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At a Drug Awareness Community Meeting held this week in the small town of Graham, Texas, a veteran of the substance abuse treatment field gave parents a message. The speaker, Bill Coombs, has over 30 years of experience in substance abuse treatment and currently works counseling teens caught using alcohol or drugs. Mr. Coombs key statement to his audience: Parents must set and enforce boundaries to keep their children safe.

The job of a teen is to push the boundaries, thats what they do 24-7 & So whats the job of a parent? To set the boundaries and set them further back than theyre going to push. If you project on them that its OK to smoke marijuana but dont use meth, what do you think is going to happen? Theyre going to try the meth.

Mr. Coombs offered the following signs of teen drug use:

" Decline in grades
" Dropping extracurricular activities
" Frequently tired
" Frequently late or skipping school
" Becoming withdrawn of secretive
" Changing friends
" Extreme mood swings
" Preoccupation with drug of choice, such as clothes or jewelry that symbolize drug of choice
" Being out of place
" Becoming violent
" Weight loss

The veteran counselor also stressed the importance for parents of not only understanding the signs and symptoms of drug use in their own children, but also understanding the long-term consequences of drug use. Drug use ultimately affects everyone in the community, not just those who engage in the behavior. Children, teens, adults, families, and the community suffer the consequences. Drug use leads to fragmented families, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, overburdened community services, crime, unemployment, and health problems. (Source: The Graham Leader Online)

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A new national study from Brigham Young University indicates that religiosity makes teens less likely to use marijuana, to smoke cigarettes, and to engage in heavy drinking. The study, published on October 13, 2008, in the Journal of Drug Issues purports to settle a long-disputed question among researchers.

The study found that the same was not true for strong illicit drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Researchers explain this discrepancy as a matter of social norms. BYU sociology professor and study co-author Stephen Bahr says, There are pretty strong social norms against illicit drugs throughout society, so even if you aren't religious, you receive many messages against illicit drugs. But that may be less so for drinking, smoking and even using marijuana, which tend to be strongly opposed by many religious groups.

The study uses the term religiosity to indicate participation in an organized religion, but not any one denomination. The study found that religiosity reduced the influence of peers, which can be a powerful risk factor. In addition, the study found that simply growing up in a religious family or community was not sufficient to reduce risk. Individual participation in religion by teens was what produced significant differences. (Source: ScienceDaily)

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A new study suggests that the federal governments $1 billion anti-marijuana campaign, which is targeted at young people, may be ineffective. The study, released this month by the University of Pennsylvanias Annenberg School of Communication, found that teens who specifically said they were exposed to the ads were no less likely to use marijuana.

In fact, the study found evidence that the anti-drug campaign has had the reverse effect for some youth. Teens who recalled seeing 12 or more ads per month were more likely to start using marijuana than those who had seen fewer messages per month. Study authors think that youth who are repeatedly exposed to images of their peers using marijuana may assume that marijuana use is typical or normal.

The ad campaign was started in the late 1990s, as a project of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, supervised by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The campaign, which is designed to reach 12- to 18-year-olds, has been waged via television and movie theater commercials, websites, and other forums. According to the study, 94% of youth surveyed reported being exposed to these messages, at an average rate of two to three messages per week.

Tom Riley, spokesman for the ONDCP, countered the studys conclusion by saying the ads included in the study ended four years ago and the campaign has evolved significantly since then. Riley points to a steady decline in youth marijuana use in recent years as proof of the campaigns success. Study authors agree that there has been a decline in marijuana use by youth, but argue that they could not find evidence that the governments campaign contributed to it.

Although the effectiveness of the government campaign is in question, a separate annual study has recorded a steady decline in marijuana use among youth between 1997 and 2007. The national Monitoring the Future Study found that since the late 1990s, marijuana use has fallen at least 20% among 7th, 8th, and 12th graders. (Source: ABC News)

Labels: marijuana

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Until recently, it was thought that the worst thing that could happen to young people who drink alcohol is the risk of accidents or injury  and a bad hangover. But new research about the developing mind suggests that there may be more serious issues that result from alcohol use during childhood.

Researchers have found that brain development is not finished within the first few years of life, but continues to undergo refinement in several important regions at least into a persons early twenties. Introducing alcohol during this developmental stage may cause permanent damage.

Extensive studies comparing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brains of adolescents 14 to 21 years old who had abused alcohol with a similar population of those who did not drink showed significant differences. One of the most startling results was that the drinkers had, on average, a 10 percent smaller hippocampus.

The hippocampus is a part of the brain that helps us not only to file away memories but also to connect these memories to other related memories in order to give them meaning. This kind of unconscious recognition is crucial for reasoning and learning. In fact, studies have shown that alcohol damage to the hippocampus during the adolescent years results in problems with vocabulary and visual-spatial learning. Furthermore, those with this type of damage perform poorly in school, often falling behind and experiencing social problems, depression, and even suicidal thoughts as a result.

Alcohol ingestion during adolescence can also damage the prefrontal area of the brain. This is an area that is often called the CEO of the brain because it helps us to sort through conflicting thoughts and make decisions based upon what is socially acceptable or what is the best thing to do in a certain situation. The prefrontal area of the brain plays an important part in the formation of adult personality and behavior.

Many experts believe that those who drink frequently during the period of time that the brain is developing may never catch up with important learning and emotional and social growth that is missed due to alcohol use.

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An Australian teenager begged friends to get her help, but they delayed 3 hours before calling an ambulance, even though she was "blue"and struggling to breath. She was dead before the ambulance arrived.

The teens were participating in a "pharm party" - these are parties where teens often toss any pills or drugs they have into a bowl. The teens then reach in and grab a bunch of the pills, often washing them down with alcohol. This highly dangerous game is popular among teens in the United States as well.

Now two years later, during an inquest into the teen's death, one teenager reported that he wanted to call an ambulance, but the other teens talked him out of it. They were afraid the police would become involved.

One youth claimed it was "not my party, not my house, not my call."

Drug Rehab information

Labels: drugs, drug overdose, addiction, pharm parties

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By Hugh C. McBride

A new line of alcoholic drinks is making underage drinking easier and more attractive. ShotPaks, which were launched in January 2007, are laminated foil packages that contain 50 milliliters  about 1.7 ounces  of alcohol (either 34 proof cocktails or 80 proof spirits). The cocktail ShotPaks feature vodka mixed with lemon, sour apple, raspberry, or sweet and sour flavorings. The lines Str8up label (for the non-text-messengers among us, thats pronounced straight up) includes similarly sized pouches of unmixed vodka, rum, tequila, and whiskey.
Though the manufacturers website heralds the products packaging as an eco-friendly means of enhancing consistency and security, critics have noted that, among other concerns, a ShotPak looks a lot like the juice pouches that have become a school-lunch staple in recent decades.

As Los Angeles Times staff writer Jerry Hirsch reported in an Aug. 12 article titled Taking Shots at ShotPak, whats inside the package may be just as objectionable as the way the products are being sold.

Combining vodka with raspberry drinks & and calling it a party in a pouch. Who are they appealing to? Dr. Michael Brody of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry asked Hirsch. This isnt the kind of thing adults drink.

THE NEWEST ALCOPOP

For years, critics of the alcohol industry have voiced objections over what they call alcopops  sweetened alcohol beverages that opponents say are aimed at young drinkers who may be put off by the harsh taste of beer, wine, or liquor.

Industry representatives have consistently denied targeting underage drinkers, but a study released by the nonprofit health advocacy organization Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reported that alcopops like Bacardi Breezers, Mikes Hard Lemonade, and Hoopers

Hooch are quite popular among those who are too young to legally drink alcohol:
· 41 percent of teens 14 to 18 surveyed by CSPI said they have tried an alcopop.
· 90 percent of the teens told CPSI that drinking the sweeter drinks make it more likely that teenagers will try other alcoholic beverages.
· Among teens ages 14 to 16, alcopops are twice as popular as beer or mixed drinks.
· More than 50 percent of the teens who were questioned cited the products sweet taste, the disguised taste of alcohol, and their easy-to-drink character as primary reasons why they prefer alcopops to beer, wine, or cocktails.
· 90 percent of teens and 76 percent of adults believe that companies who make alcoholic beverages that taste like lemonade are doing so in an attempt to lure young drinkers.

Booze merchants formulate the products and the design of their labeling and packaging specifically to appeal to people who dont like the taste of alcohol, which includes teenagers, CSPIs director for alcohol policy, George Hacker, said during the May 2001 press conference that announced the surveys results.

Alcopops are gateway drugs that ease young people into drinking and pave the way to more traditional alcoholic beverages, said Hacker, who was quoted in a release that was posted on the Alcohol Policies Project website.

'PARTY IN A POUCH

Alcohol manufacturers and distributors shy away from the kid-friendly alcopop label, opting instead to describe products like ShotPak as belonging to the single serve ready to drink category. Though industry spokespeople may prefer sterile terminology, the ShotPak marketing team is much more colorful.

The primary pitch to potential ShotPak consumers is that the product is A Party in a Pouch. This tagline is displayed prominently on the ShotPak website (alongside rotating images of the eight varieties that are currently available and the invitation to Mix with Your Friends). On the products MySpace page, the primary photo is a neck-to-thigh image of a woman with a bare midriff and a Purple Hooter (raspberry-vodka combination) ShotPak in her front pocket.

Until recently, the MySpace photo was also featured on the ShotPak website itself  but in April 2008, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States cited the company for violating the trade groups advertising standards.

The companys official stance is that they are pitching their product to the 25+ market segment known as the Millennial Generation or Generation Y who have busy lifestyles. Their parents are teaching them the more sophisticated style of consumption.

But observers such as Hacker believe that ShotPaks marketing efforts put the lie to this corporate claim. Images of these packs stuffed in jeans pockets can give kids the wrong idea. It turns this into an alcoholic candy bar, he told Hirsch for the reporters Aug. 12 Times article.
A post on the Choose Responsibility website echoes Hackers sentiments, noting that the real danger is that the small size and sweet taste of ShotPaks make them tasty, easily concealable and, in other words, very appealing to underage drinkers. By helping to push drinking more undercover, ShotPaks make binge drinking even harder to monitor amongst both underage and of-age drinkers.

SPREADING THE WORD

The concerns raised by CSPI, Choose Responsibility, and other advocacy organizations have yet to make a measureable dent in ShotPaks sales performance.

On his blog, R. Charles Murray (chief executive officer of the corporation that owns ShotPak, Inc.) reported that ShotPak case sales increased dramatically between the first six months of 2007 when the product was introduced into the marketplace and the same period the following year. And if Murrays public writings are any indication, the company doesnt plan to be shy in its efforts to spread the word about ShotPaks:

It is well documented that companies that continued to be aggressive in sales and marketing during economic downturns also made sure they stayed in sight and top of mind with their customers, consumers and prospects in order to be successful, Murray wrote in a July 23 entry. Our philosophy & has always been publicize, advertise or we perish! The next quarter we are placing more marketing dollars into initiatives that have direct and measurable numbers impact.

ShotPak is hardly alone in its aggressive efforts to court new customers  but because young people are such voracious consumers of popular media, they may be disproportionately affected by alcohol advertising.

According to Georgetown Universitys Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, the amount of alcohol advertising children and teenagers saw on television increased by 41 percent between 2001 and 2005. And the Alliance on Underage Drinking has reported that magazine readers who arent old enough to legally drink alcohol see 45 percent more beer ads and 27 percent more liquor ads than individuals over the age of 21 do.

KEEPING KIDS SAFE

Media specialists advise parents to help their children fend off this onslaught of media-delivered pressure to drink alcohol by limiting their screen time (television and Internet), monitoring the media they use, and engaging them in conversations about the messages (and the motives behind these messages) that companies are attempting to convey through their advertisements.

According to the Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base, parents who suspect that their children have already begun to experiment with alcohol or other drugs should be on the lookout for the following signs:

Severe drops in grades
Withdrawals from extracurricular activities and increased absences from school
Mood swings and abnormal sleeping patterns
Secretive behavior and changes in friends
Changes in appearance and reduced attention to personal hygiene

As is true of almost every challenge related to raising healthy and well-adjusted children, constant vigilance and continued education remain parents best resources in the effort to keep their teenagers away from alcohol and other dangerous drugs.

Related sites:

Teen Over the Counter Drug Abuse

Labels: shotpaks, alcopops, shotpacks

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