'Pharm parties' becoming latest trend for young drug, alcohol abusers

WILLMAR -- Parents and grandparents are being urged to clean out their medicine cabinets and dispose of unused pharmaceuticals to prevent drugs from being used by youth attending "pharm parties."

Mike Schliks, director of Project Turnabout based in Granite Falls, told the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners on Monday that leftover prescription drugs, such as painkillers, are being used in combination with alcohol.

It's one of the latest problems that addiction counselors like those at Project Turnabout are seeing lately in their prevention and treatment programs.

"We're seeing people who raid their families' or grandparents' medicine cabinet and use these pharmaceutical medications, like tranquilizers, sleeping pills, muscle relaxants, anything that's available," said Schliks in a later interview.

"They essentially they have these pharmacy parties, or pharm parties for short, in which they take these drugs, and take alcohol, which is extremely dangerous," he said.

Mixing prescription drugs and alcohol is "like rolling the dice" when it comes to overdosing, Schliks said.

He said parents need to clean out their medicine cabinets and then talk to their children about the dangers of drug and alcohol use.

Schliks said while pharm parties are the latest trend for youth who abuse drugs or have drug addictions, methamphetamine is still being widely used.

For older people, he said, alcohol continues to be the "stalwart" drug of choice.

The commissioners heard a brief update about the satellite facility Project Turnabout opened in February in Willmar.

Located on Litchfield Avenue in downtown Willmar, the outreach center provides outpatient treatment and aftercare programs for people with drug and alcohol addictions.

The continuing, or aftercare, programs help people "keep their illness in remission," Schliks said.

More than 30 people are currently receiving treatment at the Willmar facility.

The county approved a contract Monday for services with Project Turnabout for 2008 that includes a 3 percent cost increase.