The Carson City Sheriff’s Office initiative series, “101 Days of Summer,” is kicking off the summer by providing the following resources in an effort to educate the community on drug and alcohol addiction, to provide those suffering from addiction the methods and tools needed to seek help, as well as provide encouragement and support to the families. Realizing that your teen or young adult child needs help for their substance use can be frightening and overwhelming. If you or anyone you know is struggling with drug substance abuse problems, the following resources in Carson City have partnered with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office and are available. Most take insurance, some at a reduce cost or without any out of pocket cost through the month of May. Call 9-1-1 immediately to report a known or suspected drug overdose. • Carson City Centers American Comprehensive Services — offers a comprehensive array of alcohol and other drug abuse services, 603 E. Robinson St., 775-883-4325 • Community Counseling Center LLC — provides an individual treatment plan constructed and designed for each client. CCC is a non-profit corporation of counseling professionals, 205 S. Pratt St., 775-882-3945. • Carson Tahoe Outpatient Behavior Health Services/Mallory — provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services to adults and aging adults dealing with substance abuse issues. Outpatient located at 775 Fleischmann Way, 775-445-7756. Inpatient located at 1080 N. Minnesota St., 7756-445-7350. • Vicki La Versa & Associates Addiction Counselors – a progressive substance abuse education and counseling for those individuals that have experienced substance abuse problems. 1802 N. Carson St. #132, 775-461-0770. • Sierra Counseling and Neurotherapy – serving adults, adolescents, children, families and couples with individual and group psychotherapy, substance abuse counseling, alcohol & drug evaluations. Located at 2874 N. Carson St., 775-885-7717. • Partnership Carson City – offers easy-to-read drug facts, drug abuse resistance education, and other resources for parents, youth, mental health, and other local services. 1925 N. Carson St., 775-841-4730. • Vitality Unlimited — offers inpatient and outpatient services, counseling and or other services for those with alcohol and or other drug problems. 900 E. Long St., (775) 461-0999 or (775) 934-8537. Primary Urgent care is available. CCSO has seen an increase of marijuana/cannabis use in public. The use of any marijuana/cannabis product in public is illegal. The Carson City Sheriff’s Office has also seen an increase of marijuana use in teenagers in the form of vape pens. As use of electronic cigarettes by middle and high school students has skyrocketed, so has the number of parents unaware they have nicotine-addicted children. What is vaping? Electronic cigarettes and Juuls, the most popular brand name for young people, have a battery, a heating element and a place to hold a liquid, known as e-liquid or vape juice, which is typically flavored. The heat creates a vapor, or aerosol, that users inhale. These devices can also be used with THC or cannabidiol (CBD), which can legally contain .03% (some are much higher) of THC to be sold in stores or higher levels if sold in dispensaries. While e-cigarette cartridges can be purchased with a wide variety of nicotine levels down to 0%, Juuls have a high level of nicotine – as much as a pack of 20 regular cigarettes. It can be difficult to tell the difference between nicotine e-liquid and THC or a CBD-based oil. A legally purchased cartridge with THC or CBD oil or nicotine would have some sort of packaging or labeling saying what it is. But even Juul-brand cartridges, which are supposed to be “closed loop” so nothing can be added, are often tampered with and filled with THC-based oils. Narrow cylinder-shaped vials are more likely to contain THC oil; nicotine ones tend to be wider and bigger. THC is thick and oil based so may not appear to move in the cartridge while nicotine e-liquid would flow freely in the cartridge. Parents can purchase home drug test kits online to determine what’s in a cartridge or vial, but they won’t know the concentration of the THC or added contaminants. It could be CBD oil with a very low percentage of THC.
