Minutes after classes let out on March 12, the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department dispatcher received an urgent call: A male juvenile lay unconscious, just around the corner from Los Gatos High School.

By the time fire trucks and EMTs arrived at the scene, the teen was awake but verbally and physically combative. Before being transported to the hospital by ambulance, he and his companion were cited for being in possession of an intoxicant.

The cause of the emergency was nearly as chilling as the result: The youth and his friend hadn’t been drinking, smoking marijuana or ingesting any of the better known substances. Instead, the two friends had been “huffing” (inhaling) a can of aerosol computer cleaner, a solution found in virtually any store selling office supplies.

Why sniff a substance normally used to cleanse keyboards? The key is its ingredient: toluene–a clear, colorless liquid used as a solvent. Toluene can be found in gasoline, paint, paint thinners, fingernail polish, antifreeze, spot removers and countless other highly toxic items. Inhaling the substance results in slurred speech, disorientation, lack of muscle control and other symptoms associated with intoxication.

But repeated exposure to Toluene can cause permanent brain damage, depression or death; inhaling the substance during pregnancy increases the risk of damage to the fetus.

The incident in March was one of many that have galvanized local law enforcement and counseling personnel. Led by Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department Chief Scott Seaman, juvenile detective Jamie Field, and school resource officer Leyton Howard, the teams are intent on shining a spotlight on an explosive issue: local adolescents and teens using common household items and prescription drugs to get high.

“I am very concerned that one of our teens could suffer serious injury or worse from the use of household products,” Seaman says. “While we may wish or think it won’t happen here in Los Gatos, it has already happened in our community, and will likely happen again. In our own training, we heard the tragic story of a talented young man who died in his bedroom after inhaling computer cleaner. The image of that mother finding her son in his room breaks my heart.”

In Field and Howard, the chief has two knowledgeable, talented resources. Field works with minors 17 and younger, while balancing a heavy caseload in child abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Howard, a Los Gatos native and a member of the Los Gatos High School class of 1976, has been in law enforcement for 28 years and is on his second stint as SRO. His job takes him on campus at all Los Gatos and Monte Sereno public schools.

Both officers say the increase in teen substance abuse (along with the creativity teens exhibit in their substances of choice) is alarming. “Trying to keep up with the trends is amazing,” Field notes. “There are so many ways that kids get high now; they’re using things that are right in front of us.”

Says Howard, “We’re starting to see the younger kids getting involved in this sort of stuff. Parents think, ‘My kids would never do that.’ Actually, they would.”

Field keeps a brown paper bag of “teen favorites” on the floor in her office. Watching the innocent-looking contents spill across her desk is surreal: cough and cold medicines, hand sanitizer, dry-erase markers, nitrous oxide capsules (normally used to whip cream), body spray, nutmeg … nutmeg?

“Add enough to your morning OJ, and you can hallucinate. Just look on YouTube and you can see how it’s used; it’s all right out there,” Field says.

Picking up each item, she recites a litany of inventive abuses: A half-bottle of Robitussin dumped into a similarly colored sports drink enables “robo-tripping” in public. A box of Coricidin (“Triple C”) tablets tossed into a bag of Skittles can be transported to school for playground distribution. Dry-erase markers can be sniffed, then their contents removed for handy storage of marijuana in a backpack. Nitrous oxide capsules (“whip-its,” conveniently available online) are discharged into balloons; these are tied off and passed around for huffing at the next party.

The list goes on and on.

One of the more ingenious methods of getting high involves Axe body spray. “Groups of kids will spray it in the crooks of their arms, then stand in a circle to contain the fumes and inhale. It’s a quick high; it only lasts a few seconds, so there’s no way to retain a sample in blood or urine … the kids just smell really good,” says Field.

Why make this information public? Won’t adolescents and teens view it as a how-to manual? “We know very well that information about these uses is already in the popular media accessed by our teens on a regular basis, and that teens are discussing these trends and experimenting with these substances,” Seaman says. “Parents must become aware of the new ways in which youths are getting intoxicated or high, so they can watch for the indicators with their own kids, and have serious conversations with them about the dangers.”

Field concurs, adding, “So much is taking place right under our noses. If parents are not aware, or don’t know what to look for, then the potential for disaster is there. I’d much rather be the person who’s trying to educate parents, versus the one knocking on their door because their child was just taken to the hospital and can’t receive proper treatment, because no one knows what they’re on.”

“Look, kids are drinking hand sanitizer, because it has an alcohol concentration of 80 percent,” Howard adds. “We’re seeing younger kids using; 14- and 15-year-old girls drinking, getting high and then having sex. Last year kids were shooting heroin on the footpath between Johnson and Alpine. This is happening in our community.”

Los Gatos resident Arianne Toves is a substance abuse counselor who is contracted by the county of Santa Clara probation department. She says that in addition to the use of so-called household drugs, the use of prescription drugs by local teens is of “epidemic proportion.” In her experience, there is a prevailing assumption that such medications are somehow safe.

“Kids think that anything in the medicine cabinet at home is OK because it was prescribed by a doctor, and doctors wouldn’t do something that would hurt people,” says Toves. “Obviously, kids aren’t doing any research; they rely on word of mouth from friends and peers.”

Toves explains that part of the reason youths make such ill-advised choices is physiological: Prior to age 20 or so, the brain’s frontal cortex (which houses the self-regulation mechanism) is not fully developed. “That results in kids not limiting their behaviors. Instead of taking one pill, they’ll take three or four,” she says.

A child’s access to prescription drugs is often through unwitting adults. For example, a parent may suffer an injury or be recovering from surgery, and require medications (such as Vicodin) for pain control. Should that adult be physically unable to get out of bed, their child might be asked to retrieve the next dosage.

“Now your kid knows where your medications are, and it’s easy to grab a few extras,” Toves says. “Drugs containing benzodiazepine [including Valium and Xanax] are opiates, so they’re incredibly lethal when combined with alcohol. Kids can also buy over-the-counter drugs containing nitroglycerin at any drug store; these cause increased heart rate and hallucination. Dropping a few dabs of Visine into a drink can cause hallucinations, too.”

Granted, the consumption of substances like eyedrops and hand sanitizer results in side effects such as vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea. But here again, the immature frontal cortex is in control. “An adult would experience that and think, ‘Never again.’ With kids it’s a badge of honor to get that wrecked; when they’re done throwing up, they’ll have another shot or take another pill,” Toves says.

In a community where youths seemingly have every possible advantage, what drives the quest to numb reality? Among the experts surveyed, the consensus is that the emergence of social media has ignited the always stewing pressures of school, lack of communication with parents, social status, body image and typical hormonal havoc. In seconds, one teen can text, tweet or post a comment about another to hundreds of peers, with devastating effects.

“I’ve had several clients come to me because of things that happened with social media,” says Lindsay Smith, director of Los Gatos Teen Therapy, which counsels teens in crisis and their families. “Those kinds of pressures often lead to the use of drugs and alcohol, or kids start cutting or burning themselves, or whatever they can do to gain a sense of control. They don’t know where to turn to get the right coping skills.”

“There are three key areas that often overlap: social media stress, teen dating violence–which happens through social media–and cyber-bulling,” Field says. “Most teens have a minimum of three Facebook pages: one their parents see, another that some peers see and then one all of their peers see. It’s pretty shocking when you see what kids are posting about each other.”

Fortunately, enlightened school administrators in Los Gatos have made a commitment to tackling all of these issues head on. At Los Gatos High School, three therapists are on site and available to speak with any student at any point during the school day, five days per week, entirely without cost, courtesy of Counseling and Support Services for Youth, or CASSY. Founded three years ago by executive director Liz Schoeben, a licensed marriage and family therapist, CASSY now operates in 14 Bay Area schools.

Each year, Schoeben and her peers see an average of 500 LGHS students, or roughly one-fourth of the school population. “The administration is extremely supportive; they provide the funding and the space where we see students, and they’ve made it a priority for kids to be able to come see us during the day,” Schoeben says. “We just added Fisher, so now a child in our community can receive free, quality counseling services from grades 6 through 12.”

Adds Howard, “Los Gatos High School is extremely proactive. The administration always jumps on problems and nips them in the bud right away. I have an extremely great working relationship with everyone there.” Along with CASSY and LG Teen Therapy, Howard and Field frequently refer youths to Therapy Works of Los Gatos, a counseling service overseen by Maailea Wilbur, LMFT. “Maailea and Lindsay are two of the most invaluable resources in town,” Field says. “We send kids to them daily.”

Saratoga High School doesn’t offer the CASSY program, but counselor Judy Jackson is available 36 hours per week for kids, who can either self-refer or be referred by an adult.

Saratoga will also often refer students to John Pina, who specializes in working with teens.

The school resource officer at Saratoga High is Deputy Damian Camarena of the County Sheriff’s Office West Valley Station.

Prospect High School has councelor Monica Gannon on campus one day per week, funded through a grant from El Camino Hospital. Prospect also has a law enforcement member–either from the Sheriff’s Department or San Jose PD–on campus five days a week.

With summer swiftly approaching, and both parents often working outside of the home, Field says vigilance is mandatory. Parents can’t encase their kids in bubble-wrap 24/7, she acknowledges. But knowing who their friends are, ensuring they’re where they say they are, and that they’re doing what they say they’re doing, is essential. Most importantly, parents must educate themselves about substances that can be abused, watch for changes in behavior, and pay attention to the warning signs of substance abuse.

“Get on YouTube and read up online; be aware of what your kids have access to, and what’s coming in the mail. Your kids are minors, they’re living in your house and they’re not paying rent; you have every right to search their room and their backpack and their dresser drawers. It’s OK to ask questions. … You need to know what’s going on at all times,” says Field.

Toves takes the concept a step further. If your child is spending the night at a friend’s house, she recommends, call the friend’s parents to see if they have alcohol and prescription drugs on the premises, and whether those items are locked up. And make sure your own alcohol and medications are out of the reach of your children, and dispose of expired prescriptions safely (CASA, the Community Against Substance Abuse, offers prescription drop-off events year-round; visit www.casalg.org).

“You have to have these kinds of very uncomfortable conversations,” Toves says. “The perception is that you’re crossing boundaries by getting into people’s personal lives. But we used to be really uncomfortable discussing ‘stranger danger’ and the possibility of molestation; now we talk about those things very publicly. No parent should ever have to look back and regret that they didn’t have that tough conversation with their kids.”

If your family is experiencing a substance-abuse crisis, or you require more information, contact detective Jamie Field at the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department, 408.827.3258 or jfield@losgatosca.gov. The department will host a Teen Dating Violence Education and Resource Night on May 17, 5:30-8 p.m., at Los Gatos United Methodist Church, 111 Church St. For more information, contact the Office of Women’s Policy at 408.299.5135.