"Cheese" - A Parent's Guide to the New Recreational Drug of 2006

As if the world wasn't complicated enough, many children, as young as middle school, are struggling with a new peer pressure stemming from a recreational drug known as "cheese". Coined "cheese" by the middle school children addicted to this recreational drug, the brown power subtance is considered a starter to a more advanced process into recreational street drugs, including heroin and cocaine. As parents and educators, understanding the implication of "cheese" as a recreational drug, the symptoms for withdrawal and the issues facing children seeking rehabilitation, will provide for a more knowledgeable society.

Labeled as the new recreational drug of 2006, primarily targeting adolescents, "cheese" has made a name among middle and high school children across the United Stated. Using common cold medicines found in many households today, teens and pre-teens are combining the ingredients with heroin to form this new brown powdered substance. As a cheap and affordable "high" many children, especially in middle school, are using the "cheese" combination, in one sniff, to obtain a high at schoo while some middle school children are even found sniffing the recreational drug through the tube of an empty ballpoint pen casing.

Considered a highly addictive recreational drug, the withdrawal symptoms will generally appear as early as six hours post use. Because the cost of this new "cheese" recreational drug is relatively cheap, many middle school children have succumb to its use and, as a result, parents are seeking drug rehabilitation services for children as young as 12 years of age. Unfortunately, with the overwhelming use of "cheese", especially during cold season when cold medicines are more easily obtained, many outpatient and inpatient drug treatment facilities are no longer able to provide the same level of care for the demand.

For children addicted to the recreational drug, "cheese", the inability to obtain the desperately needed rehabilitation, often leaves parents feeling helpless and working to relieve the withdrawal symptoms at home. Under these circumstances, a child's recovery will be significantly delayed as the child suffers through the withdrawal at home, often missing many days of school. Parents, without the professional guidance, are at a loss as to what methods to use in preventing relapse into recreational drug use. However, at the onset, relieving withdrawal symptoms, in the middle school child, seems to be the primary focus. Unfortunately, little can be done to alleviate a child's "cheese" withdrawal at home except to ensure the child does not obtain access to any additional cold or flu medication products. As a general rule, the withdrawal symptoms will dissipate over a 10 to 14 day period.

As with any addiction, seeking rehabilitation in recovery provides optimal outcomes. For middle school and high school children, addicted to "cheese", the much needed rehabilitation is simply not available due to the overwhelming number of children affected. When caring for a child addicted to "cheese", and unable to place the child in a rehabilitation program, consult your family practitioner regarding the use of medications commonly used to control withdrawal symptoms.