Doctors and pharmacists in California have trouble regulating the amount of prescription medication people get, primarily because the current tracking system is too slow. In response to the problem, Attorney General Jerry Brown has announced that California's prescription-tracking database will be placed on a secure website that will be updated in real time.

"Moving the state's Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System online would allow doctors and pharmacists to immediately access a database of more than 86 million drug prescriptions. All prescriptions filled for schedule II, III, and IV drugs - including powerful painkillers like morphine, hydro-codone and codeine - would be instantly available."

Brown didn't give a timetable for implementing the website, saying the $3.5 million needed would have to come from private sources because the state doesn't have money. Brown's proposal names the Troy and Alana Pack Foundation as the primary source of money; the foundation was started and named after two young children who were killed by a motorist high on prescription drugs. Source: KCRA - Los Angeles

Learn more about Teen Over the Counter and Prescription Drug Abuse at http://www.teenoverthecounterdrugabuse.com.

Labels: drug_abuse, drug_use, prescription_drugs

Many parents whose children die from abusing inhalants are shocked. Though it's a form of substance abuse actively practiced by a high percentage of teens (over 50 percent admit having used inhalants by the 12th grade), many parents are unaware of the dangers.

"All of us who have lost a child to this form of substance abuse hope that every parent will learn of and use the tools to warn their children about this deadly high. Children naturally think that 'if it's in the house, it can't be dangerous.' But inhaling can kill..."

Inhalant abuse also can cause organ damage and is highly addictive. Parents who talk to their child about drugs and substance abuse need to include the dangers of inhalants in their conversations. Every child who is not warned is at risk. Read more at WashingtonPost.com.

Labels: drug_abuse, drug_use, involvement

Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York are determining whether severe blows to the head are at the basis of many problems, including school failure, alcoholism, drug abuse, learning disabilities and even homelessness.

Dr. Wayne Gordon, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, believes that "Unidentified brain injury is an unrecognized major source of social and vocational failures."

Brain injuries are a very common result of automobile crashes, participation in sports, bike accidents, child abuse and falls. The problem is that parents do not associate their child's current problems with an injury that may have occurred several years before.

The Mount Sinai team looked at 400 children enrolled in programs for learning disabilities and found that 50% had suffered head injuries. Five years ago, they studied 845 patients in drug and alcohol centers and found that 54% had suffered hard blows to their heads. They evaluated 100 homeless people and found that of the 70% were in the bottom 10th percentile for memory and language, 82% had suffered head blows, usually from parental abuse.

The Mount Sinai team is also using the results of a study done in 2000, when researchers went door-to-door in Connecticut, interviewing 5000 people. About 7% of them had suffered head injuries involving unconsciousness or a period of confusion. This group had twice the rate of depression and alcohol and drug abuse.

Teen drug abuse can be challenging for families. If your teenager has successfully completed drug treatment and needs a safe, structured, sober environment, then Excel Academy in Texas can help. Excel offers a sober living environment for teens who want to get back on track.

Labels: alcohol_abuse, drug_abuse, injuries

Inhalant abuse is often overlooked, despite the fact that nearly 20 percent of young people have experimented with them at least once by the time they're in eighth grade. Inhalant abuse involves breathing in the fumes from a substance such as glue, solvents, fuel, Freon, or paint thinners.

"Use of these chemicals can produce a euphoric feeling similar to that experienced with other illicit drugs. The effects of the inhalant are intensified when breathing from a closed bag."

Though the long-term damage caused by huffing isn't known, the short-term damage is easy to determine. Some speculate that long-term exposure causes brain damage, and damage to the central nervous system. Read more at BentonEveningNews.com.

Private boarding schools offer a structured environment for kids who may find themselves with too much free time on their hands. Find one at BoardingSchoolsInfo.com.

Labels: drug_abuse, experimentation, middle_school

When your teenager is sending messages to her friends on MySpace, she may not be sharing the latest high school dating gossip, but rather, telling her friends about her latest drug- or alcohol-related escapades. A new study by Caron Treatment Centers found that 1 in 10 messages posted by teenagers asked for advice on "safe" ways to take illicit drugs without getting caught.

"The study also found that in messages about alcohol, hooking up and having sex when drinking were the top behaviors discussed by teens. While a few teens expressed regret over things they did while drunk, many chalked it up to 'fun', 'being wasted' and 'having a good time.'"

The majority of messages posted by teens were free of this type of content. Of the 10.3 million messages analyzed, 160,000 contained drug, sex or alcohol related content; that's about 1 1/2 percent. But of that 160,000, 80% of the messages discussed alcohol, marijuana, cocaine or acid/LSD.

Read more online.

Labels: communication, drug_abuse, internet

The U.S. Department of Justice has partnered with other service organizations and foundations to offer grants to communities willing to develop a juvenile drug court program that's in keeping with the Reclaiming Futures model.

"RWJF [Robert Wood Johnson Foundation] launched Reclaiming Futures in 2002 to change the way judges, probation officers, treatment providers, families and community members work to help youth in the justice system get off drugs and alcohol."

The program combines system reform, treatment improvement and community engagement to help teens. The grants up to $425,000 for a period of four years will be awarded to up to four communities. Read more at Home.BusinessWire.com.

If your teen has been in trouble with the law because of teenage drug use, then DrugRehabTreatment.com can help you find residential drug treatment center. Learn how to choose a residential drug treatment center.

Labels: criminal_justice, drug_abuse, drug_courts

Teens who are depressed are twice as likely to use alcohol and drugs as those who report no depression, according to a study by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The researchers looked at data from 2005. They found that 2.2 million people ages 12 to 17 experienced a major depression. The rate of depression was higher among older teens – 4.3% among twelve-year-olds and 11.9% among seventeen-year-olds. Girls had higher rates of depression than boys— 13.3% compared to 4.5%.

Teen alcohol and drug abuse is a serious matter. Find professionals who can help teenagers with drug addiction and substance abuse at the Teen-Help-Directory.com.

Labels: alcohol_abuse, depression, drug_abuse