Teens and Youth

New drug facts about marijuana found that college males were more likely to drive after smoking marijuana than to drive after drinking. A new study by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst found that 44 percent of college males admitted to driving after smoking pot in April 2014, compared to 12 percent who said they drove after drinking (www.drugfree.org). Read more →

When it comes to drug use statistics, research by the the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has shown that positive parenting skills considerably helps prevent drug and alcohol abuse. Of course all parents want their kids to live healthy and happy lives, but it’s not always easy to tell what you kids are up to as they get older. Parents might wonder whether their kids have experimented or begun to use drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or prescription drugs. Read more →

If you are concerned about your teen or young adult’s drug or alcohol use, pay close attention to warning signs of abuse or those most at risk for abuse. Teens or young adults who are most at risk for substance abuse, tend to demonstrate the following red flags:
1. Risk taking. Especially when coupled with boredom. Try to encourage your kid to engage in healthy challenges that involve risk taking such as learning a new sport or activity, so drugs or alcohol isn’t used to fill that boredom and achieve a high associated with risk taking. Read more →

4^th of July weekend can be a dangerous time for teens and young adults, not only does the amount of underage drinking increase but so does binge drinking (consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time). SAMSHA estimates that hospital ER visits during this holiday weekend double due to underage and binge drinking (87% higher than any other day in July).

It’s important that our teens and young adults who might be hitting the beach this weekend with friends or other parties, that drinking, especially binge drinking, is not a harmless right of passage. There are serious consequences to these actions that can result in harming oneself, someone else, even death. Read more →

Heroin effects more than the stereotypical impoverished, urban narcotic user. It’s no longer seen as the hard-core street drug it was in the 1960s. In fact, there has been a dramatic shift in heroin users in the past 50 years. Today, studies are showing that heroin use is reaching epidemic proportions and is more commonly affecting suburban, middle class youth. In the 1960s, people who abused heroin reported that it was the first drug they abused. Today, 75% of people who began abusing heroin report first abusing prescription painkillers. (JAMA Psychiatry) Read more →