Addiction Treatment and Children: The Problem of Cheese

Another newly evolving trend in abusable substances includes the introduction of what is called "cheese." It derives its name from its look, given that it resembles grated Parmesan cheese--the type that is shaken over servings of spaghetti and meat sauce. Cheese is made up of low grade heroin mixed with ground up Tylenol PM. It has been recently discovered in parts of Texas where it is ingested by snorting.

Sadly, many of the users are children. Hospitals in parts of South Texas have reported numerous youth in their teens admitted to drug treatment centers for detoxification. And there has recently been reported an addict at the age of nine. Not yet an epidemic, clearly, but frightening nonetheless. At this young an age, state of the art treatment does not yet exist.

The field of substance abuse treatment has some sense of how to go about treating the adult alcoholic/addict. We have an awareness that a combination of individual therapy, group therapy, and recovery based exercises along with a thorough understanding of the 12 steps of Alcoholic or Narcotics Anonymous can lead to a fulfilling lifetime of abstinence and recovery from addictive substances and behaviors. But we don't know if this applies to children. We may be at an unfortunate juncture where our ability to treat substance dependence has fallen behind. Regardless, nine year old addicts are a scary prospect.