It is crazy the lengths kids go to get high these days. From choking games to snorting bath salts adolescents are going to great lengths to catch a buzz.
In the latest trend being used by teenagers, hand sanitizer apparently isn’t just for sanitizing hands.
Get this: several California teenagers have recently been hospitalized with alcohol poisoning after drinking hand sanitizer. This according to MSNBC.
The latest intoxication-inducing fad comes on the heels of other alternative methods kids are using to get high. Innocent Gummi Bears are soaked in alcohol, incense is smoked as marijuana, and cough syrup can be chugged to get high from its main ingredient, dextromethorphan, or DXM.
A Potent Drink
A typical bottle of the sanitizer is 60 to 70 percent ethyl alcohol, or 120 to 140 proof. By comparison, a bottle of vodka is usually about 80 proof.
What these methods have in common is that they may go unnoticed by parents who still consider roach clips and needles the only evidence of drug use.
YouTube Fueling Dangerous Behavior
Drinking hand sanitizer is not unique to California as cases have been reported throughout the country. A YouTube search for “drinking hand sanitizer” produces dozens of videos showing kids chugging the stuff.
High school students have been filmed trying to get a buzz while in class. Younger parochial school students in their uniforms are shown at recess squirting the substance into their mouths.
This is yet another disturbing trend. From prescription medication abuse to drinking and smoking all kinds of ordinary products, kids are going to great lengths to get high. We need to mandate drug classes in middle school. All students should take at least 24 hours of drug classes each year!