When you think of party favors you probably think of toys or candy for kids.
But for many teens party favors include bags of prescription drugs.
In a Fox 23 Solving Problems investigation Abbie Alford reports the deadly trend of pill parties.
There’s plenty of short names for pharmaceutical parties, “pharm, skittle or salad” parties.
These prescription drugs are a pass to get into the party and it’s a dangerous mixture of colorful pills.
Drugs strong enough for cancer patients are being used at school and at pill parties where pills are passed around in bowls or bags.
“They’re called party favors,” says “Jimmy”.
Many kids say they are getting the drugs at home.
"My parents had a very extensive medicine cabinet," says “Jenny”.
If it’s not in mom, dad, or grandma’s medicine cabinet all the teens have to do is go to a pill party.
It’s like networking for teens.
"The drugs are available in our schools. They are available in our neighborhoods. It's other kids that are sharing," says Sareva Greenhaw.
Greenhaw didn’t find out about these pill parties until her 16-year-old son Cody Greenhaw died from an overdose.
At a high school party Cody got his hands on Valium and the fast acting pain medication Methadone.
Cody’s mother says he then mixed the prexription drugs with alcohol and cocaine and died at a friend’s house that same night.
The Greenhaw’s say they had no idea Cody was dabbling into prescription drugs.
As a child and as a teen Sareva says her son had trouble swallowing prescribed medication.
She even hid the leftover medication at home.
"I thought nobody would know it was there but me but after he died that bottle was empty and it wasn't when I put it in there," says Greenhaw.
Pharmacist Jim Brown of Freedland Brown Pharmacy in Tulsa says for any child or teen these “salad” parties could be fatal.
"It's like playing Russian Roulette. Depending on what pill you get out of the bowl,” says Brown. "Tranquilizers, Xanax and Alprazolim and mixed with these codeine prescriptions is going to be very dangerous."
Teens are not just popping pills but using pain patches like Fentanyl.
"It tells you right on the package when we dispense them. Protect them from animals and children," says Brown
The patch releases a very strong painkiller into your blood stream over several days. The patches are easily hidden under clothes.
"If you took the whole thing and opened it so you could put it on or did anything else you are getting a three day dosage and that's very dangerous," says Brown.
The Partnership for A Drug Free America reports one in five teens has abused a prescription medication.
