ONALASKA, WI (WXOW)—Twelve percent of high school seniors have used methamphetamine.
The Onalaska Police Department held a class at City Hall Wednesday night to help parents realize the extent of the drug problem.
Officer Jim Page said they've noticed a lot of parents just don't have a clue what's going on in the drug world.
Autumn Hahn, criminal justice student and mother, said before tonight she didn't realize the affects of drugs in our community.
"I always thought it was lower drugs like marijuana."
Even though her son, Brantley, is only 8 months old she said she wants to stay informed about so she can educated him as he grows up.
"Now it's starting so young with your household products that you wouldn't have thought people could get high off of," Hahn said. "I personally have nutmeg in my cabinets. I didn't know you could get high off nutmeg."
Besides nutmeg, Officer Page said people are getting high off other things around the home like the plant salvia.
"A lot of it is coming right out of parent's medicine cabinets," Officer Page said. "Heroin and stuff, you can buy that anywhere."
Autumn said she is surprised by the pressures kids are facing and how much things have changed since she got out of school.
"I have a huge worry when he becomes an adult and a teenage and things like that what drugs are going to be there and how serious they are and it's scary," Hahn said.
Officer Page said if you suspect your child is using drugs the best place to start is with your primary physician.
He said you should micro manage your children by knowing where they are, who they're with and having them check in with you from land line not a cell phone because it's easier to tell where they really are.
He said YouTube and Google search engines can be good resources for learning about what drugs look like, how its used and how to tell if a person is high.
