Drug Awareness

Sergeant Todd CaufieldSergeant Troy Boice

Cortland County Sheriff's DepartmentCortland County Drug Task Force

Drug Awareness

• 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• 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!

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 drug-abuse 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.

“Indicators” of Drug Abuse

excessive absenteeism or tardiness lower productivity, lower grades missing deadlines deteriorating work quality or work ethic low or decreasing morale increased minor accidents, mistakesmultiple reports of theft, missing personal items by co-workers, classmates

“Performance” indicators

excessive absenteeism or tardiness lower productivity, lower grades missing deadlines deteriorating work quality or work ethic low or decreasing morale increased minor accidents, mistakes multiple reports of theft, missing personal items by

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