Rhonda Griffin, Journal Editor

DUBLIN — The educators at Bladen Community College changed roles to take a seat in the classroom on Friday for a valuable topic on any school campus. As the staff listened intently to the information, they learned the facts about drugs from Bladen County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit investigators Scott Pait and Debra Nelson.

Through the use of a PowerPoint presentation and displays of drugs that have been seized during arrests in Bladen County, Pait and Nelson showed the instructors the most common things to look for on campus.

“BCC is an important part of Bladen County,” Pait told the audience. “Every day on this campus, there are weapons and drugs. You can be on the lookout and help deter it.”

A large part of the unit’s work throughout the county is done undercover. Many of the staff members seemed to be surprised to hear that the unit has members who work the campus regularly.

“We’re working here on the campus,” Pait said. “You won’t see us and you won’t hear about us being here until way after it happens.”

Pait discussed the talks of some wanting to legalize the use of marijuana, which he feels should not be done. Quite common with all age groups, marijuana is often a “gateway” drug that gets users interested in trying other types of drugs, he said.

He showed examples of both powder and crack cocaine, which are also both common throughout the county, along with crystal methamphetamine and prescription drugs which are on the rise.

Pait gave common street names of all of the drugs and told of the dangerous effects they can have on one’s body and mind. Another way of reaching “euphoria,” he said, is through the harmful sniffing or “huffing” of aerosol sprays. This is often done, he said, with common household chemicals such as air freshener and computer dusting spray.

Huffing takes all of the air from the lungs and replaces it with the fumes from the spray, Pait said.

“There’s a very fine line between getting high and getting dead,” he said.

Drug deals and drug use are common on the campus of Bladen Community College, Pait told the instructors. Some of the dealing is being done by students, he said, but it is also quite common for outsiders to come to the campus during breaks to sell drugs to the students.

The thought of such happenings as Columbine or Virginia Tech are terrifying, but those types of rampages can occur on any campus, he said. Dealers carry weapons to protect themselves and their drugs.

“You’ve got to watch out,” Pait told the class. “Bullets have no name.”