Drug abuse is on the rise among our nation’s youth. The two main drugs that have seen the highest increase in use are marijuana and prescription medications. The key to stopping long-term drug problems is to continue to try and educate youth and convince them not to even try drugs, alcohol and even cigarettes.

Native American Troubles

A national survey asking about use of alcohol and 9 drug classes, including marijuana, inhalants, heroin and prescription painkillers (2005-2008) revealed that there many problems. The study included youth ages 12 to 17.

About 37% of Native American teens reported using alcohol in the past year. Those numbers compare to other races in that 35 percent of whites and 32 percent of Hispanics, 31 percent of mixed race, 25 percent of blacks and 19 percent of Asians reported using alcohol.

With respect to drug use the survey found that about 31 percent of Native Americans used in the past year, compared with 23 percent of those who considered themselves mixed race and 20 percent of whites, the research found. About 19 percent of black, 18 percent of Hispanic teens and 12 percent of Asian teens said they used drugs in the past year.

Marijuana is still the drug of choice. Prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin have replaced inhalants as the second most commonly.

The study showed that about 8 in a hundred teens met the criteria for substance abuse disorder, which means their use escalated, caused legal problems or interfered with other activities.

It is not surprising that heroin users were the most-likely to form an addiction, but we all know marijuana use and abuse is quite addictive as well.

If you or someone you care about has a drug or alcohol issues please seek help immediately. There are also online drug and alcohol classes and minor in possession classes too.

source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-15/black-and-asian-teens-have-lowest-rates-of-drug-and-alcohol-use.html

As scary as it sounds, our nation’s middle schoolers are in great need of drug classes. Kids are becoming exposed more regularly to more drugs than ever before. I certainly recall a few of my middle school friends trying marijuana with maybe 25% experimenting with alcohol.

Things have changed. Now marijuana is prevalent in middle school with harder drugs like cocaine, crystal meth and designer drugs like bath salts and Night Lights.

Night Lights

Middle Scholars’ knowledge of the synthetic drugs is surprising to law enforcement officers. When speaking to middle school classes about a drug called “Night Lights”, everyone knows what he's talking about - except the teacher.

This is a critical issue. There are very few adults and parents familiar with the synthetic drugs on the market. Do you know what Night Lights are? They are red capsules filled with a white powder that mimics the psychedelic designer drug ecstasy.

Real Story

Late last month, two men were charged with ingesting synthetic drugs after one of them went on a drug-induced rampage with his car in the Cabela's parking lot after smoking synthetic marijuana. He damaged several vehicles and the outside of the store. The driver in the Cabela's incident told him that ingesting the synthetic compound was a "nightmarish" experience.

Kids call these ‘fake drugs,' so that makes them think it's not as dangerous as real marijuana because it's fake.

Synthetic drugs available in this area generally fall into two categories: synthetic cannabis and synthetic cathinones, which is a manmade version of the outlawed khat plant.

Why They Can be Purchased Legally

Drug makers can quickly alter the chemical nature of any synthetic drug they design; changing it just enough to make sure it is not defined by an existing statute. That's why convenience stores, smoke shops and head shops still are able to legally sell synthetic products that are packaged and promoted as substitutes for marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine and other illegal drugs.

Makers of the synthetic products also circumvent federal laws by marketing them as products that are typically not intended for human consumption: bath salts, potpourri, incense, foot powder or jewelry cleaner, among other things.

The FDA needs to step in here. Don’t you think?

Even Night Light pills, which can sell for $14.99 each, will include the wording, "Not intended for human consumption," right below an enthusiastic description of the altered state of consciousness the product will induce.

Unfortunately, users have no way of knowing exactly what they are swallowing or smoking. There are at least 200 different forms of synthetic marijuana.

This reads like fiction. How can the government allow these synthetic drugs to exist? I have never been one for looking to the government for assistance. Parents and educators need to get on the ball. More drug classes are needed. These drug classes are necessary for both kids and parents.

Read more: http://rapidcityjournal.com

Few people will deny the musical gift of Pete Doherty. Gifts aside, Doherty is also a drug addict. His influence as a role model unfortunately caused the death of one of his biggest fans.

Terrifying Harbinger

Months before his death 18-year-old Freddy McConnel, a "boy genius" with an IQ of 144, wrote in his diary: "Peaches [Geldof] is coming over later and I am going to inject for the first time. Perhaps I will die. I hope I don't."

James McConnel, 53, Freddy’s father, fears drug abuse is "absolutely rife" in schools 

was found dead in his Battersea flat surrounded by syringes following five years of drug problems,.

McConnel has been very vocal and proactive in his efforts to stop drug abuse. Since the death of his child, many of Freddy’s peers have come to the elder McConnel to talk about how terrifying the problem really is.

Once his peer group experienced death so close, they became very frightened, and when they become frightened they talk. They have told him the ins and outs of what goes on with drugs in schools and it is terrifying. Older teenagers are selling younger teenagers of 13 or 14 ketamine, GBL and some of these hideous club drugs." 

He said he hopes the Government will recognize the need for early intervention otherwise he fears "a lot of lives will be ruined".  One in four 15-year-olds reported taking drugs last year according to official NHS Information Centre figures, and the figure is 12 per cent for all children between 11 and 15. 

A young person dying is always tragic. Perhaps some good can come from Freddy’s death. If his friends and peers warn another group so that even one more life can be saved then it will not have been a total loss.

Source: thisislondon.co.uk

Do you know someone who is addicted to prescription medication? Do you have an inkling you might know someone addicted to pain pills? The odds are strong that someone you know is addicted to pills.

Prescription drug abuse is especially easy to hide. Let’s face it, our country is now facing a new challenge that is literally tearing at the fabric of our neighborhoods. It is an epidemic we never saw coming, and we were unable to brace for its wrath. Prescription drug abuse is affecting all walks of our society. It is tearing apart our families; it is a major contributor to criminal activity and reaches across all sectors of our community.

Bold-Facing Figures!

There are two areas that especially concern me with respect to prescription abuse – child abuse and foster care.

The first sign of trouble was the discovery that approximately 30 percent of the children coming into foster care during this period was due to parental pain pill abuse. There was a significant increase of children entering the foster care system, primarily due to prescription abuse.

During this time, 70 percent of the children coming into foster care were attributed to prescription medication abuse. This is an alarming statistic.

To put it into perspective. this abuse indicator was higher than physical abuse, other forms of drug abuse, neglect and abandonment combined. These families are in chaos at the time an abuse report is investigated. Many of them have lost their jobs, are losing their homes, are experiencing significant family conflict and are now losing their children to foster care. Their addiction to pain medication is ruining lives and tearing apart families at a rate higher than we have ever seen in our community.

Every day more than seven people die in the State of Florida alone from prescription drug abuse! It’s shattering the lives of families and children. Let's not lose any more. Let’s have more drug classes and more funds used to prevent prescription medication abuse than jailing.

I think parents of every generation must think and say that “it is scary out there.” It seems like the drug and alcohol problems and the peer problems are worse now than they were when I was a kid. They seem much worse than in any time in my life.

My parents felt the same way about society when I was growing up. If this trend continues I hate to think about what it will be like when my grand-kids are growing up.

Back in my parents had to worry about booze and weed. The booze was usually low-alcohol beer and the weed benign by today’s standards.

Now kids are trying harder and harder drugs at younger and younger ages. Take the case involving a 14-year-old Anchorage, Alaska girl who overdosed after the man hosting a party injected her with heroin as reported by KTUU.com.

The word on the streets is that not only are a lot of young girls using drugs, they're using a wide variety of them.

The 14-year-old from this weekend's instance is still in critical condition after police say Sean Warner, 26, injected her with a very potent form of heroin, China-White, leaving her in very bad shape.

Paramedics found the girl face-down in her vomit. Police say she had meth, cocaine, and marijuana in her system, in addition to the heroin.

Again, a 14-year-old doing weed was the oddball in my childhood. My mom said in her day it was a 14-year-old smoking a cigarette. What will it be like a generation or two down the road? Think about that and then know we have to do something to stop the drug problems in our society. 

Let’s face it, we all want to keep our children safe and addiction free. But with the prevalence of drugs in society and peer pressure just how do we do that? I might like to recommend taking an alcohol drug class with your teen.

Forming a close relationship with your teenager might have its ups and downs, but research suggests open communication promotes individual decision-making, even if the talk is not all that agreeable.

Available through the journal Child Development, a new study states that teens who express their viewpoints with their mothers tend to resist the peer pressure to drink, smoke, and participate in drugs.

“The healthy autonomy [teens] established at home seemed to carry over into their relationships with peers,” explains Joseph Allen, lead author of the study and professor at the University of Virginia. Allen’s study also showed that teens with a good relationship with their parents typically avoided substance abuse as well.

Researchers talked with the parents and friends of over one-hundred-and-fifty teens ages 13, 15, and 16 as well as the adolescents individually in order to understand their interactions with substances, parents, friends, and peers. The study additionally analyzed their observed social etiquette while interacting.

Many who chose to abstain most from alcohol, tobacco, and other substances learned to “argue” with their mothers about everyday life topics like money, grades, house rules, and friends. In this case, arguing is defined as an educated debate hoping to persuade with reason and not whining, crying, or using explicit language.

Overall, the study found teens that held a voice in family discussions felt more confident to make their own decision and reject peer influences towards alcohol and drugs.

A recent study by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) illustrated that although adolescent drinking and smoking have gone down in the past few years, sixty-five percent of high school seniors admit to consuming alcohol while nineteen percent of seniors smoke cigarettes. Moreover, marijuana and prescription drug use remain prevalent and steady.

Work to maintain an open relationship with children in order to facilitate freedom of speech. By helping teens understand a different reality than what fellow teenagers present, they’ll be more capable of saying “no” to peer-pressure and making independent decisions.

A good relationship with open lines of communications certainly cannot hurt.

Oprah Winfrey had Dr. Phil and the rest of Hollywood has had Dr. Drew. Just about everyone has heard of Dr. Drew Pinsky, the renowned psychiatrist that has worked tirelessly on television and radio to help rid society of its evils.

Pinsky, known for tackling both light and tough topics, has teamed up with the National Association of School Nurses to bring awareness to the problem of teen prescription drug abuse. Think your teen is immune? Think again.

You may worry about your teen trying illegal drugs at a party, but don't overlook an equally scary danger: prescription drugs, found right in your own home. Addiction expert Dr. Drew Pinsky says that in 2010, one in four teens had abused a prescription medication. That's 25 percent of all teens -- and that's a big statistic.

In 2009, the figure was one in five teens, which means that the problem is only growing. What can you do?

What is teen prescription drug abuse?

Prescription drug abuse is any use that is strictly intended to become intoxicated or get high. One time qualifies. One time can kill you. Furthermore, any prescription drug use that is not supervised by a professional is abuse. Unfortunately, as Dr. Drew noted, "The problem is that sometimes kids abuse the medicines that are being supervised by a professional.

The drugs are right in your own home

"Most often, teens are getting the prescription drugs from their friends' or family's own medicine cabinets," Dr. Drew said. So while you're talking to your teen about resisting peer pressure when it comes to illegal street drugs, don't overlook the danger that could be conveniently located in your bathroom.

What you can do

Talk to your kids! "The sooner the better," Dr. Drew said. "There's no lower age limit for when you should talk about substance, in my opinion. There are tons of opportunities in pop culture to discuss these things."

Dr. Drew says that the difficulty is in conveying to your children and teens that prescription drugs are no joke. "Every kid has a friend who has been on psychostimulants since he was five," Dr. Drew said. "Convincing kids that there is a danger is a difficult task."

Still, it's your job to talk to your tween or teen and to keep the prescription drugs in your home unavailable.

Dr. Drew is a great man, one who really wants to help people. Hopefully his celebrity status will help give him some clout when trying to help teens and tweens. I am sure he too would think a good online drug class couldn’t hurt.

Let’s face it – social media plays way too important a role in many people’s lives.  For some, it is an addiction like any other – as bad as cocaine or heroin.

In a typical day, more than 17 million teenagers nationwide are using it, and many have made dozens of friends in the process. But who knew social networking, a medium that has revolutionized how people relate to each other, is leading them to use drugs more?

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, that's who.

Its’ recent found that the problem had grown among teens ages 12-17 who had been engaged by "pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace or other social networking sites of kids getting drunk, passed out or using drugs."

After performing two surveys on more than 2,000 teens and a survey of more than 500 of their parents, the results show that teens who use social networking websites are five times likelier to use tobacco, three times likelier to drink alcohol and twice as likely to smoke marijuana.

If you look at something like Facebook, which was initially launched for an older population.  You saw more college students on that website. Over time, it became more popular with high school students who had initially gravitated more to some of the other social media websites.

'Tune In, Drop Out'

Though social networking has played a role in furthering drug abuse among teens, as the study found it’s not the only cultural medium to do so.

This Scares the **** Out of Me

Thirty-two percent of the teens surveyed watch reality shows like Jersey Shore, Teen Mom or 16 and Pregnant, according to the study. Compared to teens who don't watch the “suggestive” programming, teens who usually watch one or more each week are twice as likely to use tobacco and nearly twice as likely to drink alcohol.

Sadly, I think in our culture that we've created a myth that alcohol is connected to having fun. When, in essence, it's very much connected to people being very narrow, having accidents and sometimes losing their lives.

The key is to be honest, direct and make sure [parents] tell their teens what they expect them not to do. Parents struggle with sending a direct message about alcohol and drug use, but that's what young people need: a clear message.

Prescription drugs are a wonderful thing, but not when they are abused by people who do not need them. When this happens, it is just another way to get high, and oen step closer to ruining a life.

College kids are supposed to be smart, right? It turns out this is not true when it comes to abusing alcohol and prescription medication.

A growing number of college students have abused prescription medications such as Ritalin or Adderall. These substances are used to treat attention deficit disorder(ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Up to 20 percent of students on college campuses have used either Ritalin or Adderall to gain a competitive edge on their coursework, according to a report by the New York Times.

College Students Abuse Prescriptions More Than Non-College Kids

Full-time college students between the ages of 18 to 22 were twice as likely to have used Adderall than those who were not students, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA).

SAMSHA classifies Adderall as having the highest potential for dependence or abuse. Other substance abuse issues also coincide with Adderall use. Nearly 90 percent of college students who used Adderall reported binge drinking within the last month, according to SAMSHA.

The Stats

The top six drugs that are popular right now are Oxycontin, Vicodin, Valium, Xanax, Ritalin and Adderall.

One out of every 4 college students admits to having used illegal prescription medication.

It is estimated that about 2,500 of teenagers between the ages of 12 to 17-yearolds per day are experimenting with an opiate for the very first time.

Yet one more disturbing article regarding prescription medications. The Federal Government really needs to do something about this problem before our nation’s future is flushed down the toilet.

If you read my blogs or just follow current events, you know that prescription drug abuse is reaching epidemic proportions. It is becoming especially alarming among adolescents.

Police say the pervasive problem of prescription pill abuse grows worse by the day. Some children you might think are too young to even consider taking pills are raiding their parent’s medicine cabinet.

Terrifying Revelations

When Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway asks a group of children in the gymnasium at Barrett Traditional Middle School if they know someone who's used a prescription pill for other than its intended use, most of their hands go up.

The next question Conway poses -- "Put them up if you think prescription pills are easy to get" -- receives a similar response.

Those children are just 11, 12, and 13 years old.

The key, like with most drugs, is to never start using. Dr. Karen Shay, a child drug abuse activist, knows the battle personally. Her daughter Sarah started popping pills in high school and died before her 20th birthday: "If I can keep one family from living through the horror that we lived through, it makes it worthwhile and going around and talking to the students has helped me to heal."

Kentucky is the fourth most medicated state in the country and Louisville's seen a 300 percent increase in drug crimes since 2009.

Nationally, one in five teens abuse prescriptions, and for middle schoolers pills are the drug of choice.

As a parent of a middle schooler and one in elementary school, I can tell you this problem frightens me. I know that there are no medications here that my kids and their friends can get into, but the national problem so bad, it scares the heck out of me that other parents are not keeping their kids safe.