1. Current Drug Trends in
Carroll County
Substance Abuse Prevention Office
Bureau of Prevention, Wellness and Recovery
Carroll County Health Department
Carol Mullen
410-876-4802
carol.mullen@maryland.gov

2. Why Do People Take Drugs?
To Feel Good
Most abused drugs produce
intense feelings of pleasure. This
initial sensation of euphoria is
followed by other effects, which
differ with the type of drug used.
To Feel Better
Some people who suffer from
social anxiety, stress-related
disorders, and depression begin
abusing drugs in an attempt to
lessen feelings of distress.
To Do Better
The increasing pressure that some
individuals feel to chemically
enhance or improve their athletic or
cognitive performance can play a
role in initial experimentation and
continued drug use.
Curiosity and ‘Because
Others are Doing It’
Adolescents are particularly
vulnerable because of the strong
influence of peer pressure
www.drugabuse.gov

3. Warning Signs of Possible Substance Use
• Loss of interest in activities
• Disrespect for family values
• Withdrawal from responsibilities
• Increase/decrease in appetite
• Increase/decrease in sleep
• Disappearance of money/valuables
• Always needing money
• Coming home late/missing curfew
• Constant excuses for behavior
• Spending too much time alone
• Lying, cheating stealing
• Missing school/work
• Sleeping or nodding off
• Defiant of authority/violent outbursts
• Reduced memory/attention span
• Changes in friends, peer group
• Glassy or red eyes
• Mood swings
• Smell of alcohol or marijuana on breath
or body/slurred speech/pinpoint pupils
• Overreacts to criticism: acts rebellious
• Unhappy or depressed
• Sloppy appearance/poor self images
• No concerns about futures/lack of
motivation

4. ...chronic, relapsing
brain disease
characterized by
compulsive drug seeking
and use, despite harmful
consequences.
www.drugabuse.govwww.drugabuse.gov

5. Overdose Data
State
2012 799
2013 858
2014 1039
Carroll County
2012 29
2013 24
2014 38
Total Number of Drug and Alcohol Related Deaths
Source: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

6. Alcohol
Youth who begin drinking before
age 15 are five times more likely to
develop an abuse or dependence
later in life than those who begin
at or after age 21
Alcohol is the drug of choice
among America’s adolescents,
used by more young people than
tobacco or illicit drugs.
http://www.cdc.gov

7. K2 Spice-Synthetic Drug

8. K2 Spice-Synthetic Drug
• A blend of herbs and plant material sprayed with one or
more synthetic chemicals
• When smoked, the synthetic chemicals impair judgment and
may scramble the brain – permanently
• Sold in small packets and labeled ‘herbal incense’ or
‘potpourri’ and generally marked ‘Not for Human
Consumption’
• Common brands: Down 2 earth, Scooby Snax, Climaxxx,
Purple Chronic, Purple Haze, Visionary Quest, Space Cadet,
Flight Risk, Black Rooster, Kush, Blue Dream, Bizarro

9. K2 Spice-Synthetic Drug
Tests show that even the same brand of synthetic
marijuana may have different chemicals – in different
amounts – at different times.
Synthetic marijuana is very powerful and can be 100
times more potent than THC in marijuana, so even a
small increase in dose can have much more powerful
side effects.
Since these are unregulated drugs, there is no way to
know how big a dose you are getting.

10. Prescription Pain
Medications-Opioids
• Opioids are prescription
medications to reduce pain.
• Dependence and addiction are
potential risks when taking
prescription opioids

11. Prescription Opioids
Commonly abused prescription narcotics
• Percocet, OxyContin, Oxycodone, Vicodin,
Hydrocodone, Codeine, Demerol, Tramadol, Dilaudid
Short-term Effects
• Sleepiness
• Confusion
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Breathing Problems

12. Prescription Drug Misuse/Abuse
• Taking a drug without a prescription
• Sharing Medications
61% of Carroll County Residents reported they know someone
who has misused prescription opioids
• Taking in a way other than prescribed
• Higher dose
• Crushing/snorting
• Parachuting
• Taking for a reason other than prescribed: to get high
88% believe that it is somewhat or very easy to get Rx opioids
from friends or family to get high
Maryland Public Opinion Survey

13. Data
State
2012 311
2013 316
2014 330
Carroll County
2012 17
2013 12
2014 15
Number of Prescription Opioid-Related Deaths
Source: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

14. Prescription Opioid Users Who
Switch to Heroin
 Build a tolerance to prescription opioids and
seek a better high
 Heroin is more available than prescription
opioids as law enforcement agencies have
worked to reduce access to non-medical use
of prescription drugs
 Heroin is cheaper
Prescription opioids act on
the same receptors as heroin
and can be highly addictive

16. Heroin
Extremely Addictive opioid processed from morphine, which naturally occurs
in poppy plants
• Street Names
• Boy, Dope, Big H, Black Tar, Hell Dust, Smack, Thunder, China White
• Method of Use
• Injected, smoked, or snorted
• High purity heroin is usually snorted or smoked
• May be more appealing to new users – eliminates stigma associated
with needle use
• Impure heroin dissolved and injected
• Injection is most reported method in treatment

17. Effects
• Abusers report feeling a ‘rush’
• Pain suppression
• Warm flushing of the skin
• Pinpoint (constricted) pupils
• Dry mouth
• Heavy feeling in the extremities
• Nausea, vomiting, severe itching
• Constipation
• Drowsiness, clouded mental function, nodding off
• Slowed heart rate, slowed respiration, at times life-threatening

18. Data
State
2012 392
2013 464
2014 578
Carroll County
2012 13
2013 14
2014 16
Number of Heroin-Related Deaths
*Source: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

19. Heroin-Fentanyl Mix
 Heroin laced with fentanyl, a potent painkiller
 Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid painkiller
 Can be medical grade (patches used for cancer patients), or ‘cooked’
in an illicit lab
 Killing users, sometimes within minutes
 According to Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
58 individuals from Maryland died in 2013 from overdoses from the
heroin-fentanyl mixture, 4 deaths in 2014-Carroll County.
 Fentanyl is 80 times more powerful than morphine and hundreds of
times more potent than heroin (CDC)
 Users can mistake for regular heroin

20. Opioid Withdrawal Signs
• Restlessness
• Muscle and bone pain
• Insomnia
• Diarrhea/Abdominal cramps
• Vomiting
• Cold flashes/chills
• Altered feeling of pain
• Involuntary leg movement
• Intense craving for the drug
• Body shakes
• Slow and shallow breathing
• Seek Professional help to Detox
When someone is addicted to opioids and stops using it,
he/she may experience

21. Opioid Overdose
What to look for:
• Difficult breathing-Death Rattle
• Labored exhale that may sound
like snoring
• Clammy Skin
• Lips, finger or face turning
blue
• Vomiting
• Limp body-not responsive
What to do:
• Call 911
• Stay with the person
• Give Naloxone (Narcan)