There’s an excellent reason why alcohol and nicotine via tobacco are banned from children—and why other mind-altering substances are completely illegal. Children trying to achieve a blissful “high” to escape from the pressures and doldrums of everyday life can do irreparable damage to their still-growing bodies. That doesn’t mean that students won’t try the darnedest things to achieve an elusive, forbidden high.
1. Banana Peels—Fiction
For the record, you can’t get high on banana peels, but that doesn’t stop young folks from trying. Back in the ‘60s, a rumor started that you could get a hallucinogenic high from “bananadine,” a pseudo-chemical found in banana peels. The rumor was helped by the band “Country Joe & the Fish”—they’d pass out banana peel joints to audience members. The Food and Drug Administration, along with NYU researchers, found that smoking banana peels failed to provide a chemical high, with the effects akin to that of a placebo.
This urban myth continues today, with teens posting videos like this one for hopefuls to try.
2. Dusting—Fact
A new and effective version of “huffing,” students can get high from inhaling cans of compressed air sold to clean dust and debris from keyboards and other electronics. Professor Matthew Howard, who studies inhalant use, told Chicago Tribune that the high from dusting is instantaneous, short-lived, and more intense than that from other inhalants.
Dusting can lead to risky behaviors similar to those found in alcohol abusers, such as risky sexual activities and impaired driving. Students also report temporary paralysis. Death can be the final side effect, as the vapors prevent oxygen from filling the lungs and cause the user to suffocate.
The scariest part? According to CBS Chicago, the largest number of abusers are eighth graders.
3. Sizzurp—Fact
It used to be known as “Purple Drank” back in the eighties, and it’s every bit as potent now as it was then. Using soda, candy, and potent prescription cough syrup, the concoction produces a feeling of euphoria—thanks to the cough syrup’s codeine, an opiate.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, about 10% of teens have used either codeine cough syrup or over-the-counter alternatives like Robitussin to get high. And, as Dr. Robert Glatter of Lenox Hill Hospital warns The Today Show, the cocktail can be deadly: “[The drug] can lead to seizures and essentially lead you to stop breathing.”
4. Bedbugs—Fiction
Another hoax, but it’s a very popular one! In April 2014, an online video claimed to have discovered a new way of getting high … by smoking bedbugs.
LiveLeak user John Cain—whose profile and video have since been removed from the site—claimed that crushed bedbugs produce a chemical called “PH-417” which allegedly produced “major hallucination” when smoked or injected. He spliced scenes from this news report on the dangers of hash oil to make his video seem true. Shane Watson—featured in the news footage—later took to YouTube to refute the connection and his participation in the fake bedbug video.
5. Hand Sanitizer—Fact
Another easily accessible method of choice for getting high, hand sanitizer rounds out our list of strange ways students get high—but this item is no laughing matter. Hand sanitizer can contain over 60% ethanol—the intoxicating chemical of alcoholic drinks. Take one “shot” of sanitizer, and you’ve drunk the equivalent of two shots of vodka.
Drinking hand sanitizer made headlines with stories of hospitalized teenagers suffering from alcohol poisoning. Since the substance’s “proof” isn’t advertised, it’s easy to drink too much, too fast. Doctors warn of health problems similar to those of heavy alcohol drinkers, like kidney and liver damage, as well as the dangers of intoxication. Foam sanitizer is a safer bet against abuse by high-seeking students, but even this still contains 60% or more of ethanol.
More disturbing than the rapid-fire shots are the multitude of videos online explaining how to “distill” ethanol from the sanitizer. We found an "educational" video discussing the separation of ethanol from water using salt, and it’s scary to imagine bright students using this information to put themselves at risk of alcohol poisoning for a temporary buzz.
We’ve previously published guidelines on how teachers can assist students cope with academic responsibilities without resorting to escapist drugs, based on the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s (ASCD’s) recommendations. We’ve reposted it here for immediate reference.
- Give frequent feedback on student performance, including academic, social, and behavioral.
- Teach students to set goals and self-monitor, including ways to organize, plan, and execute regularly scheduled school tasks (recurring homework, club responsibilities, etc.).
- Encourage students to interact with others.
- If necessary, establish strong communication with families of especially troubled students to inform parents of fluctuations in students’ academic, social, and emotional behavior.
Students will always test boundaries and try out new things, often at their own risk. As School Head, being aware of current trends—whether they actually “work” and get a student high or not—can help protect your school community, even from itself.
Additional ISM resources:
Research: Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use--Overview of Key Findings (2011)
ISM Monthly Update for School Heads Vol. 12 No. 5 Marijuana: A Legal Drug on Campus
Private School News Vol. 12 No. 10 Prescription Drug Abuse Is (Still) a Problem in Private Schools
Additional ISM resources for Gold Consortium members:
I&P Vol. 29 No. 6 Random Drug Testing Policies for Students
I&P Vol. 26 No. 3 Search and Seizure Policies and Procedures
