trend spreading from the west coast and now on
the east coast - labs are hazardous waste
sites that are environmental hazards and
explosive but small enough to fit in the back
of a pick-up truck
Meth pipe
Psilocybin Mushrooms
• One of many strains of mushrooms that all
look identical except that most are
poisonous and lethal
• The psilocybin is also toxic (just not lethal)
and the hallucinations are actually a side
effect of the toxin on the body
• May appear a bluish color when dried
especially if broken (reaction to oxidation)
Psilocybin Mushrooms
• Method of use is ingestion by either
chewing or brewing into a tea
• Often referred to as “shrooms”, “caps”, or
“lids”
Psilocybin Mushrooms
Heroin
• Usually packaged in small wax type baggies
or folded wax paper with some having some
type identifying stamp on the baggies.
• Normal purchase weight in Cortland County
has been 1/10th of a gram per baggie
• Each baggie ranges from $15 to $20
• A “bundle” of 10 baggies are $150 to $200
per gram
• Appearance is tan/beige powder
The hidden dangers of drug abuse
Happiness is a 500mm lens!
Observation, knowing what to look for and
knowing what your are seeing
• Awareness (people, places and things)
• Recognizing what you are seeing
(obviousness)
• Is an item in an odd location? (Why)
• Is it what it appears to be? (not so obvious)
• Knowing where to look
• Other indicators
False bottoms
Torn pieces of plastic wrap
Register vents make good hiding spots
“Hiding in plain sight”
Or is it hiding at all?
“Stem”
Intent to sell - multiples and sizes
“IOU???” Other indicators
The trouble with too much paraphernalia and
frequent use - things get left out in the open easily
And lurking in the closet…
Now this truly is “home grown”
Hidden digital scales are a clue
Triple beam scales under bed frame
$500 worth of garbage
Numerous sandwich baggies with the
corners torn off are a clue to drug sales
Digital scales, box of baggies, several bags of marijuana, box
of cash... no secrets here. Case closed and only one picture!
“Indicators” of Drug Abuse
NOTE: while the following, in combination, could represent
"known-indicators" of drug-abuse, they do not conclusively prove
drug abuse. For example, several of these indicators can be
exhibited in someone with a newly acquired emotional stress (ie:
death in the family, divorce, loss of job, etc.).
However, in combination, these symptoms could well be drugabuse related. Especially if there is a sudden appearance of a
combination of these indicators in a person you know well or
know this is not the norm for the. If you recognize that these
indicators represent "new" behavior for someone, there is a strong
possibility that those sudden changes are a result of newly-begun
drug-use.
“Performance” indicators
 excessive absenteeism or tardiness
 lower productivity, lower grades
 missing deadlines
 excessive absenteeism or tardiness
 deteriorating
work quality or work ethic
 lower productivity,
lower grades
 missing deadlines
 low or decreasing morale
 deteriorating work quality or work ethic
 low or decreasing
 morale
increased minor accidents, mistakes
 increased minor accidents, mistakes
 multiple
reports
of by
theft,
missing
personal items by
multiple reports of theft,
missing personal
items
co-workers,
classmates
co-workers, classmates
“Behavioral” indicators
 sudden change in attitude, work, or behavior- a new,
“I don’t care attitude”
 sudden deterioration of long standing friendships,
relationships
 "explosive" arguments and disagreements over small
matters
 frequent hangover symptoms
 using drug culture jargon, signs, symbols
 secretive behavior
 avoiding “straight” (non drug-users) co-workers or
classmates
 erratic behavior-forgetfulness-indecision
 deterioration in personal appearance and hygiene
 hyper-activity, constant toe or heel-tapping and/or
"drumming" of fingers
 easy excitability
 restlessness, increased physical activity wearing of
long-sleeved garments in very warm weather
 new financial problems or frequent borrowing of
money
“Physical” indicators
 small blood spots or bruises on skin
 bloodshot or watery eyes
 runny or irritated nose, irritating cough, sore throat
 speech pattern changes, slurred speech, faster
speech, slower speech
 tremors or jitters
 constant scratching of skin, "picking" at skin and
hair on arms, etc.
 poor coordination, tripping, spilling, bumping into
things and other people
 large or small (dilated) pupils
 a faint skin odor- either sweet or acrid
 easily fatigued or constantly fatigued
 hyper-excitability
“Paraphernalia” indicators
possession of hypodermic needles, balloons, aluminum
foil wrappers, mirrors or flat metal, short straws, glass
pipes, smoking pipes, capsules, vials, or folded paper
envelopes, a cigarette lighter (or small butane torch)
when carried by a known "non-smoker”, counter-culture
media (magazines, websites, music, posters, etc)
Drug possession itself! Do you really believe (s)he is
holding onto it for a friend??!!
Thank You