According to officials at the Portsmouth Middle School in Rhode Island, the newest way for kids to get “high” is by snorting Smarties candies. Children and teens are grinding the candies up into a powder and then making a line with the powder, similar to how cocaine users line up their drugs. The kids then snort the Smarties into their noses. While the Smarties do not contain any addicting ingredients and the kids are not actually getting high, the phenomena seems to be becoming very popular.
Doctors warn that the side effects of snorting Smarties can include lung infections, nose-wedged maggots, bleeding and nasal passage scarring, allergic reactions and smoker’s cough. School officials in Rhode Island and at many other schools, have warned parents to watch for signs that their children may be snorting Smarties.
Smarties aren’t the first strange thing that children and teens have tried to snort, drink or smoke in order to get “high.” Here are a few others that might just shock you.
Alcohol Tampons
Teenagers are soaking tampons in vodka and other alcohol products and inserting them into their bodies in order to get drunk. Many teenagers are doing this before going to school so they can feel drunk in class without actually drinking the alcohol and getting caught.
Nutmeg
You have probably used Nutmeg as a spice in your pumpkin pie or maybe even your chili, but some kids are using it to get high. If consumed in large amounts, Nutmeg can lead to hallucinations and a buzz. Kids and teenagers are snorting the spice and even eating it to feel a nutmeg buzz.
Catnip
Catnip can make your cat seem crazy and hyper and it can do the same to your kid. Teenagers are adding catnip to tobacco and smoking it. The mixture of the two plants gives the smoker a euphoric feeling.
Bath Salts
Teenagers and children are inhaling actual bath salts as a way to get high. While the bath salts have been known to cause hallucinations, they can also cause high blood pressure, lung problems and even death.
You never know what teenagers and children will try in order to try to catch a buzz or feel high. Do you think snorting Smarties is a serious concern and what other strange ways to get high are you aware of?
Image via Wikimedia Commons.