SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio teens are learning how addiction affects them and their friends through presentations at their schools.
Crime Stoppers of Houston instituted a statewide education program called the Safe School Institute with presentations on more than a dozen topics.
A recent substance use presentation made a big impression at CAST Tech High School.
One CAST Tech student believes the information she learned will help save lives. Melanie Limon, a junior, now feels more empowered than ever to talk about the issue.
“Rather than being scary, it was informational,” Limon said. “Which I feel is a lot better.”
Her first message to adults is that local kids are using substances, whether or not parents want to accept that as fact.
“Kind of an alarming amount of people, surprisingly,” Limon said.
That being said, she knows the reality is scary.
“Fentanyl can be mixed into drugs,” Limon said. “Like, you don’t know what you’re taking.”
Crime Stoppers of Houston statewide education specialist Cally Conklin said the biggest concern is vapes. Vapes are not only dangerous due to the heavy metals and toxic chemicals ingested when someone inhales aerosol, she said the danger of vapes is also about what else could be hidden within the vape.
“They say, ‘Oh, my friend got this at a gas station. It only contains nicotine.’ That is no longer the case,” Conklin said. “We are seeing vapes laced with THC and even fentanyl. You can never really know truly what’s in that cartridge.”
She talks to students without judgment and explains what’s happening in their brains when they use potential substances in vapes.
“They think that they can control it. They think, ‘OK, well, I’m going to try it once, or I’m only gonna do it at parties.’ But it quickly becomes much more of a habit,” Conklin said. “Those dopamine spikes that they get from ingesting different substances register more greatly than they would in an adult’s brain, so they are more susceptible to addiction.”
She also warns students that if they’re caught with vapes or other substances in school, it could change the direction of their lives.
“This is immediate removal from the school campus and immediate enrollment in a DAEP (Disciplinary Alternative Education Program) for a certain period of time,” Conklin said.
For Limon, the biggest takeaway from the presentation was Crime Stoppers’ anonymous tip line.
“That could be helpful to a lot of teenagers because it is hard to go to counselors, go to principals, really any adult,” Limon said. “As much as you do trust them, it is a scary process.”
Limon said there is strength in admitting that you need help and hopes her peers will reach out if they’re struggling.
“Do not, under any circumstances, be afraid to report something that you genuinely think can go wrong in the future or you’re seeing it get bad,” Limon said.
Limon said another big takeaway from the presentation was about leaving judgement out of addiction.
“They did introduce a lot of points as to why people will be taking these drugs and a lot of them were quite sad — quite frankly — because people go through traumatizing things, and they turn to that because they find no other solutions,“ Limon said. ”It really just shows like the human side of it all."
Conklin said that lack of judgment is how she gets her message across and encourages other adults to do the same.
“If you do have a problem, I am not here to judge you. I’m here to offer you solutions and help and support,” Conklin said. “Because that student is probably feeling a lot of shame to begin with, so the last thing they need is an adult telling them that they’ve done something wrong. As adults, we care way more about your safety than we do about judging you or getting you in trouble.”
Any schools that may be interested in bringing a Crime Stoppers presentation to their school can call 713-521-4600 or send an email to info@crime-stoppers.org.
Anyone of any age who needs help with substances use can call the 24/7 confidential help line through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or text your 5-digit zip code to HELP4U, which is 435748.
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