UMEM Educational Pearls

Category: Toxicology

Title: Trends in Drug Abuse

Keywords: drugs of abuse, heroin (PubMed Search)

Posted: 7/3/2008 by Ellen Lemkin, MD, PharmD (Updated: 4/26/2024)
Click here to contact Ellen Lemkin, MD, PharmD

 ADOLESCENT DRUG ABUSE

  • "Pharming" is prescription drug abuse
  • Teens will take medications from their home medicine cabinets, mix them in bags together indiscriminately and make "trail mix" to pass around parties
  • "Cheese" is a combination of heroin with cough and cold preparations. The heroin concentration in cheese is typically between 2-8% compared to 30% found in black tar heroin, and is considered "starter heroin"

References

Prosser JM, Nelson LS. Emergency Medicine May 2008