In Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania, 11 high school students have been expelled this year due to drug use or possession. This has raised concerns about the prevalence of drugs in the community, according to a recent article on the WTAE website:

The drugs of choice seem to be suboxone  which is used to help wean addicts of heroin  and Adderall  used to treat ADD and ADHD. Westmoreland County detectives told Channel 4 Action News that prescription pain pills are extremely popular among high school students, and abusing them can be deadly.

The Hempfield school board plans to host a public forum Feb. 1, and others in the township have formed a committee to address the problem.

Labels: schools, drugs, expulsion

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Teens who get drunk often or who use marijuana on a regular basis are more likely to be sexually active, according to a new study from Canada. The same study also found that sexually active girls are at higher risk for attempted suicide.

• Researchers used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth.
• They found that teens who use pot are 60 percent more likely to be sexually active.
• Teen who are regular drinkers are 50 percent more likely to be sexually active.

"Teens who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior," said Peter John Mitchell, a member of the research team. "This study reveals a risk profile that may help parents as they nurture their teens to adulthood."

Labels: teenage_drinking, teen_drug_use, marijuana, sex, teens

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A new study using laboratory animals found that those were given steroids in adolescence were more aggressive as adults. One implication of this study is that teenagers who use steroids may do long-term harm to their bodies.

• Researchers at Michigan State University used two groups of male hamsters, giving one group steroids during adolescence and the other steroids in adulthood.
  
• Both groups showed more aggressive behaviors. However, the ones who got steroids during adolescence stopped using submissive behaviors altogether.
  
• The researchers could not find a single incidence of submissive behavior in these animals during adulthood.

The study appeared in the journal Behavioral Brain Research.

Labels: brain_chemistry, steroids, behaviors

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The annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found a strong link between teens perceived risk of using a certain drug and their actual use of that drug.

"Adolescence is a period of significant developmental change when health patterns are being established. Decisions that youths make about tobacco and drug use can have both immediate and long-term health consequences for themselves, their families, and their communities." [Source: SAMHSA]

Based on the correlation between perceived risk and drug use, parents, teachers and anti-drug campaigns could make significant impacts in teen drug use by emphasizing the risks. The more teens are aware of, and believe in, the risks associated with  for example - heroin, cocaine or alcohol, the less likely they are to use.

Labels: causes_of_teen_substance_abuse

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According to North Carolina Attorney General Ray Cooper, the state discovered 206 meth labs last year. Thats a 40 percent drop from 2008, and Davison County report zero meth lab busts last year.

"A combination of the law and the diligent effort of the sheriffs office has resulted in the absence of meth labs for nearly two years in Davidson County," Sheriff David Grice said. "Our office will continue to work diligently and follow all leads related to meth and any other drugs." [Source: The Dispatch]

Attorney General Cooper recently implemented an electronic tracking system that will keep state investigators informed about unusual patterns of pseudoephedrine-related purchases. Pseudoephedrine is one of the ingredients necessary to produce methamphetamine. The system will track purchases in North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi.

Labels: prevention, laws, meth

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Do your teenagers listen to artists who sing about marijuana? If so, they may be also be using the drug, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh.

• Dr. Brian Primack and his colleagues surveyed 1,000 ninth graders in Pittsburgh and found that they listen to music an average of more than three hours a day.
• The average teen hears 40 references to marijuana daily.
  
• However, some teens listen to music without any such references, and others listen to music that refers to marijuana twice as often as average.
  
• Those who listened to the music with more references to marijuana were more than twice as likely to use that drug as those who listened to music without any such references.

Other indicators that your child may be using drugs are secretiveness, moodiness , stealing money, changing friends, having lower grades, and paying less attention to grooming.

The study appears in the journal Addiction.

Labels: teen_drug_use, drug use, marijuana, music

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A study of 253 teenagers found that the "risk takers" in the group were more likely to try fruit flavored cigarettes.

"Teens who gravitate toward novel experiences are especially drawn to cigarettes described as having an appealing sweet flavor," said Dr. Kenneth Manning of Colorado State University, author of the study.

Dr. Manning's research results reinforce a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban fruit-flavored cigarettes starting in September 2009.

This study appeared in the journal Tobacco Control.

Labels: cigarettes

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The number of teenagers abusing medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is up 76 percent since 2002, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics.

These medications are actually stimulants that have a paradoxical, calming effect on hyperactive children. Teenagers who do not have ADHD and abuse these drugs may appear agitated, hyperactive, and have increased pulse and blood pressure.

"Parents should know the risk and benefits of medication, when the child is taking it, and how long a prescription should last," said Jennifer Setlik, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and author of the new study on ADHD drug abuse.

Labels: prescription drugs, adhd, adderall, ritalin, drug_abuse

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A new study of risky behavior among Alaskan teenagers was released this week. In it, surveyors found high instances of both drug and alcohol abuse.

"In spring 2009, the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services surveyed 1,373 students from 43 high schools that were scientifically selected to represent all public high schools in Alaska, Patricia Owen, state coordinator for the survey," said in a report by Alaska's KTVA Channel 11.

The survey found that 45 percent of students believe regular marijuana use is not harmful, KTVA reported. More than 20 percent of students said theyd taken prescription drugs that were prescribed to someone else.

Labels: teenage_drinking, teen_drug_use, alcohol_abuse, drug_abuse, alaska

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Sniffer dogs in Canada will be taking a back seat in the coming months. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled 6-3 to tighten the leash on use of the canines for public sweeps, siding with a high-school student and a Vancouver man who both said they were searched illegally.

"In both cases, police violated the charter right against unreasonable search and seizure by allowing their dogs to embark on general sniff searches of a school and bus depot without more concrete reasons to suspect drugs were present, the Supreme Court said." [Source: Canwest News Service]

Sniffer dogs will likely still be used in airports and along the border, Canwest reported, two areas that werent addressed in the Supreme Courts ruling.

Labels: laws, canada, privacy

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A study of "teenaged" laboratory animals found that daily use of marijuana affected brain chemicals that regulate mood and anxiety. This may partly explain why daily marijuana consumption during adolescence can produce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and may even cause permanent brain damage.

• Dr. Gabriella Gobbi of McGill University in Canada says that marijuana alters the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, which in turn affects mood and makes people more susceptible to stress.
  
• Even if the laboratory animals in her study stopped marijuana use by the end of the adolescence, the changes in the levels of the two brain chemicals were still detectable in adulthood.
• "Our study is one of the first to focus on the role of biological mechanisms at the root of this influence of cannabis on depression in adolescents," Dr. Gobbi said.
  

This study appeared in the journal Neurobiology of Disease.

Labels: teen_drug_use, marijuana, brain_damage

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