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Teens from Douglas High School in Roseburg, Oregon, have started a new and very active group to promote anti-drug messages in the community. Teens Against Drug Abuse (TADA) is comprised of high school students dedicated to promoting drug- and alcohol-free activities and educational opportunities for local youth. The organization also facilitates youth leadership and community involvement. Since its founding in February 2009, the group has developed a board of directors and implemented weekly meetings. TADA members will be receiving training to provide prevention awareness services to local students.

One of the group's planned community activities is a graffiti contest. The winner of the contest will paint a mural on a local park pavilion. TADA hopes that facilitating youth-painted murals will help eliminate destructive youth graffiti around the town. The competition will consist of 20 stations, each with a sheet of plywood. Participants, ages 13 to 19, will paint one side of the plywood with an anti-drug message. A panel of community members will judge the results.

(Source: www.nrtoday.com)

Labels: teen drug abuse, teens, graffiti

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Teens may get addicted to drugs and relapse more easily than adults because their still-developing brains respond more powerfully to drug-related cues, according to recent research. The research, conducted by McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School's largest psychiatric facility, appeared in the April issue of Behavioral Neuroscience.

The research, which utilized adolescent and adult rats, found that adolescent rats were significantly more persistent than adults in returning to the same spot where they had first received a dose of a drug. Given these findings, researchers believe that treating adolescent addiction "may require atypical strategies for drug abuse intervention during the adolescent period, such as extended treatment that involves substitution with different rewards, for example, exercise or music."

Researchers suggest that "Harnessing their acute ability to learn well and form strong associations with stimuli that predict rewards may be helpful. ... In addition, it may be important to realise that adolescents might need longer treatment programs."

(Source: www.scientistslive.com)

Labels: addiction, teens

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A new study from the University of Minnesota indicates that fatalistic attitudes among teens are linked to risky behaviors. The study, which was based on surveys of more than 20,000 middle and high school students between 1995 and 2000, found that teens who engaged in risky behaviors such as drug use, fighting, and unsafe sex were more likely to believe that they would die young than those who didn't.

Pediatrician and study researcher Iris Borowsky, MD, PhD, of the University of Minnesota commented: "The conventional wisdom has been that teens underestimate their risk, but there are also studies showing that they are no worse than adults at perceiving their vulnerability to risk and that they tend to overestimate their risk of dying."

(Source: www.webmd.com)

Labels: teens, high risk behavior

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A recent study conducted in Frederick County, Maryland, shows that teens are less likely to use cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin than they were three years ago. However, use of easily accessible drugs has increased. Alcohol remains the preferred intoxicant. Experts believe this is due, in part, to easy accessibility.

Brett Stark, Frederick County schools curriculum specialist for health and physical education, who coordinates drug prevention programs, commented, "Alcohol has appeared to be of the highest abuse for our students. ... It fits among the categories of drugs that are easily accessible."

In addition, a greater number of teens are using prescription drugs, which are also easily accessible. Seniors reported using barbiturates, narcotics, and Ritalin more than in 2004. Todd Crum, a prevention supervisor with the Frederick County Health Department, commented about this trend, "An increase in any substance is of concern ... due to their availability, prescription use is a concern. And when used in combination with other substances, the cause for concern becomes even greater. ... Not following the instructions on the label or using a medication not prescribed to the user can result in significant health concerns." (Sources: www.gazette.net)

Labels: drugs, teens, availability

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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

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