Carroll Juvenile officer continues working on increase in teen drug use

Carroll, Iowa -- Carroll and Sac County Juvenile Officer Andy Menken continue working towards educating parents and kids in the area about the affects of K-2 and substances that are similar. 2 Carroll area kids have been taken to the hospital after using a substance labeled as incense, but is very similar to k-2, which the legislature made illegal in 2011. The Carroll City Council will have a third and final reading on a new ordinance that deals with huffing and smoking legal substances in order to become high at their next meeting. Menken says he’s glad the city is looking to do something but says an ordinance is only as good as it’s enforced. He says issues began over a year ago when several Carroll juveniles were found to be huffing aerosols, and now there are the incense issues. Menken says he wishes something could have been done sooner. Menken is part of the Safe Coalition for Carroll County and works with kids in 6^th and 7^th grade and is working to set up a night at both Carroll and Kuemper where he can discuss the issue of incense and K-2 with parents and kids. Menken says they need to educate younger kids as well as the high school age kids which he says is where the real issues with the incense substance lies. Menken and Carroll Juvenile Liaison Lisa Polking have been working very hard for over a year on the issue and will continue to look at different avenues and funding sources.