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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A report published recently by a Florida Youth Coalition found that teenagers dont have to go far to gain access to alcohol and other substances. In fact, they dont have to go anywhere at all -- they can get what they want at home.

An Oct. 2 article by Kenya Woodard of the website News-JournalOnline provided the following details about the findings:

The coalition's 14-page report consolidates information gleaned from about 180 students in Flagler's traditional middle and high schools through focus groups held earlier this year. About 75 percent of the participants were middle-school students.

In two separate sessions, different groups of students from sixth through eighth grades and ninth through 12th grades were asked to discuss topics such as substance use, and family and community issues. Coalition staff members and professionals who work with youths served as group facilitators.

A common theme in nearly all sessions was the students' exposure to alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Some students said they knew people who smoked and sold marijuana, admitted to knowing a family member or other person who uses or sells prescription drugs, and knew of peers who regularly smoked tobacco, according to the report.

Labels: drugs, exposure, access

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Canadian parents got some good news this week, when a study of nearly 30,000 youth in British Columbia revealed that fewer young people are using alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs:

Twenty-nine percent of 13-year-olds said they have drunk alcohol, down from 34 percent five years earlier. For 15-year-olds, 58 percent said they had drunk alcohol, down from 65 percent in 2003. ...

"With all the negative stereotyping we see and hear about young people in our province, it is encouraging to note that smoking, alcohol use and marijuana use have all declined since the last survey in 2003," Annie Smith, executive director of the [McCreary Centre Society, which conducted the study] after the report was released.

The survey indicates that the typical age when kids first try marijuana is 13 and 14, but the overall number of youth who have tried marijuana shrank from 37 percent in 2003 to 30 percent in 2008. (Source: The Vancouver Sun)

The news wasn't all good, reported Sun writer Pamela Fayerman. "While use of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and amphetamines declined, the number of students who said they had ever used other drugs, like prescription pills (15 per cent) and hallucinogens (nine per cent), increased slightly," Fayerman wrote.

Any level of adolescent substance abuse is, of course, cause for concern -- and the Canadian study indicates that much work remains to be done. But the recent news out of Canada will surely be heartening to parents, teachers, and others who are working to keep young people away from alcohol and other drugs.

Labels: alcohol, adolescence, canada, drugs, teenagers

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New reports from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America indicate that teenage abuse of methamphetamines dropped 25 percent in three years. Over half of teens in the latest survey believe it is risky to try methamphetamines even once.

The same survey found that one in ten teenagers abuse over-the-counter cough syrups, which translates into 2.4 million teens. However, 48 percent said they know that cough medications are dangerous, which is up from 45 percent in 2007.

The drug that teens abuse most often is marijuana, although its usage dropped 30 percent since 1999.

Labels: drugs, meth, teenagers

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Salvia is an herb that can produce short, intense, hallucinogenic trips when it's smoked. For years, the substance went relatively unnoticed by law enforcement personnel - but it has recently garnered the attention of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, as well as several local governments that are trying to ban it.

"A dozen states have outlawed or begun regulating salvia since 2005, including Delaware, whose law was pushed by a mother who believes salvia contributed to her son's suicide. Massachusetts is among more than a dozen other states considering limiting or banning its sale."

People who have used the drug describe intense out-of-body experiences, but many say it's "not something that makes you feel good," and claim that the high is not worth the drug's cost. Source: Boston Globe

Learn more about the Cheap New Hallucinogenic Drug >>

Labels: drugs, salvia, hallucinogenics

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