Oklahoma Kids Reaching In Spice Cabinets To Get High

Rusty Surette, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY – A popular holiday spice is being used for more than just spicing up pies and festive drinks, now there's online proof kids are using it to get high.

Nutmeg is something a lot of people have in their kitchen right now. If you find that the spice comes up missing from your cabinets, you may want to ask your kids about it. Home videos on YouTube show teenagers are getting a homemade high by consuming large amounts of nutmeg. One video online showed a teen consuming an entire container of the ground spice.

"It's kind of scary because it's in everybody's kitchen," said Oklahoma City resident Jackie Wilson.

Getting high on nutmeg is nothing new, but getting high and putting up a video online is. Oklahoma's Poison Control Center said those who try it will often say it wasn't worth it.

"Certainly they will get the hallucinations they're looking for but the side effects…particularly the upset stomach and vomiting prevents them from wanting to do it again. In fact I've never heard of anybody trying it that wants to try it again," said Scott Schaeffer with the Oklahoma Poison Control Center.

Instructional videos on the Internet show how to make nutmeg cigarettes and that has the attention of Oklahoma law enforcement. Although they say there's nothing illegal about making nutmeg cigarettes, it's what that could lead to that has them concerned.

"What we want to stress to parents is if you have a kid that's looking at nutmeg or some of these other products to get a high, you probably already have a kid getting high and he's simply looking for a legal and easier way to do it," said Mark Woodward with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.

For some people all it takes is a table spoon of nutmeg, either snorted or smoked, to get that high they're looking for. The volatile oil found in fresh nutmeg can cross into the central nervous system and that's what causes the hallucinations. The effects can start in 15 to 20 minutes and last for several hours depending on the dose.