Hillsborough County Is Mirroring A Montana Anti-Drug Campaign, "Meth Not Even Once," Targeted Toward Teens TAMPA - Three teenage girls sit on a bed giggling. It looks like an innocent after school hangout - except for the mirror with lines of white powder and a pipe. A younger sister sits in the corner and looks on with unease as one of the teens turns to the camera and says, "I'm gonna try meth just once." After a series of "just once" scenarios, the television spot ends with a young woman passed out in bed, her face and lips covered in sores, scabs and scratches. [continues 945 words]
NEW YORK -- A RECENT SURVEY by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, based at at Columbia University, found that increasing numbers of young people were prone to abuse alcohol along with several kinds of drugs, including prescription drugs, at parties and other social gatherings. Worse yet, the study found that most parents had no clue about such activities, even those who were at home during many of these parties. As parents open their eyes to this reality, they must also know that the intentional abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs to get high has quickly established itself as a serious new tier of teen substance abuse, one that deserves great attention and their immediate action. [continues 441 words]
A recent Government Accountability Office report on anti-drug advertising comes at a time when drug use among teens has declined by 19% over the past four years ("Anti-drug advertising campaign a failure, GAO report says," News, Aug. 29). Ads alone are not the silver bullet when it comes to warning young people about the dangers of drug abuse. Rather, they work in concert with preventive messages teens get from their parents, in school and elsewhere. We do know that advertising can and does play a vital role. [continues 157 words]
Event a Response to Arrests in 'Operation Painkiller'and 20 Deaths in County MENDHAM -- Morris County and federal law enforcement officials are sponsoring a drug awareness summit for parents, educators and service providers on Sept. 20 at the Daytop New Jersey substance abuse facility in Mendham. The "Parents-In-Partnership" summit was conceived in the wake of drug arrests made July 27 as part of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office's "Operation Painkiller." Some 60 young adults -- mostly from the communities of Hanover, East Hanover and Florham Park -- were charged with possessing or conspiring to sell the painkiller Oxycodone, which Prosecutor Michael M. Rubbinaccio identified as "a gateway drug" to harder narcotics like heroin. [continues 249 words]
There was a reason to celebrate last Tuesday. Many local organizations -- including police departments, county and city offices, media outlets, schools and businesses -- were honored with an award from the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy, the Partnership for a Drug-Free Iowa and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America for the work they've done to stem the flow of illegal drug use and sales in the Gateway area. But the work is far from over, because while meth labs numbers are decreasing in the state, Iowa still has a high number of drug-affected child abuse cases and the state is above the national average for meth use and binge drinking. And although the number of meth lab incidents is down, the state is seeing more foreign meth or meth imported from other countries to fill the void of what was being produced in the U.S. Locally, several members of the New Directions Board of Directors expressed concerns about the challenges facing the Gateway area in the fight against drugs. [continues 238 words]
A recent survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that increasing numbers of young people are prone to abuse alcohol along with several kinds of drugs, including prescription drugs, at parties and other social gatherings. Worse yet, the study found that most parents had no clue about such activities, even those who were at home during many of these parties. As parents open their eyes to this reality, they must also know that the intentional abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs to get high has quickly established itself as a serious new tier of teen substance abuse, one that deserves great attention and their immediate action. [continues 475 words]
Drug Czar Disputes Results of Study WASHINGTON -- A $1.4 billion anti-drug advertising campaign conducted by the U.S. government since 1998 does not appear to have helped reduce drug use and instead might have convinced some youths that taking illegal drugs is normal, the Government Accountability Office says. The GAO report, released Friday, urges Congress to stop the White House's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign unless drug czar John Walters can come up with a better strategy. President Bush's budget for 2007 asks Congress for $120 million for the campaign, a $20 million increase from this year. [continues 391 words]
A recent survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that increasing numbers of young people were prone to abuse alcohol along with several kinds of drugs, including prescription drugs, at parties and other social gatherings. Worse yet, the study found that most parents had no clue about such activities, even those at home during many of these parties. As parents open their eyes to this reality, they must also know that the intentional abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs to get high has quickly established itself as a serious new tier of teen substance abuse, one that deserves great attention and their immediate action. [continues 374 words]
ONDCP's Latest Spots Are Tagged, 'Above the Influence.' WASHINGTON - A Government Accountability Office probe of the White House's anti-drug media campaign has found that the $1 billion-plus spent on the effort so far has not been effective in reducing teen drug use. The report recommends that Congress limit funding until the Office of National Drug Control Policy "provides credible evidence of a media campaign approach that effectively prevents and curtails youth drug use." The report comes at a time when Congress is poised to take up the anti-drug media campaign budget when it returns from its recess. The campaign's current budget is $99 million, the lowest since the effort began in 1998. ONDCP has asked for $120 million next year. The Senate agrees with that amount, but the House has recommended $100,000. [continues 743 words]
Ads equating addiction with a disease provoke strong response In the 20 years since a woman cracked an egg into a hot skillet while saying, "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs," science has made great strides in understanding just how illicit drugs fry the mind. The nonprofit group responsible for the iconic anti-drug campaign also has evolved with a provocative message that drug addiction is a disease worse than cancer, diabetes and AIDS. "It'd be better if I had cancer, then you wouldn't tell me what I'm going through is just a phase," says a shirtless man in a new public service announcement. "You wouldn't see my condition as a lack of willpower, but the disease that it truly is." [continues 932 words]
Think you know about addiction? Then these common myths may sound familiar: Myth 1: Drug addiction is voluntary behavior. You start out occasionally using alcohol or other drugs, and that is a voluntary decision. But as times passes, something happens, and you become a compulsive drug user. Why? Because over time, continued use of addictive drugs changes your brain - in dramatic, toxic ways at times, more subtly at others, but virtually always in ways that result in compulsive and even uncontrollable drug use. [continues 847 words]
When it comes to our kids, it can seem like there's something new to be concerned about every day. Stress, overwork and "overprogramming." MySpace, with its peer meanness and adult predators. Growing up way too fast. Threats most of us never encountered at their age. Now, there's a new one: prescription drug abuse. A major study released a few weeks ago by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America found that one in five American teenagers have misused prescription painkillers. [continues 516 words]
Prescription Pill-Popping Parties Are Increasing Among Youth Drug counselors across the United States are beginning to hear about pill-popping parties, which are part of a rapidly developing underground culture that surrounds the increasing abuse of prescription drugs by teens and young adults. It's a culture with its own lingo: Bowls and baggies of random pills often are called "trail mix," and collecting pills from the family medicine chest is called "pharming." Pharm parties are "simply everyone pooling whatever pills they have together and having a good time on a Saturday night. Kids ... don't think about the consequences," said Carol Falkowski, director of research communications for the Hazelden Foundation. Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force Capt. Bruce Myers said he doesn't know of any type of prescription medication not being abused in Licking County. He said Percocet commonly is abused. [continues 423 words]
A three-month Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found that methamphetamine's grip on the Truckee Meadows has become a stranglehold. What parents should look for # Negative changes in schoolwork, missing school or declining grades. # Increased secrecy about possessions or activities. # Use of incense, room deodorant or perfume to hide smoke or chemical odors. # Subtle changes in conversations with friends, being more secretive, using "coded" language. # New friends. # Change in clothing choices -- new fascination with clothes that highlight drug use. [continues 413 words]
A three-month Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found that methamphetamine's grip on the Truckee Meadows has become a stranglehold. The "mom-and-pop" meth lab seems to be going the way of all mom-and-pop operations of the past: the gas station, the hardware store and the grocery. According to local law enforcement, whereas meth cooks once learned the recipe from family members or sold it for more drugs, Mexican-based drug-trafficking organizations now rule the meth trade in Nevada, producing pounds of high-quality crystal methamphetamine in superlabs in California and Mexico and slipping the drug across the border. [continues 1820 words]
The battles are waged on streets, in classrooms, and in political circles, hospitals and at the dinner table. The fight against heroin relies on a network of people: Police officers. Educators. Elected officials. Medical professionals. Moms and dads. The mission has multiple goals: reducing the amount of drugs coming into Berkshire County; changing the nonchalant attitudes about abuse; helping the one person who previously might have been unreachable; and eliminating the stigma that drugs only affect society's downtrodden. And most importantly, it's remembering that the fight isn't just about heroin and other opioids, including the prescription painkiller OxyContin. The battle starts with discussions about alcohol and focuses on getting young people to think about substance abuse as an unacceptable choice for the body. [continues 2314 words]
Sam is visiting his doctor and suffering from respiratory problems. But what he doesn't know is that he has moved into a house where methamphetamine was cooked. The public service announcement concludes: "So, who has the drug problem now? Find out how meth affects you at drugfree.org/meth." It seems everywhere you turn, the headlines in the newspaper or on television feature a story about methamphetamine. Meth grabs our attention because of its unique "secondhand" impact beyond the individual user. The manufacture and distribution of meth have been shown to cause significant damage to the environment and infrastructure of communities, and is a drain on community resources. [continues 881 words]
A national survey of high schoolers shows teens are using drugs and alcohol less than a decade ago, but there are increases in the use of marijuana, cocaine and in students selling or being sold drugs on school property. The survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that while fewer students are drinking alcohol, 43 percent are current drinkers and 74.3 percent have had alcohol. That number jumps to 76.5 percent in Ohio. Marijuana use has jumped from 31.3 percent in 1991 to 38.4 percent in 2005, although it's down from 47.2 percent in 1999. [continues 1400 words]
'Pharm Parties' Reflect New World of Drug Abuse -- and Introduce a Dangerous Misperception: Pharmaceuticals Are 'Safer' When a teenager in Jan Sigerson's office mentioned a "pharm party" in February, Sigerson thought the youth was talking about a keg party out on a farm. "Pharm," it turned out, was short for pharmaceuticals, such as the powerful painkillers Vicodin and OxyContin. Sigerson, program director for Journeys, a teen drug treatment program in Omaha, soon learned that area youths were organizing parties to down fistfuls of prescription drugs. Since February, several more youths at Journeys have mentioned that they attended pharm parties, Sigerson says. [continues 1909 words]
The "therapeutic ratio" of a drug compares the amount required to produce harmful effects with the amount required to provide benefit. The therapeutic ratio of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is about 2:1 -and even lower if your liver has been compromised by hepatitis or alcohol. An Extra-Strength Tylenol contains 500 milligrams of acetaminophen. The recommended daily maximum is eight pills -4,000 mg, or four grams. A person taking twice that much can incur severe liver damage -and people in pain sometimes lose perspective and gulp a handful. "Seven to eight grams a day for three or four days can be fatal," according to William M. Lee, MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. [continues 2036 words]
