The Partnership for a Drug-Free America has announced the launch of a new website aimed at helping Hispanic families. Habla Con Tus Hijos is a Spanish-language web resource filled with tips and guidance on how parents can best start, and continue, honest conversations with their children about drug use.

The following details were included in a press release to announce the establishment of the new website:

"Habla Con Tus Hijos" is the new Spanish-language counterpart to the Partnerships ongoing parent movement, Time to Talk".

Both Habla Con Tus Hijos and Time to Talk are grounded in the Partnerships national research that consistently shows kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs from their parents are up to 50 percent less likely to use drugs than those who do not get that crucial message at home.

Parents and caregivers will be able to download Spanish-language tools and resources that will guide them in their conversations with their kids. The web site is culturally relevant, and most of the resources are available free of charge.

Visit www.hablacontushijos.org for more information.

Labels: parents, communication, hispanic, internet

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More than 40 years after Timothy Leary urged teens of the 1960s to "turn on, tune in, and drop out," some of today's youth are tuning in to YouTube and other online video sites in order to learn more about a new way of turning on.

As John Simerman reported in the May 16 edition of the Contra Costa Times, online videos are promoting the hallucinogenic properties of an often-overlooked (and barely regulated) substance called "salvia."

Salvia divinorum, which East Bay smoke shops sell in packets of dark, crushed-leaf extract -- with a "strictly for incense use only" disclaimer -- has spurred new laws in more than a dozen states in recent years amid a slew of online videos showing youths speaking or acting bizarrely after smoking it; and the well-publicized suicide of a Delaware teen in 2006, with the coroner listing salvia as a contributing cause.

In many of the videos, the smokers often start laughing uncontrollably, then are rendered incoherent by a forceful high that users describe as much shorter than LSD, but often more intense.

Though the U.S. government currently has no laws regulating the manufacture, sale, or use of salvia, Simerman reported at least 10 states have listed Salvia as a Schedule I drug, which places it in the same category of Ecstasy and LSD.

Parents whose teens are abusing salvia or any other illicit substance may want to consider a wilderness program for troubled teens such as central Oregon's SageWalk, which offers structure, supervision, and a comprehensive array of therapeutic services.

Labels: teen_drug_use, internet, hallucinogens

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On April 13, a new set of federal regulations went into effect in the United States in an effort to control the Internet-based sale of prescription medications. The Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 aims to prevent illegal online sales and purchases of these commonly abused substances.

Unscrupulous or 'rogue' Internet pharmacies exist to profit from the sale of controlled prescription medicines to buyers who have not seen a doctor and don't have a prescription from a registered physician. The pharmacies lack quality assurance and accountability, and their products pose a danger to buyers. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)

The new set of regulations includes a requirement of at least one face-to-face meeting between patient and doctor before a prescription is given, and the registration of online pharmacies.

Labels: laws, prescription drugs, drug_abuse, internet

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After four 10th-graders in Pennsylvania were hospitalized this week with drug reactions, experts and police are looking into the sale of "snurf pills" on the Internet.

The children bought the drugs from an online store that marketed the Snurfs as a natural remedy composed of three herbs - Fevizia, Palenzia and De la Amazon. However, no such herbs exist.

Available online since 2005, snurfs may contain Dextromethorphan, an ingredient in over-the-counter cough suppressants such as Robitussin.

Dextromethorphan is very popular among the youngest teens, according to Dr. Deborah Levine of New York's Bellevue Hospital. She said that middle-schoolers often take many times the recommended dose of cough syrups, risking serious toxicities.

"Talk to your kids," Dr. Levine said. "They should know these are serious medicines. Injuries and deaths can occur."

Labels: cough_syrup, drug_abuse, internet

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A study by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) finds that the number of websites that advertise or sell prescription drugs dropped from 581 to 365 in the past year.

"'This decline in the number of Web sites advertising or selling controlled prescription drugs may reflect efforts of federal and state agencies and financial institutions to crack down on Internet drug trafficking...' said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's Chairman and President and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare."

Unfortunately, not all the news was good. CASA also found that few sites require proof of a prescription before consumers purchase controlled medications. Source: PharmaLive

Labels: internet, prescription_drugs, pharmacies

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The pharmaceutical company Reckitt Benckiser has announced that is has launched Addiction411; the first-ever MySpace account developed to educate people about the dangers of opioid dependence. The site offers information about treatment options, addiction red flags, and more.

"Addiction411 is the first time that MySpace members will have direct access to information about this increasingly prevalent disease and practical guidance on how to find treatment."

The World Health Organization and the National Institute for Drug Abuse both recognize opioid dependence as a chronic brain disease. Read more online.

NorthStar Center is a substance abuse treatment center located in Bend, Oregon that caters to the needs of young adults.

Labels: support, internet, information

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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: drug_abuse, communication, internet

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Prescription drug abuse has become more common than the uses of heroin and crack/cocaine combined. Most parents take proactive steps to keep their prescription medications where they can't be found or stolen, but teens can also buy them online - often without a prescription.

"According to CASA [The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse], there are 581 websites that advertise or sell controlled prescription drugs... One of the most disturbing things about this study is that 84 percent of these websites don't require a prescription to buy these drugs."

It's becoming increasingly important for parents to monitor what their kids are doing online. Prescription drugs can only be bought online using a credit card, so careful scrutiny of credit card statements is important as well. Read more at Fox16.com.

Concerned about adolescent substance abuse? DrugRehabTreatment.com has the answers you're looking for about prescription drug abuse and other more about drugs and teens. Visit DrugRehabTreatment.com for help on teen drug addiction.

Labels: over-the-counter-drugs, internet, prescription_drugs

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WeeWorld is an online virtual world where people can create “mini-Wees” that interact with each other in contrived, internet-generated environments. About 36 million people, most of them teenagers, have registered with WeeWorld, and the Partnership for a Drug-Free America is now using the site to reach teens.

“The centerpiece of the campaign was an actual young adult named JT who is in recovery from substance abuse and addiction. Through his custom-designed WeeMee, home page and room, JT visually interacted with a growing base of over 20,000 teen friends, posted messages and shared weekly scenarios drawn from CheckYourself.com.” [Source: PR Newswire]

The online character also shared drug use prevention videos from the wreckED program – an educational campaign also created by the Partnership. Over 200,000 items have been downloaded from JT’s homepage, including skateboards, TVs and posters. The virtual items are downloaded by other users whose Wee characters wear or display them in a show of support.

 

Labels: awareness, internet, social_system

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

Though it’s not prevalent enough to be called a “trend,” a new type of substance abuse has made healdines in the last few months – the “digital” high. Sometimes called i-Dosing, the “digital drugs” are soun -bytes that their sellers claim simulate the effects of getting high. But do they?

Reports of digital drug abuse among U.S. youth maybe more hype than truth.

The technology behind digital drugs dates back to 1839. Prussian physicist Heinrich W. Dove discovered if two sounds are played at slightly different frequencies, one to each ear through a set of headphones, the brain would perceive a subsonic pulse called a binaural beat…

Sellers of digital drugs claim their binaural beats will produce the same effect as drugs of substance…

"Those claims are out there, but there is no science whatsoever that supports that the binaural beat, or this auditory phenomenon, will change the brain chemistry in the same way that drugs of abuse will change," says Dr. Glen Hanson. Source: KSL 5 News (Salt Lake City)

Though digital drugs themselves may not produce illicit-drug-like effects, doctors agree the primary concern is that kids are trying them. And if they’re curious enough to try digital drugs, trying the real things may be the next step.

Labels: drug use, internet

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment