Pharming party

Last updated

Pharming parties is a media-invented term describing alleged get-togethers where prescription drugs are exchanged and randomly ingested, in order to become intoxicated. The earliest mention of the term appears to have been in the March 8, 2002 issue of the newspaper Public Opinion (Chambersburg, PA), which said this was occurring "in some communities". [1] The pharm party story has since spread to periodicals and television stations throughout the United States, including reputable, mainstream sources such as Time and The Washington Post . [2]

Contents

Origins

Practices similar to the pharm party phenomenon have been described in media as far back as the 1960s. An event called a "fruit salad party" was first described in the March 30, 1966 edition of The Sun in Lowell, Massachusetts. The story claimed that several teenagers each brought three pills to a party in Medford, Massachusetts and that, after mixing the pills together in a bowl and selecting three at random, most of the group had to be hospitalized and one remained in a coma. The article did not provide the names of any of the teenagers and said only that the incident occurred "several months ago." [3]

"Fruit salad parties" were subsequently described in the Tucson Daily Citizen in 1969 and the American School Board Journal . The source for both articles was a registered nurse who had no practical experience with these parties but had reportedly heard about them from drug lecturers, law enforcement officials and prosecutors "throughout the United States." Reports on fruit salad parties continued into the early 1970s, appearing in the Charleston Daily Mail , Ohio's Coshocton Tribune , the Billings Gazette and Hayward, California's Daily Review , before ultimately petering out. The Daily Mail took a more literal approach to the rumors, describing the pills as being hidden inside fruit which students mixed into actual fruit salads. [3]

Modern reports

In the first decade of the 21st century, news outlets began picking up the story anew, this time referring to them as "pharm parties" or "pharming parties." As with the earlier spate of reports, sources of information were indirect, statistics were absent or misleading, and no specific incidents could be identified. Nonetheless, in 2005 and 2006, articles were written on the subject in South Florida's Sun-Sentinel , the Toronto Star , USA Today and the Washington Post, and episodes of the television series CSI: NY and Boston Legal were centered around it. [4] In 2007, the Baltimore Jewish Times even ran an article on "fruit salad parties." [3]

In June 2006, Slate editor Jack Shafer investigated reports of "pharming parties" and concluded that there was little evidence that such a phenomenon was popular, growing, or even real. Shafer wrote, "If pharm parties are a trend, they're the best-hidden and least-talked about one in the country." He noted that "It goes without saying that pharm parties may be very real and very everywhere. It's a big country. But it looks to me like pharm party is just a new label the drug-abuse industrial complex has adopted to describe the decades-old tradition of pill parties." [4]

Although studies show that as many as one in five teenagers have abused prescription medications, [5] it is not clear whether parties specifically organized to exchange drugs contribute to this abuse. In March 2008, Shafer wrote, "I've failed to locate a single human source or article that documents a single such festivity, let alone proves that they're commonplace, as the media would have you believe." [6] As of September 2010, Shafer has written eight columns for Slate discussing and debunking pharm parties. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Controlled Substances Act</span> United States drug-regulating law

The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances is regulated. It was passed by the 91st United States Congress as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and signed into law by President Richard Nixon. The Act also served as the national implementing legislation for the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temazepam</span> Insomnia medication

Temazepam, sold under the brand name Restoril among others, is a medication of the benzodiazepine class which is generally used to treat severe or debilitating insomnia. It is taken by mouth. Temazepam is rapidly absorbed, and significant hypnotic effects begin in less than 30 minutes and can last for up to eight hours. Prescriptions for hypnotics such as temazepam have seen a dramatic decrease since 2010, while anxiolytics such as alprazolam, clonazepam, and lorazepam have increased or remained stable. Temazepam and similar hypnotics, such as triazolam (Halcion) are generally reserved for severe and debilitating insomnia. They have largely been replaced by z-drugs and atypical antidepressants as first line treatment for insomnia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Haim</span> Canadian actor (1971–2010)

Corey Ian Haim was a Canadian actor. He starred in Silver Bullet (1985), Murphy's Romance (1985), Lucas (1986), License to Drive (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989). His role alongside Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys (1987) made him a household name. Known as The Two Coreys, the duo became 1980s icons and appeared together in seven films, later starring in the A&E American reality show The Two Coreys.

Walgreens is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States, behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, and photo services. It was founded in Chicago in 1901, and is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois. On December 31, 2014, Walgreens and Switzerland-based Alliance Boots merged to form a new holding company, Walgreens Boots Alliance. Walgreens became a subsidiary of the new company, which retained its Deerfield headquarters and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol WBA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benzylpiperazine</span> Recreational drug

Benzylpiperazine (BZP) is a substance often used as a recreational drug and is known to have euphoriant and stimulant properties. Several studies conducted between 2000 and 2011 found that the effects of BZP are similar to amphetamine, although BZP's dosage is roughly 10 times higher by weight.

Daniel Radosh is an American journalist and blogger. Radosh is a senior writer for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Previously, he was a staff writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and a contributing editor at The Week. He writes occasionally for The New Yorker. His writing has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, GQ, Mademoiselle, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Might, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Playboy, Radar, Salon, Slate, and other publications. From 2000 to 2001, he was a senior editor for Modern Humorist. In the 1990s he was a writer and editor at Spy. Radosh began his writing career at Youth Communication in 1985, where as a high school student he published more than a dozen stories in New Youth Connections, a magazine by and for New York City teenagers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secobarbital</span> Obsolete sedative-hypnotic

Secobarbital is a short-acting barbiturate derivative drug that was patented in 1934 in the United States. It possesses anaesthetic, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic, sedative, and hypnotic properties. In the United Kingdom, it was known as quinalbarbitone. It is the most frequently used drug in physician-assisted suicide within the United States. Secobarbital is considered to be an obsolete sedative-hypnotic, and as a result, it has largely been replaced by the benzodiazepine family. Seconal was widely abused, known on the street as "red devils" or "reds". Among the barbiturates, secobarbital carries a particularly high risk of abuse and addiction, largely responsible for its falling out of use.

Jack Shafer is an American journalist who writes about media for Politico. Prior to joining Politico, he worked for Reuters and also edited and wrote the column "Press Box" for Slate, an online magazine. Before his stay at Slate, Shafer edited two city weeklies, Washington City Paper and SF Weekly. Much of Shafer's writing focuses on what he sees as a lack of precision and rigor in reporting by the mainstream media, which he says "thinks its duty is to keep you cowering in fright." One frequent topic is media coverage of the War on Drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenethylline</span> Codrug of amphetamine and theophylline

Fenethylline or fenetylline (INN) is a codrug of amphetamine and theophylline and so a mutual prodrug of both. It is also spelled phenethylline; other names for it are amphetamin​oethyl​theophylline and amfetyline. The drug was marketed for use as a psychostimulant under the brand names Captagon, Biocapton, and Fitton. It is now illegal in most countries and is produced primarily for illicit use. Syria is considered to be the world's largest producer of the drug, accounting for about 80% of the global supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medication package insert</span> Document included in a package of medicine

A package insert is a document included in the package of a medication that provides information about that drug and its use. For prescription medications, the insert is technical, providing information for medical professionals about how to prescribe the drug. Package inserts for prescription drugs often include a separate document called a "patient package insert" with information written in plain language intended for the end-user—the person who will take the drug or give the drug to another person, such as a minor. Inserts for over-the-counter medications are also written plainly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lean (drug)</span> Recreational drug beverage

Lean or purple drank is a polysubstance drink used as a recreational drug. It is prepared by mixing prescription-grade cough or cold syrup containing an opioid drug and an anti-histamine drug with a soft drink and sometimes hard candy. The beverage originated in Houston as early as the 1960s and is popular in hip hop culture, especially within the Southern United States. Codeine/promethazine syrup is usually used to make lean, but other syrups are also used.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare is an American medicals products company belonging to Kenvue consumer health group. It primarily sells fast-moving consumer goods such as over-the-counter drugs.

Kristin M. Davis, previously known as the Manhattan Madam, is a former madam who was known for running a high-end prostitution ring in New York City which claimed to have offered its services to several high-profile clients, including Eliot Spitzer, Alex Rodriguez and David Beckham. After her conviction for prostitution related activities, Davis ran a protest campaign for Governor of New York in 2010 and was poised to run for New York City Comptroller in 2013 before being arrested for distributing drugs.

Sack tapping is a slang term for a game where a participant attacks, by slapping, tapping, punching, kicking, elbowing, twisting, or backhanding a victim's testicles. The term derived from 'sack', slang that refers to the scrotum, and the activity is a form of groin attack. This sociological manifestation of bullying can result in severe testicular injury that may require amputation as the only form of treatment. A reported increased popularity of sack tapping, fueled in part by YouTube videos, and the subsequent increase in hospitalization has concerned parents and urologists. It is also called "nut tag", "bag tag", "sack whack", "bell flicking" and "roshambo", the last name coming from an episode of South Park that featured the practice.

Terry A. Johnson is an American politician serving as a Republican member of the Ohio Senate from the 14th District. He is an osteopathic physician who was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for the 90th district from 2011 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partnership to End Addiction</span>

Partnership to End Addiction, formerly called The Partnership for a Drug Free America, is a non-profit organization aiming to prevent the misuse of illegal drugs. The organization is most widely known for its TV ad This Is Your Brain on Drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pill mill</span> Illegal pain clinic

A pill mill is an illegal facility that resembles a regular pain clinic, but regularly prescribes painkillers (narcotics) without sufficient medical history, physical examination, diagnosis, medical monitoring, or documentation. Clients of these facilities usually receive prescriptions only against cash. Pill mills contribute to the opioid epidemic in the United States and are the subject of a number of legislative initiatives at the state level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opioid epidemic in the United States</span> Ongoing overuse of opioid medication in the US

There is an ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States, originating out of both medical prescriptions and illegal sources. The epidemic began in the United States in the late 1990s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), when opioids were increasingly prescribed for pain management, resulting in a rise in overall opioid use throughout subsequent years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opioid epidemic</span> Deaths due to abuse of opioid drugs

The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse/abuse, and overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs called opiates/opioids since the 1990s. It includes the significant medical, social, psychological, demographic and economic consequences of the medical, non-medical, and recreational abuse of these medications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Paul George</span> American convicted drug dealer (b. 1980)

Christopher Paul George, called Chris George is an American drug dealer and convicted felon. Together with his twin brother Jeffrey Frank George and other parties involved, he ran several pill mills in Florida, which contributed to the opioid epidemic in the USA. George was sentenced to 17.5 years imprisonment in 2012 for these and other crimes. The media called him Pill Mill Kingpin, because he was the owner of the largest network of such clinics in Florida between February 2008 and March 2010.

References

  1. ↑ Jack Shafer, "Down on the Pharm, Again: Debunking 'Pharm Parties' for the Third Time", Slate Magazine, March 25, 2008
  2. 1 2 Shafer, Jack (September 8, 2010). "Back-to-School Pharm Party". Slate . Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Shafer, Jack (March 26, 2008). "The '60s Version of a Pharm Party". Slate . The Slate Group . Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 Shafer, Jack (June 19, 2006). "Phar-Fetched "Pharm Parties"". Slate . The Slate Group . Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  5. ↑ "More teens abusing prescription drugs." Institute for Good Medicine, Pennsylvania Medical Society, August 14, 2008. Accessed January 11, 2010.
  6. ↑ Jack Shafer, "The '60s Version of a Pharm Party: "'Fruit Salad Parties.' You Think I'm Kidding. I'm Not.", Slate Magazine, March 26, 2008
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.