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New research from the University of Valencia (UV) indicates that exposure to ecstasy (MDMA) or cocaine during adolescence may increase vulnerability to addiction in adulthood.

José Miñarro, lead author of the study and coordinator of the Psychobiology of Drug Addiction group at UV, commented: "Although MDMA and cocaine are psychoactive substances frequently used by teenagers, very few studies have been done to analyse the short and long-term consequences of joint exposure to these drugs."

Miñarro and colleagues studied the joint consumption of different drugs in order to examine any interactive effects. Over an eight-day period, the researchers administered MDMA, cocaine and saline solution to adolescent mice.

According to Miñarro, "The animals exhibited an increase in vulnerability to re-establishing behaviour (relapse), showing a preference for certain environments previously associated with the pleasant effects of the drug."

The results of the study emphasize that "reinforcing effects" are more prominent in mice exposed to cocaine and MDMA in adolescence than in mice not exposed to these drugs during adolescence.

As Miñarro explained, "Adolescence is a critical stage in development, during which time drug consumption affects plastic cerebral processes in ways that cause changes that persist right through to adulthood."

(Source: sciencedaily.com)

Labels: cocaine, ecstasy, drug addiction

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 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

Massachusetts now has three "sobriety-intensive" schools to help students who have drug or alcohol dependencies. Students not only take academic classes, they also attend counseling sessions and are required to be tested for drugs and alcohol once a week.

Will Luzier, director of the Governor's Interagency Council on Substance Abuse said the state needs more such schools, even though they are expensive.

Nationwide, there has been a 400% increase in the number of people over age 12 years old admitted to treatment programs for addiction to pain medications in the past few years. One study found that 26% of high school students in Massachusetts were offered, sold or given drugs on the grounds of their schools.

For students who don't have access to public-funded sober schools, a private residential boarding school for teens with drug and alcohol problems may be answer.
 

Labels: drug addiction, alcoholism, teens, schools

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment