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Older college students are more likely to drink and drive than younger ones, probably because they have more access to cars, according to a new study from the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

• Amelia Arria and her colleagues tracked 1,253 students through their four-year college careers.
• They found that although freshman drink more than upperclassmen, students who are over 20 years old are more likely to drive while intoxicated and to be passengers in cars with drunk drivers.
• 25 percent of the 21-year-olds said they had driven drunk, compared to 20 percent of 20-year-olds.

"Our findings call into question the assertion of some advocates who claim that lowering the drinking age to 18 would be a useful strategy for reducing harm associated with alcohol consumption," Arria wrote in a report published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
 

Labels: drinking, driving

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments

One in five high school students has abused prescription drugs, 37 percent have tried marijuana, and 75 percent have tried alcohol, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The prescription drugs most frequently abused were OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax, and Ritalin. OxyContin is a powerful painkiller usually prescribed to cancer patients.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control said that the teenagers' drug and alcohol use was linked to the four main causes of death among that age group, which are car accidents, unintentional injury, homicide, and suicide.

In addition, a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that on an average day, more than half a million teenagers drink alcohol, more than half a million use marijuana, more than 640,000 use illegal drugs, and more than one million smoke cigarettes.

The agency estimates that about 85,000 people under age 18 are receiving treatment for a substance abuse problem.
 

Labels: alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, teen drug abuse, substance use

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments

Television shows like “Intervention” have increased in popularity over the last few years. They tell stories of friends and family who, worried about a loved one’s drug or alcohol use, elicit the help of a professional to orchestrate a “family meeting” where the loved one is confronted and asked to get help.

When a [loved one’s] very health and well-being is in danger, sometimes the only option left to the family is a well-planned intervention …

Contact an alcohol and drug treatment professional with an established track record of successful interventions. Make a list of family members, friends, co-workers and employers to take part in the planning and intervention.” [Source: About.com]

Planning an effective intervention can take weeks, should be done with care, and should involve professional assistance. Your loved one should be treated with respect, and friends and family members should have treatment options readily available should the loved one agree to enter a treatment program. 

Most importantly, an intervention should never be planned without the help of a trained, experienced professional.

Labels: prevention, intervention

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

A growing body of evidence states that treating drug and alcohol abuse is more costly than treating cancer and obesity. In response to this evidence, Magellan Health Service has rolled out a national program aimed at substance abuse.

Magellan said medication-assisted treatment (MAT) intervention to battle substance use disorders has shown success in recent years in several trials in Texas and Georgia.

MAT relies on increasing the use of proven medications… to treat recovering abusers of alcohol and other drugs as part of an outpatient treatment program, Magellan said. [Source: Hartford Business Journal]

Magellan has made training available to treatment centers and other facilities that deal with substance and alcohol abuse. The company’s chief medical officer, Gary M. Henschen, M.D., says Magellan is confident that inclusion of medication into treatment programs will “help reduce relapse.”

Labels: treatment

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

Faulkner County, Arkansas, has passed a new ordinance making the purchase, sale and possession of K2 illegal. K2 is a synthetic version of marijuana that has become more prevalent in America in recent months.

K2, Spice and Solar Flare are name brands of the product, which is a combination of herbs and plant material covered with a synthetic substance that mimics the effects of marijuana. [Clay] Smith [from the Conway Police Department] said in the past six to eight months, the problems with K2 have "skyrocketed.."

[Smith] stated incident reports through the department include a teen running into a house during a K2-induced place out, and responses to seizures. [Source: The Cabin]

K2 is said to be ten times more powerful than marijuana and is much more dangerous. Under the new ordinance, anyone caught with K2 will be subject to up to one year of prison and up to a $1,000 fine.

Labels: marijuana, k2

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Every year, hundreds of people die from drug overdoses. Few of these individuals are alone when they overdose, but witnesses are sometimes reluctant to call for help, fearing they’ll face criminal charges for drug use.

That reluctance may be eased in the state of Washington thanks to legislative action.

Lawmakers, drug prevention specialists and health officials are hoping a new law, which takes effect [June 11], will help reduce the number of overdose deaths across the state [of Washington.]

The new legislation, dubbed the ‘911 Good Samaritan’ law is aimed at getting immediate medical aid to someone suffering from a drug overdose. The law grants limited immunity to people who call 911 to get help for anyone showing signs of an overdose. [Source: Washington Herald]

The new law states that evidence of drug possession that is found only as a result of a 911 call can’t be used to bring charges against anyone involved in the incident. Under the new law, doctors are also allowed to prescribe naloxone (a medication used to counter the effects of an opiate overdose) to anyone deemed likely to witness an overdose.

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

Dr. Barbara Sinor knows that stories are powerful. They can inspire hope in people who might otherwise give up. Nowhere is this truer than with people who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

“Barbara Sinor has created a ‘Big Book’ for the twenty-first century with twenty true stories of people dealing with addiction, undergoing recovery, and dealing with relapses. While pain and frustration fill many of these pages, so does enough hope to inspire any reader.” [Source: PR Web]

Interspersed with real-life stories are Dr. Sinor’s bits of advice and guidance for readers struggling with addiction themselves. Titled “Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery,” the book was published by Modern History Press and is available through most bookstores.

Labels: addiction, recovery

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

New research from Canada indicates that different types of drug rehab services for marijuana abuse should be used depending upon a number of factors related to the patient's drug history.

• Researchers from the University of Montréal and the Center for Addictions and Mental Health in Toronto divided 1300 marijuana users into four categories of abuse, based on frequency of use, reason for using the drug, and the age at onset of use.
• Those who began using the drug before age 16 years old, and who were using the drug daily had the highest risks to their health.
• However, the majority in the study were in frequent users of marijuana and had no major health risks.
• The researchers are "arguing for a differentiated approach that recognizes that some people have problems from cannabis use."

The study appears in the International Journal of Methods of Psychiatric Research.
 

Labels: marijuana

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments

Young men are more likely than young women to abuse alcohol or other drugs when their romantic relationships go bad, according to a new study from Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

• Dr. Robin Simon studied 1,611 men and women of college age, interviewing them twice in a two year period.
• Both genders reported depression when relationships were troubled.
• Males were more likely to abuse substances at those times.

"Simply being in a relationship may be more important for a woman's identity," said Dr. Simon. "Having a relationship is something that is emphasized constantly for women."

However, the strength of the relationship is helpful to men, and difficult times are particularly hard on them, she said.

"Part of our emotional culture is that men should not feel sad," she said. "While women are free to feel and express emotion, men turned to mood-altering substances to get rid of culturally inappropriate feelings."
 

Labels: binge drinking, relationships, mental health

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Abuse of prescription painkillers brought twice as many people to emergency rooms from 2004 to 2008, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

• The number of emergency visits linked to prescription painkillers increased from 144,644 in 2004 to 305,885 in 2008 -- an 111 percent increase.
• Oxycodone accounted for 105,214 visits, a 152 percent increase.
• Hydrocodone was the second most cited drug at 89,051 visits, followed by methadone with 63,629 visits (a 73 percent increase).
   

Labels: prescription-drug-abuse, painkillers

Posted By: Teen Drug Help 0 Comments

The brains of alcoholic individuals have to work harder in order for them to perform simple tasks, such as tapping the fingers, according to a new study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The study indicated that alcoholism may cause a lack of brain flexibility.

• Dr. Peter Martin and his colleagues asked ten people, who met the criteria for alcoholism to match up with ten 10 people who are normal drinkers.
• After each person was hooked up to an MRI machine which scans the brain, he or she was asked to tap their fingers according to white arrow on a TV screen.

"The alcoholic group work was not as consistent or accurate," Dr. Martin said. "They brought into play large additional parts of their brains to accomplish the task. They used a bulldozer to shovel a rosebush."

The MRI scans showed that the alcoholics activated all their brain regions, including areas that the other subjects did not use.

The study appeared in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
 

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

If you do not want your teenagers to drink too much, be a warm parent but make your children accountable to you, according to a major study from Brigham Young University.

Professor Stephan Bahr and his colleagues studied 5,000 people ages 12 to 19 years old to find out which teenagers are most at risk for binge drinking. Binge drinking means drinking five or more drinks in a row in one sitting.

"While parents did not have much of an effect on whether their teens tried alcohol, they can have a significant impact on the more dangerous type of drinking," said Dr. Bahr.

Parents who had warm relationships with their children, but yet insisted on knowing where their children were and who they were with, were least likely to have their teens binge drink. The friends of their children were less likely to drink at all.

Overly strict and overly indulgent parents did not fare as well. The ones who were high on warmth but unfocused on accountability, put their teens at a threefold risk for binge drinking. Those who were high on accountability but not warm toward their children had teens with twice the chances of becoming binge drinkers.

Advice to parents was to combine knowing what your children are doing when they are away from home with having warm loving relationships with them.

This research appeared in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
 

Labels: parental-involvement, binge drinking

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments