By James F. Davis
In this age of high technology where a lie often spreads exponentially faster than the truth, it's easy to see how mothers can be swindled and duped when it comes to the safety of their children. But fear and hysteria often come at a price - especially when mothers are told their kids are doing some type of deadly new drug. Strawberry Meth, Vodka Tampons, Butt Chugging, Jenkem; these are some of the latest wild reports being force-fed to parents, but it turns out that your kids aren't doing any of these drugs.
In this age of high technology where a lie often spreads exponentially faster than the truth, it's easy to see how mothers can be swindled and duped when it comes to the safety of their children. But fear and hysteria often come at a price - especially when mothers are told their kids are doing some type of deadly new drug. Strawberry Meth, Vodka Tampons, Butt Chugging, Jenkem; these are some of the latest wild reports being force-fed to parents, but it turns out that your kids aren't doing any of these drugs.
In
2007 the Carson City Sheriff's office in Nevada conducted a raid that
uncovered pink-hued methamphetamine or crystal meth. While drugs
like meth, cocaine and heroin vary in color depending on methods of
manufacture, additives, etc, agents reportedly discovered a bottle of
Strawberry Quick nearby and assumed it must have been used to
"flavor" the meth.
The
story was originally reported by the Nevada Appeal in January of
2007, (1) quickly spreading to become the source of a significant
amount of media attention regarding a new drug craze called
Strawberry Meth.
Numerous
stories surfaced of drug dealers prowling playgrounds and providing
free strawberry meth to get children hooked on the drug. Reporters
issued warnings to parents that strawberry meth was being marketed to
kids because it tasted better than regular meth and looked like
candy, and that drug traffickers were desperate for a new marketing
ploy. (2)
Eventually
the DEA issued public statements supporting the need for public
concern about strawberry meth, and legislation was passed to provide
for much more severe penalties for traffickers of such drugs.
But
before the year was over the story was called into question and no
proven cases were ever actually presented in response. In a
comprehensive news feature for Join Together, Bob Curley describes
how the DEA and the White House finally admitted that they could not
find any cases of flavored meth in the United States. (3)
Nevertheless,
the erroneous stories were difficult to retract and the strawberry
meth hoax made its way across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom,
causing fear among parents and authorities there. The story was
officially debunked in the UK shortly after, with blame for the
spread of this myth placed on one poorly informed police officer in
Oxfordshire. Apparently the officer read about the supposed drug in
an email and quickly passed it on. (4)
Interestingly
enough, email is keeping this myth alive today - with the help of
social media and journalists that neglect to check facts before
reporting a story. (5) But the truth is out there for anyone who
conduct even cursory research.
Moms,
your kids are not doing strawberry meth because it doesn't exist.
Vodka
Tampons
To
date there have been zero confirmed cases of "vodka tampon"
use resulting in intoxication or injury. Despite extensive media
coverage of the subject that specifically targeted parents, nearly
all reports of this supposed intoxication method stem from one poorly
informed school resource officer. This resource officer was
interviewed by a reporter from KHPO in Phoenix, who then ran a story
that has since served as a primary source despite never presenting
any evidence other than the words of the resource officer. (6)
In
the KHPO story, Chris Thomas - the school resource officer - even
went so far as to say that teens using vodka tampons to get drunk was
"not isolated to any school, any city, any financial area; this
is everywhere." As a result, the story quickly spread until it
was finally called into question as no verified cases could be
uncovered anywhere in the United States.
In
fact, some were so skeptical of this story that they decided to test
if the "vodka tampon" concept really worked. Betsy
Phillips, who blogs at Tiny Cat Pants, determined that it's
impossible to insert alcohol soaked tampons into either the rectum or
the vagina simply because by its very nature the product physically
fails for this purpose. (7) Other testers have made similar
attempts, and for those who were successful in the initial insertion,
the burning and pain that immediately ensues causes the experimenters
to rapidly remove the offending tampon; although the pain lingers for
some time afterward. Just do a quick search on YouTube and find out
for yourself.
Moms,
your kids are not using vodka tampons because it's not really
feasible to do so.
Butt
Chugging
In
the United States there have been two documented cases of butt
chugging - the practice of consuming alcohol via the rectum
- and one of those cases may not have actually occurred.
In
the first case, Tammy Werner administered a sherry enema to her
husband, who had throat issues that made drinking alcohol impossible.
Michael Werner was a severe alcoholic and so had taken to "drinking"
booze with his butt, but on this occasion the alcohol enema killed
him. Charges initially filed against Tammy were later dropped, but
not before the media had picked up on the story and spread the
concept of butt chugging. (8)
The
second case may not be a case at all. Alexander Broughton was 20
years old this past September when his fraternity brothers from the
University of Tennessee dumped him at a local emergency room.
Broughton suffered from severe alcohol poisoning, and police pointed
to evidence that he and the other boys may have been "butt
chugging."
The
Broughton case caused a media sensation that quickly dwarfed that of
the recent vodka tampons scare. However, Broughton denies that he or
anyone else inserted alcohol into his rectum and has threatened to
take action against individuals responsible for the spread of this
story. (9)
So
here we have one case of a severe alcoholic restricted to alcohol
enemas by a health condition, and one case that may not have happened
at all. And while anecdotal evidence suggests that various types of
enemas may be common in the homosexual population - including coffee
enemas, herbal enemas, and possibly wine enemas, this is not a trend
or even an infrequent occurrence amongst kids, teens and young
adults.
Moms,
the chances that your kids are butt chugging are so small that it's
not worth worrying about.
Jenkem
Jenkem
is possibly the vilest of all methods of getting high, and it does
indeed exist. Some orphan children in Zambia have developed a
process whereby they get high from human feces and urine. Reports
have surfaced of these children scraping sludge up from the sewers
and bottling it to generate methane and other gases. By inhaling
these gases the children are purportedly able to obtain an intense
high. (10)
Reports
in Africa somehow led to hysteria that jenkem had made its way to the
United States, causing some journalists to warn parents to smell
their children's breath in order to determine if they'd been using
this type of drug. However, jenkem in the US turns out to be similar
to strawberry meth, vodka tampons and butt chugging: it's simply not
being done. As of the date of publishing of this article, there have
been no confirmed cases of jenkem in America.
In
fact, most of the news reports and web sites that published content
indicating American kids were doing jenkem have since been redacted
or taken down. Reports that still exist feature a characteristic
lack of any supporting information or evidence. (11)
Moms,
hype about jenkem being a trend among your kids is a gassy load of
crap.
In
order to help stop the spread of these types of unsubstantiated
stories that only serve to amp-up a mother's anxiety about the safety
of her children, they should be vetted before sharing. Specifically,
look for credible links, citations or references that support the
story. Myth-debunking resources like Snopes and Urban Legend are
also excellent ways to tell if a story has any merit or not.
Finally,
remember that news sources - including your local news that you trust
and rely on - often get stories wrong simply by sharing what other
journalists never bothered to verify in the first place.
We're
all fallible and it's easy to get worked up when the safety of our
children is involved, but when it comes to these 4 supposed trends,
you're better off worrying about something that actually presents a
real problem. These stories are mainly just fodder for news cannons,
with too many busy moms getting caught in the unsuspecting crossfire.
Biography:
James F. Davis is a Certified Addiction Specialist, Board Certified Interventionist and the founder of a prominent Florida drug rehab center. More importantly, Mr. Davis is a recovering
addict himself in his 31st year of sobriety. Mr. Davis and his wife,
Debbie - a recovering addict with 28 years of sobriety - wrote this
article jointly in an effort to help relieve some of the stress
placed on mothers by over-hyped, erroneous media reports.
References:
(1)
http://web.archive.org/web/20070402181821/http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20070129/NEWS/101290107
(2)
Leinwand, Donna Flavored Meth Use on the Rise USA Today 03/26/2007
Accessed 01/17/2013
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-25-flavored-meth_N.htm
(3)
Curley, Bob Meth Ado About Nothing? Flavored Meth and Cheese Heroin
Stories Smack of Fear Mongering Join Together 06/22/2007 - As
Archived on Urban Legends - About Accessed 01/17/2013
http://urbanlegends.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://web.archive.org/web/20070701195950/http://www.jointogether.org/news/features/2007/meth-ado-about-nothing.html
(4)
Police Duped Over Fictional Drug BBC News 03/05/2008 Accessed
01/17/2013
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/oxfordshire/7279002.stm
(5)
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8580213
(6)
Bierman, Breanne and Erwin, Elizabeth Teens Using Vodka Tampons to
get Drunk KHPO 11/08/2011 Accessed 01/17/2013
http://www.kpho.com/story/15981315/teens-using-vodka-tampons-to-get-drunk
(7)
Philips, Betsy In Which I Debunk the Vodka Soaked Tampon Myth Tiny
Cat Pants 11/2012 Accessed 01/17/2013
http://tinycatpants.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/in-which-i-debunk-the-vodka-soaked-tampon-myth/
(8)
Stewart, Richard Woman Accused of Giving Husband Lethal
Enema Houston Chronicle 02/02/2005
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/article/Woman-accused-of-giving-husband-lethal-sherry-1165596.php
(9)
Hickman, Hayes UT Student Livid at Erroneous Alcohol Enema
Report Knox News 12/25/2012
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/sep/25/dad-disputes-erroneous-information-released-by/
(10)
Matheson, Ishbel Africa Children High on Sewage BBC News
07/30/1999 Accessed 01/17/2013
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/406067.stm
(11)
Disturbing New Drug Teens Are Using WIFR 11/06/2007 Accessed
01/17/2013 http://www.wifr.com/news/headlines/11064316.html
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