“Whippets” (also spelled “whippits” or “whip-its”) is modern slang for nitrous oxide used as a recreational inhalant. The name comes from whipped-cream aerosol canisters, which users crack open to get at the gas inside.
Under a whippet high, judgment and muscle control are impaired, causing some users to walk off balconies or stumble into traffic. Others have suffered heart failure, suffocation or seizures. Overdose can cause hallucinations or send the user into a coma. Occasionally, a metal whippet container explodes with disastrous effect.
Butter. Budder. Badder. It’s all modern slang for marijuana concentrates that look like butter and have the same consistency. It’s used for dabbing.
Dabbing is using dabs of marijuana concentrates. Dabbing creates a stronger high because the active ingredient of marijuana is much more concentrated than it would be in a typical joint. Dabbing also delivers the THC to the body much more suddenly than smoking a joint would, making it even more potent. Specifically, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warns that a teen overdose may occur and that those who overdose on dabs may experience paranoia, anxiety, panic attacks and hallucinations. Additionally, marijuana concentrates may cause increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, withdrawal, and problems related to addiction.
“AM I THE KIND OF ADULT I WOULD LIKE MY KIDS TO BECOME?”
As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. That’s definitely true with kids. If they notice you’re not following your own advice, then they will tune out. So before you to talk to your teen about drinking, drugs and smoking, take a look in the mirror. Even though that kind of self-examination may be hard, if you want what you say to have an effect, you need to do it. Ask yourself questions like, “Is there anything I’m struggling with that I haven’t addressed?” “Do I react to negative things in a positive way?” “Am I the role model my teenager deserves?”
This saying is true, too—before you can help someone else, you have to help yourself.
WHAT'S CAUSING IT?
We’ve all lived through a lot of big things over the last few years. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything around us. Civil and racial issues came to the fore. Political instability and fighting—both here at home and abroad—erupted. And violent incidents like school shootings continue.
In today’s modern world, we’re almost hardwired to treat views, likes and follows as indicators of who we are. It’s easy to compare our postings with other people’s and feel like we fall short.
School, sports and hobbies are all good things. But sometimes they create burdens that are hard to bear—especially if we feel like our futures depend on excelling at them, or that our worth is wrapped up in them.
WHAT ARE SOME TYPES OF ANXIETY?
Excessive worry most days for at least six months about a number of things related to everyday life
Fear of being parted from a particular person
General intense fear of social or performance situations
Fear of specific objects or situations like flying, dogs, heights, etc.
Intense fear of spatial situations, such as being outside the home, being in line or using public transportation
Sudden periods of intense fear that come on quickly and unexpectedly or by triggers and usually result in physiological effects like a rapid heart rate, sweating, shortness of breath or shaking
WHAT CAN IT LEAD TO?
SOCIAL
Difficulty with school
Trouble being around people
MENTAL
Depression
Substance use
Suicide
PHYSICAL
Headaches
Chronic pain
Digestive problems
Heart Disease
HOW CAN YOU GET HELP?
Funding for the Worth It NWI campaign for SAFE for Lake County has been provided in part by Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction
