The "Cheese" You Won't Want Your Kids to Eat

Kid's are notorious for trying just about anything as long as someone tells them that it is cool. To a parent the word "cheese" conjures up something healthy and something that most kid's love. This "cheese" is a parent's worst nightmare and could possibly lead to the death of your child. There is a scary new trend in Texas and authorities fear that it may spread across the country. The new 'starter' heroin, or as it is called on the street "cheese," is cheap and easy to make. The two main ingredients are a cold medication like Tylenol P.M. which contains acetaminophen or (Tylenol) and antihistamine diphenhydramine which is the active ingredient in 'Benadryl' and cheap black tar heroin, which usually is brought into the country from drug cartels in Mexico.

The drug appeals to young people because it is cheap, usually one hit can sell for as little as $2 for 1/10 gram of heroin. The tan powder is called "cheese" because of it's resemblance to grated spaghetti cheese. In actuality it more resembles a coarse tan sand. Drug dealers have also sold a combo of drugs such as a $10 bag of cocaine along with a $5 bag of marijuana and then called it "macaroni and cheese." These drugs are also known as 'starter' heroin drugs, because the heroin makes it highly addictive and the low quantity of the amount of heroin makes it affordable to young teens. The younger the child is, the easier it is to create an addiction, especially when trying something as innocent as 'cheese'. Authorities claim that the younger the child, the harder it is for them to understand that this drug can be addicting and even lethal.

Police in Texas have watched as the arrest of teens, has climbed from 90 in the 2005 and 2006, to more than 145 this year between 2006 and 2007. The national trend in heroin consumption among teens has actually declined from 94,000 in 2002 to 60,000 in 2005. Deaths from the drug are also on the rise. Police fear that because of it's affordability and name appeal, the trend could spread throughout the US. Children as young as 9 have been found with 'cheese' in their possession. "The kid's just don't seem to understand the consequences of heroin addiction," claims one man who works at a Dallas, Texas Treatment Facility for Teens.

Cheese is made from grinding up the cold medication and mixing it with a small amount of black-tar heroin. It is then inhaled. Officials claim that for about $30 of heroin when mixed with the cold tablets, the mixture can yield as much as 40-50 doses of 'cheese.' The normal dose of 'cheese' usually contains around 3%heroin, but often the dose can be inconsistent. Teens who are used to the 3% dose can find themselves receiving as much as 8-9 % heroin in a dose and die from an overdose.

Police are aggressively arresting what are considered low level drug dealers, hoping to slow down sales and are also trying to find and target suppliers who are higher up on the chain of drug sales. Most teens who are arrested for possession of 'cheese' are white or Hispanic males. Signs and symptoms of 'cheese' use are euphoria, disorientation, lethargy, sleepiness and hunger. The government says that withdrawal can be noticed as soon as 12 hours from the last use of 'cheese' causing headaches, chills, muscle spasms, anxiety, agitation and disassociation. You can read more about this drug at www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov . The drug may also be known as "monkey."