Muscle Relaxants

Soma fast becoming East Valley teens' drug of choice
by Cece Todd, East Valley Tribune

Abuse by teenagers of a widely prescribed muscle relaxant has prompted drug prevention officials to warn Scottsdale students about the drug, Soma.

"It's a huge problem in our community right now," said Judi Crider, program manager for Scottsdale Prevention Institute, which recently presented a program on the dangers of Soma to more than 500 students at Scottsdale's Arcadia High School. "The 'in' drug right now is Soma."

But Scottsdale students and parents are not the only ones who should be on alert. Across the East Valley, police, pharmacists and drug prevention professionals say Soma, the brand name for carisoprodol, is one of the most abused prescription drugs on the market today.

Three recent cases of students abusing the drug prompted the principal of Apache Junction High School to issue a "Soma Alert" to parents.

"Parents need to be alert to this," principal Carl Madzey said Friday. "It's kind of like when Ecstacy started — parents didn't know about that either."

Apache Junction students told school officials they can buy Soma without a prescription for $1 a pill in Mexico. Ahwatukee Foothills resident Dawn Rae Nelson was shot and killed by a Chandler police officer in October when she tried to purchase Soma, police said, using a forged prescription at a Walgreens drive-through.

This week, the Arizona Legislature took steps to crack down on Soma abuse by approving a bill that defines carisoprodol as a controlled substance. It's a felony for anyone to knowingly or intentionally acquire a controlled substance by means of forgery, fraud or deception.

Chandler pharmacist Richard Myer said he sees at least one fraudulent prescription for Soma each week.

"This drug is a huge problem," Myer said. "To me, this is no different than the Valium problem of the early 1970s. This drug is being prescribed and abused more than Valium ever was."

Soma is often prescribed for back problems and muscle spasms. But when taken in multiple doses, it can cause barbiturate or alcohol-type effects. Abuse of the drug can even result in seizures, coma and death.

This week, an Apache Junction High School student had to be transported from the school to Desert Samaritan Medical Center in Mesa after taking too many Soma pills. Madzey said the student is going to be fine, although at the time, the situation was considered "life-threatening."

The school has had two other incidents of Soma abuse this school year — one about a month ago and another last December. Those followed about three Soma incidents at Apache Junction High last spring, Madzey said. All students involved have been expelled or are facing expulsion.

While most of the 1,600 students at Apache Junction High are not abusing Soma, Madzey said he wanted to make sure parents knew about the dangers of the drug.

"If taken in large quantities, it causes an effect similar to smoking marijuana," his newsletter to parents said.

Actually, the effect is more similar to drinking too much alcohol, said Sgt. Bill Peters, drug recognition expert coordinator with the Mesa Police Department.

"When we evaluate drivers who are impaired, we run across Soma all the time," Peters said. "We see people who get drunk on Soma and then have one beer — and they're just whacked out."

Such abuse results in slurred speech, delayed response and lack of dexterity — all factors that contribute to traffic accidents.

Crider said counselors at the Scottsdale Prevention Institute hear stories of students taking Soma without knowing what it is, and then mixing it with alcohol.

"Put alcohol on top of a depressant and you're putting yourself into a critical situation," she said, adding that young girls can end up in unwanted sexual situations if they're under the relaxed influence of Soma.

Hal Wand, deputy director of the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy, said the board pushed this year for the Legislature to define Soma as a controlled substance. He said about 17 states have now classified the drug as a controlled substance.

Source: http://www.drugfreeaz.com/news/articles_soma.html