Marilyn Babiarz didn't know what she was getting into when she agreed to let her daughter's friend stay with them for a while. Years later, she found herself speaking at the young man's funeral after he lost his battle with heroin addiction.

"The same week [he] died, Babiarz saw a flyer for Parents 4 A Change, a local group of residents seeking to combat drug use in town. Babiarz decided to tell her story in the hopes of encouraging other families to join the group and come forward with stories of their own."

For years, she watched Mark Gilbert, Jr. struggle to overcome his addiction. He would do well for a few months, only to relapse again. Babiarz wants parents to know the dangers of drug use are real and aren't just limited to "troubled" or inner-city kids. "He was a Southington [Connecticut] kid and he used with other Southington kids," she said.

Private schools often offer smaller, more personal classroom settings and a variety of after school activities. Visit BoardingSchoolsInfo.com to find the best private school for your child.

Labels: addiction, heroin, support

At least two federal agencies have been warned that Afghan heroin is making its way into Canada with increasing frequency and that it poses a direct public threat. The RCMP's Ottawa drug branch Director, Paul Nadeau, says that about 60 percent of the heroin that's currently on Canadian streets comes from Afghanistan.

"Afghan heroin typically flows into Canada through two main trafficking arteries, Mr. Nadeau said: the porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and then onto India and, finally, Canada; or from Afghanistan to western Africa, then through the United States into Canada."

Currently about 92 percent of the world's heroin comes from poppies grown in Afghanistan. Read more at TheGlobeandMail.com.

High school boarding schools may help keep your child out of trouble by offering a structured environment. Oakley School also includes therapy and counseling.

Labels: awareness, heroin, rise_in_use

A study in South Africa may not appear relevant to those living in the United States. But some of the findings may raise red flags for officials in America.

"[South Africa's Medical Research Council] MRC discovered that the relationship between mental health and tik [methamphetamine] use also indicate societal reasons for tik's popularity in the Western Cape. 'Our initial findings seem to indicate that tik use in the Western Cape is most high where gangsterism is most engrained in the society... The communities tend to have a depressed mood and some use tik to alleviate it,' said senior MRC scientist Andreas Pluddemann."

A recently discovered mixture called 'sugars' has officials concerned as well. 'Sugars' is a highly addictive mixture of cocaine and heroin. The purity is often very low and may be mixed with rat poison to help the mixture pass into the bloodstream. Read more online.

Labels: cocaine, heroin, mental_health