He thought he could fly off the cliff at Lone Pine State Park. The drug was that powerful. The hallucinations seemed that real.
Before the teenager could leap into the air and fall hundreds of feet into the wooded forest below, his friends grabbed him.
This was the first time they all tried salvia, a hallucinogenic drug that is illegal in 24 states but not Montana.
The following week, Kalispell Police Officer Jason Parce gave a classroom presentation about the dangers of drug use at Glacier High School. He mentioned salvia and warned about the dangers of “one of the strongest hallucinogenic drugs available.”
Afterward the teenage student approached Parce. He confessed about his experience a few days earlier and told the story about almost jumping off the Lone Pine cliffs. The teenager was shocked at what salvia could do.
Since becoming a student resource officer at Glacier three years ago, Parce has often found himself in this position, juggling the role of law enforcement and counselor on the front lines of the battle against underage drinking and drug use.
Alcohol and marijuana use among teenagers is nothing new. But recent incidents have illustrated a larger scope of substances infiltrating the valley’s schools.
Parce and his Flathead High School counterpart, Tim Falkner, described the changing landscape of underage substance abuse at the eighth annual Stop Underage Drinking in the Flathead Town Hall Meeting on March 20 at the Red Lion Hotel. A 10-person panel spoke about the possible dangers and consequences of substance abuse and the need for awareness and education.
There has been an increase in drug activity and a growing lineup of new substances being used in the valley’s schools, Parce said. Teenagers are abusing prescription pills and over-the-counter medicines at higher rates than in the past. Last year officers also noticed an influx of new intoxicants, namely synthetic cocaine, synthetic marijuana and salvia.
The U.S. Department of Justice issued a national warning about the growing “domestic threat” of synthetic cocaine, or synthetic cathinones. The drug is marketed as “bath salts” or “plant food,” and is considered a heavy stimulant. Products are sold legally under various names like Ivory Wave or Blizzard either online or in retail establishments across the country, according to the DOJ report. Regulation and enforcement of the drug is difficult because it has not yet been classified under the Federal Controlled Substances Act. Possession and distribution may be prosecuted but with greater difficulty, the report said.
Salvia has a similar legal distinction in some states but the Drug Enforcement Agency has listed it as a “drug of concern” and is considering classifying it as a Schedule I drug, like LSD or marijuana.
“A lot of these kids don’t even know what they’re taking,” said Nikki Tannheimer, a deputy juvenile probation officer who spoke at the town hall meeting. “And unfortunately they don’t know what the side effects are.”
The possible repercussions of using these drugs can range from slumping academics to car accidents to violent assault or even rape, Tannheimer said.
Falkner, in his first year as a resource officer at the high school, has met freshmen who already have a history of drinking alcohol.
As an example of alcohol use reaching younger age groups, he cited the January incident when a group of Kalispell middle schoolers were caught with Jell-O shots, containers of wine and hard liquor mixed drinks.
“They overheard the idea from eighth graders and were following the older kids’ examples,” he said.
The percentage of underage drinking in Montana has consistently ranked above the national average, according to annual Youth Risk Behavior Surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the latest study, 43 percent of teenagers in Montana reported having one drink in the month leading up to the survey, which is 1 percent higher than the national average. Roughly 30 percent of Montana minors acknowledged consuming five or more drinks on one occasion. The national average is 24 percent.
Even more stark, 14 percent of Montana minors reported drinking and driving and 29 percent reported riding with a driver who had been drinking, according to the CDCP.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs is currently one of the leading causes of death in the state and is attributable to roughly 50 percent of all fatal crashes, according to the latest draft of the Montana State Public Health Assessment. Moreover, drivers between the ages 18 to 20 experience the highest rate of fatal alcohol-related crashes.
One of the main ways law enforcement is trying to prevent underage alcohol use is by cutting it off at the source. On March 15, the Alcohol Enforcement Team (AET) conducted compliance checks across Kalispell. Six businesses failed checks by selling alcohol to an underage operative.
Clerks or bartenders who fail compliance checks are fined along with their business. After three violations in a year, the Montana Department of Revenue Liquor Licensing conducts an investigation into whether the business’s license should be revoked.
On a positive note, nine of the 15 locations recently surveyed properly checked and turned away the AET’s underage shopper.
Still, preventing underage drinking and drug use has proven to be a cat and mouse game. Parce said when officers focus on cutting off one source, like stores or bars, a lot of minors find other avenues, like an older relative or friend who will make the purchase.
Parce urged parents to take an active role in their children’s lives.
“The problem is when parents aren’t involved,” Parce said. “We shouldn’t be surprised by any of this. We should be familiar with what our kids are doing and taking the proper steps to stop it.”