4 Troubled Teens Blog

More teenagers are smoking marijuana even as they are cutting down on smoking cigarettes, binge drinking, and using methamphetamine, according to a new study from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Because of the national debate on whether to legalize marijuana for medical uses, more teenagers believe it is safe. Many of today's teenagers also believe that prescription drugs, Ecstasy and LSD are safe to use, which means more teens will experiment with these in the future.

• Only 44.8 percent of today's eighth-graders believe that smoking marijuana poses "a great risk" compared to 48 percent last year.
• Over 20 percent of high school seniors said they had smoked marijuana in the past month.

"When the perception of the danger goes down, in the following years you will see an increasing use," said Nora Volkow, director of the NIDA. She noted that prescription drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin are very addictive and can act as gateways to heroin, which is cheaper.

The survey found that the use of prescription narcotics rose among this year's 10th graders:

• 8 percent said they had used Vicodin in the past 12 months, compared to 6.7 percent last year.
  
• For OxyContin, those figures were 3.6 last year and 5.1 percent this year.
  
• About 44 percent said they had taken at least one alcoholic drink in the past month, which shows little change from last year.
  
• Recreational use of Ritalin, a drug prescribed for Attention Deficit Disorder, is slightly down.

This studywas performed by researchers from the University of Michigan, who collected data on 47,097 students.

Labels: prescription_drug_abuse, marijuana

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Last summer, tragedy rocked a close-knit southern Indiana community when a high school student shot and killed a police officer before turning the gun on himself. In response to this incident - and the fact that the teenager who committed these acts was facing marijuana possession charges - the decision was made to implement drug testing in the town's high schools. The proposal has been met with opposition by students and parents.

"When classes begin in August, parents will be offered free take-home drug testing kits through the school, and not surprisingly, students are overwhelmingly opposed. But students aren't the only critics of the bold measure, which some parents believe is not only excessive, but also misguided."

The concern is that students will be so fearful of punishment that they won't admit to having drug-related problems, nor will they seek help. Instead, parents would prefer that the schools focus on education and prevention. Source: Louisville (Kentucky) Eccentric Observer

Labels: marijuana, high_school, drug_testing

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Recently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse offered the first-ever Drug Facts Chat Day. Teens were invited to submit anonymous questions about anything related to drugs and alcohol. The questions were received and answered by some of the top substance abuse experts in the nation.

"[Q] What are the long term effects of smoking pot [A] There are many long-term effects of smoking marijuana. The use of marijuana can produce adverse physical, mental, emotional and behavioral changes, and, contrary to popular belief, it can be addictive. Marijuana smoke, like cigarette smoke, can harm the lungs. The use of marijuana can impair short-term memory, verbal skills, and judgment, and also distort perception..."

Other questions included, "Why is marijuana a gateway drug?," "Have most teens used marijuana in their life?," and "Can you die from weed?" Source: U.S. News and World Report

Labels: marijuana, substance_abuse, questions

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

A White House report being released today says teens that use marijuana regularly are at risk not only of developing a dependency but of developing a mental illness. The report summarizes information from several studies on marijuana use among teenagers.

"...using marijuana increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers..."

Marijuana use among teens has decreased by 25% since 2001, which is encouraging. But the millions of kids who are still using need to know the dangers associated with it. Source: NBC25, Michigan

Labels: marijuana, substance_abuse, dependeny

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has release a report revealing significant changes in rates of substance abuse among pregnant teenagers.

The report analyzes available data from 1992 to 2007 for pregnant teens who entered substance abuse programs.

“According to the report, the proportion of pregnant teen admissions for marijuana abuse more than doubled from 19.3 percent in 1992 to 45.9 percent in 2007. Marijuana has surpassed alcohol as the primary substance of abuse cited in admissions for pregnant teens.” [Source: DocuTicker]

On a more positive note, alcohol abuse among teens dropped nearly as much as marijuana abuse increased – falling from 44.1 percent in 1992 to 20.3 percent in 2007.

 

Labels: pregnancy, marijuana, substance_abuse

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment