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Teens in the Reno, Nev., area report high levels of suicide, sexual activity and drug use, according to a recent youth risk behavior survey conducted by Washoe County School District officials. The district released the results of the survey tand called for action by the entire community.

According to the study, the number of students considering suicide is on the rise (from 8.6 percent in 2001 to 14.6 percent in 2009); more than half of the district's students have had sex; and almost one-quarter of students reported coming to class high.

District Board of Trustees President Barbara Clark said at a morning news conference: "Many of our children come to school each day facing challenges to be ready and willing to learn. We want to make sure our parents and community know what our children are facing so we can work on these issues together."

The survey was based on questions created by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and involved a sampling of 1,844 middle school students and 1,727 high school students.

(Source: www.rgj.com)

Labels: sex, drug-use, suicide

Posted By: Teen Drug Help 0 Comments

A study in the journal Pediatrics reports evidence that parents can negatively or positively influence whether their children become smokers. In particular, parents may play a large role in determining whether their adolescent children progress from experimenting with cigarettes in the eighth grade to daily smoking by the 12th grade.

The study included 270 adolescents who had begun smoking by the eighth grade but who were not yet daily smokers at that time. Of the participants, 156 (58 percent) became daily smokers by the 12th grade.

Min Jung Kim, a research scientist with the University of Washington's Social Development Research Group and lead author of the study, commented on the findings:

"If parents smoke, teens have more access to cigarettes than teens who have non-smoking parents. A second preventive measure for smoking parents is to quit smoking themselves ... If parents really don't want their children to smoke they need to communicate that by establishing clear guidelines in their families about not smoking and discuss them with their school-age children."

(Source: insciences.org)

Labels: teen smoking, parents, smoking

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

One in 10 high school seniors has used a narcotic painkiller for non-medical reasons, according to a study by the Substance Abuse Research Center of the University of Michigan.

• Researchers collected data on opioid use among 12,441 American high school seniors to find out whether they used opioids and their reasons for using.
• Approximately 12.3 percent of students reported using opioids for non-medical reasons, and 8 percent reported using them within the last year.
• The top reasons reported by students for using opioids recreationally included to relax (56.4 percent), to feel good or get high (53.5 percent) and to experiment (52.4 percent)
• Additional reasons included to relieve physical pain (44.8 percent), or to have a good time with friends (29.5 percent).
• The study also found that students who used opioids only to relieve pain were less likely to drink or use other drugs.

Dr. Adam Bisaga, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and addiction psychiatrist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, stated that more than 90 percent of participating students reported using opioids for reasons other than to treat pain.

"That is, for their psychoactive effects, either to achieve euphoria or to relieve psychological distress. Not surprisingly, those who use opioids for their psychoactive effects were more likely to use other substances with addictive potential and show early signs of substance use disorder."

(Source: usnews.com)

Labels: high school kids, narcotic painkillers

Posted By: Teen Drug Help 0 Comments

According to a report from the federal ONDCP (Office on National Drug Control Policy), many teens use marijuana to self-medicate for depressive symptoms, but the drug use may be compounding the problem.

A recent study found that female teenagers who use marijuana are more likely to develop depression that those who do not. In addition, teens suffering from depression are more likely to engage in other high-risk behaviors like cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol use.

Dr. Drew Pinsky, addiction expert and host of VH1's television series "Celebrity Rehab" was interviewed for a recent article on the study. Dr. Pinsky said, "Don't be fooled into thinking that pot is harmless. ... Marijuana is an addictive drug. Teens who are already depressed and use marijuana may increase their odds of suffering from even more serious mental health problems."

Nora D. Volkow, M. D., Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse weighed in on the issue, saying "There is also some evidence that in vulnerable teens-because of genetic factors-the abuse of marijuana can trigger a schizophreniform [a serious mental] disorder."

(Source: living.oneindia.in)

Labels: addiction, teen-marijuana-abuse, teen-depression

Posted By: Contributor 0 Comments

Martha Hernandez was 17 when she died recently from a simultaneous alcohol and drug overdose. In the weeks leading up to her death, there were signs that something wasn’t right. Groups like Richmond Addiction Services (RAS) in Canada want parents to know that a child doesn’t have to be addicted to be in trouble.

Some teens are too young to have formed an addition. That doesn’t mean their drug and alcohol use isn’t dangerous, as has been underscored with the deaths of Hernandez and her friend, Kayla Lalonde, both of whom died within a few hours of each other after consuming fatal amounts of booze and drugs. [Source: Richmond News]

Neither girl would have been diagnosed an “addict,” but deadly consequences can result from the misuse of drugs or alcohol whether the person is addicted or not.

Labels: alcohol abuse, drug addiction, substance use, awareness

Posted By: Teen Drug Help 0 Comments

Individuals who regularly binge drink are at a significantly higher risk of acquiring an addiction that necessitates substance abuse treatment. Additionally, recent findings show that it seriously elevates an individual's chances of developing heart disease.

For years, doctors have known that excessive drinking contributes to poor heart health. However, they were unsure of the role that drinking patterns play in the condition. To examine this, the research team from Toulouse University studied the impact of drinking in France and Belfast.

Residents of both locations tend to consume similar levels of alcohol throughout the week. However, in Belfast, alcohol is mostly consumed in large quantities on the weekends, while in France, it is consumed moderately throughout the week.

After examining participants' drinking patterns and heart health for a period of 10 years, researchers found that individuals who were binge drinkers had twice the risk of heart attack or death from heart disease than individuals who consumed alcohol in moderation. The majority of binge drinkers were in Belfast.

Researchers said that the type of drink may also impact heart risk. In France, most people drink wine, while in Belfast and many other areas of the world most people drink beer
 

Labels: binge drinking

Posted By: Staff Writer 1 Comment

According to the Reuters news service, new research has revealed a rise in drug-related deaths (including both prescription medications and illicit substances) throughout the United States.

The researchers who discovered the increases in drug-related deaths based their study on data that had been collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. The researchers were able to calculate the percentages of individual from different age groups and races who died as a result of accidental poisonings.

According to the researchers, accidental poisonings due to drug overdoses during the first decade of the 21st century were more than 10 times higher than they were in the late 1960s.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that in 2009, about 7 million people were users of pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives - all for nonmedical purposes.

Individuals who feel they have developed a dependence on prescription medication may want to seek substance abuse help from a drug rehab center.
 

Labels: death, overdose

Posted By: Staff Writer 1 Comment

Teenage students from Montana's Helena High School are working together in an effort to promote greater understanding about the effects of drug and alcohol use among their peers

According to the 2009 Monitoring the Future survey, nearly 44 percent of high school seniors reported consuming alcohol in the previous 30 days.

According to a report in the Independent Record newspaper, eight Helena High students are raising money to travel to teh National Youth Leadership Institute in Washington D.C.  The students' goal is to develop problem-solving skills that they can teach to fellow students.

“As I got into high school, I started seeing my friends and classmates making the same decisions [with alcohol],” sophomre Amy Heldt said in the Independent Record article. “So the reason dearest to my heart in going on this [trip] is to learn ways to prevent this from happening again.”


 

Labels: substance use, awareness

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment