As if there weren’t enough reasons to keep kids from trying or regularly using cocaine, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has issued a public health alert concerning tainted cocaine:

Substantial levels of cocaine may be adulterated with levamisole – a veterinary anti-parasitic drug. There have been approximately 20 confirmed or probable cases of agranulocytosis (a serious, sometimes fatal blood disorder), including two deaths, associated with cocaine adulterated with levamisole.

Use of cocaine tainted with levamisole can severely reduce a person’s white blood cells, which suppresses immune functions. Anyone who snorts, smokes, or injects the contaminated cocaine could experience rapidly-developing, life threatening infections.

Symptoms include high fever, chills, weakness, painful sores, and any infection that either doesn’t get better or get worse quickly. If these symptoms appear, contact your local poison control immediately.

Labels: cocaine, health_problems

The United States government is now focusing on getting teenagers to stop abusing prescription and over-the-counter drugs. It is no longer emphasizing marijuana abuse, and some people are criticizing that decision.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has directed that its entire annual budget of some $14 million be used to combat prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America has not produced a single anti-marijuana ad in the last four years.

Prescription drug abuse accounts for more than 10,000 accidental deaths a year and is a secondary cause of another 1680. Marijuana use, on the other hand, does not cause any deaths.

"The bottom line is that opiates and stimulants are much more addictive than marijuana," said Professor Mitch Earleywine of the State University of New York. "Maybe nine percent of marijuana users develop problems, compared to 14 to 20 percent of prescription drug abusers, who end up saying they cannot quit or report withdrawal symptoms when they want to stop."

However, the numbers of people who try either marijuana or over-the-counter prescription drugs is about the same -- around two million per year.

• One of the problems cited by anti-marijuana advocates is that the marijuana in use today is a much stronger variety than what was used in the past.
• Teen marijuana use is considered especially dangerous because the brains of people under the age of 25 are still developing, and marijuana is linked to brain damage.
• According to a 2004 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, today’s marijuana is so strong that it is causing more people to get addicted.
• Now that people have access to very high potency marijuana, the game is different," warned Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Dr. Richard Rosenthal, chair of the psychiatry department at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital and a professor at Columbia University, said that people are underplaying the dangers of marijuana, especially those who want to legalize it.

"We need to be very mindful of what we are unleashing out of a Pandora's Box," he said. "The people who become chronic users do not have the same lives and the same achievements as people who do not use chronically."

People seeking treatment for marijuana abuse increased from 12 percent of all those in treatment in 1997 to 16 percent in 2007.

Some psychiatrists and psychologists want "Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome" to be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Labels: dangers-of-drug-use, health_problems, marijuana

Attempting to describe the many health and developmental dangers of drinking alcohol to a young person may be an exercise in futility, but a new Canadian study may help to put the risk in terms that are stark enough to capture a teen's attention: Every 15 seconds, someone dies because of alcohol.

This finding was described in a June 27 Examiner.com post by Carl Lowe:

A few sips of wine may be good for your heart, but alcohol-related disease and accidents take a life every 15 seconds according to research from the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Researchers found that disorders linked to drinking wine, beer, whiskey, mixed drinks, etc are among the most disabling diseases in the world. The problems are especially problematic for men although women have been drinking more during the past decade.

Unlike other diseases, the risks linked to drinking frequently kill young people.

No one statistic will be enough to end the scourge of teen alcohol abuse, but information such as the data collected during the Canadian study may help bolster parents' efforts to keep their kids away from alcohol and other drugs.

Labels: alcohol, death, health_problems

The dangers of smoking have been known for years. But a recent report filed by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has found that smoking is especially dangerous for adolescents.

"CASA's original analysis of data from the NDSUH [National Survey on Drug Use and Health] finds that teens who smoke are nine times likelier to meet the medical criteria for past year alcohol abuse or dependence and 13 times likelier to meet the medical criteria for abuse and dependence on an illegal drug than teens who don't smoke."

The study also found that teens ages 12 to 17 are twice as likely to suffer from symptoms of depression if they smoke. Feelings of anxiety and worthlessness were also more likely.

Labels: health_problems, risky_behaviors, smoking

A new law enacted in Kentucky could cause people who manufacture methamphetamine to lose their homes or vehicles. The law requires a "full cleanup" and applies to any structure in which more than 2 ounces of meth have been manufactured.

"A full cleanup means everything inside the house has to be thrown away… The price is $10,000 for an average house. However, depending on the size, the price could reach $20,000."

The process of manufacturing meth leaves behind residue that poses health and environmental threats to any future occupants of the home, and only certified contractors can conduct the cleanup.

Labels: health_problems, laws, meth

Young teens that smoke, drink and use drugs by themselves develop more health and behavior problems than those who use socially, according to a new study by the Rand Corporation.

Solitary users are at more risk for poor physical health by age 23 and less likely to graduate from college.

Among children ages 13 and 14 years old, about 16% smoked cigarettes, 17% drank alcohol and 4% used marijuana when they were alone. The study, published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors journal, indicates that such children are at risk for problems in later life.

Labels: behaviors, health_problems, solitude