“When you go off to college and to work, there’s a jungle, and you have to be able to survive it,” Brookhaven Police Officer Lisa Jackson told a JROTC class during an anti-drug presentation Tuesday.

Jackson and Keith Dickerson, with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s office, spoke to Col. Brenda Pullen’s Brookhaven High School JROTC classes about the host of illegal drugs made available to people their age. Both are members of the Southwest Mississippi Interjurisdictional Narcotics Enforcement Unit.

She said things could end badly when people make permanent decisions at such a young age.

“We’re here to give you the information you need to make the right decision,” she said.

Jackson and Dickerson made a point to address “spice,” a drug made from potpourri and acetone that has commonly been called “safe” or “legal” marijuana. The two officers shared that the drug is, in fact, unsafe and illegal.

They explained how, because of the way “spice” is made, each batch can be different leading to different reactions among different people.

Jackson spoke of people who started seeing hallucinations and how in emergency rooms she’d seen people who look like they’re having seizures but are really having muscle spasms due to the drug. Dickerson told a story of the 2013 murder of a Pike County man whose son acted under the influence of bath salts and starting eating his father’s face after the murder.

“The people who pay the highest price are parents,” Jackson said.

Being a parent herself, Jackson said that they are always hoping and praying their children are at the point where they fully understand the consequences of their actions when it comes to drugs.

She described how out of their love for children, parents sometimes become enablers of drug habits when they repeatedly get their child out of trouble. Jackson said that can start a cycle because the person begins to think they can get away with dangerous or illegal activity as long as their parents are bailing them out of trouble each time.

During the discussion, Jackson made it clear that if any of the students had questions or wanted to reach out for advice regarding situations they may be in they could approach herself or Dickerson.

“If you need help or want help, we’re here,” Jackson said. “We’re not here to condemn you.”