Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Drug addicts are finding different ways to feed their addiction. The latest trend brings addicts together to mix and match their pills at what some call 'Pharm parties.'
Feeding the addiction
Katie and Noah are both young adult prescription drug addicts in the Salt Lake City area that started their addictions after getting doctor prescribed medication. Katie received a Percocet prescription following a serious car crash. Noah was 16 years old when he started taking Xanax to control anxiety.
"I stole from my family. I robbed from my friends. I robbed them blind," Katie said."I would lie, cheat, steal, do whatever I had to do to chase the high," said Noah.
They learned different ways of getting their prescription pills, through drug dealers, doctors, friends and also through parties centered around pharmaceuticals.
Pharming parties
"A Pharming party is where kids meet and they all bring the drugs they've been able to get a hold of," said Debra Hobbins, a nurse practitioner who treats drug addicts at a local treatment center.
She said she's hearing more talk about these Pharm parties from patients and others who deal with prescription drug abuse. She said the addicts feel it's just a weekend party where they go to get pills and have a good time.
Noah calls the parties, ‘swaps.' He said word gets out about when and where the party will be and then people bring what they've been able to round up. The party-goers then trade pills and cash for other pills, but he said it's common for people to lie about what they've brought.
"I'd just take (some pills) there to see if I could fool somebody to swap them some fake bunk medication I had for something good they had," said Katie.
She said she often was among those putting the pill popping parties together. "Everyone would meet at the first of the month because that's when everyone gets their prescriptions usually."
"Similar to Russian Roulette"
She adds at times these parties have a game that some might think is similar to Russian roulette with pills.
I had no idea half the time what drugs I was combining. It's insane when I look at that now.
–Katie, former drug addict
"You put (the pills) in a bowl. Someone will just dump a bunch of pills in there and will be like, ‘alright you try.' People just put their hand in there and take them," said Katie. "I have seen people overdose from that."
"You can imagine how dangerous that is if you have Oxycontin and LSD and Valium and Xanax," said Hobbins.
Local emergency room doctors are also warning about the problem.
"People die from overdoses even if we know how to treat it," said Dr. Gary Sanderson at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo. He said overdoses are common and not knowing what pills were taken can slow antidote treatments for hours while they wait for lab results to come back.
Dangerous game
Katie and Noah both ended up in emergency rooms multiple times and nearly died from their addictions to prescription medications. Both are trying to change their lives and are getting treatment from the Haven treatment center in Salt Lake City.
They look back at Pharm parties and they way they lived with a whole new perspective.
"I hated myself; who I was," said Noah.
"I had no idea half the time what drugs I was combining. It's insane when I look at that now," said Katie.
The number of Utahn's dying from prescription drug abuse has risen drastically over the past decade.
317 Utahns died from prescription drug overdoses in 2007.
Listen to part two of Pharm Parties Friday, May 1 at 5:40 a.m. and 7:40 a.m. on KSL Newsradio 102.7FM/1160AM.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
