A high school junior in upstate New York has dedicated herself to helping fellow students (and parents) fight the scourge of teen substance abuse.

Democrat and Chronicle staff writer Ernst Lamothe Jr. reported on the teen's efforts in a March 30 article on www.rocnow.com:

"Parents shouldn't be hands-off because they have to know what their kids are doing," said Mia [Daniels], 16, a junior at Pittsford Sutherland High School. "I just want to help create community awareness about the issue and support any student who feels pressure themselves."

As a member of the Pittsford Alliance for Substance-Free Youth, she helped figure out strategies parents could use to prevent risky behavior by middle and high school students. ...

Mia has some advice for parents, especially those who plan to host house parties where teens can drink.

"One of the most important things is reminding parents that underage drinking is illegal, plain and simple," she said.

Labels: prevention, schools, students, awareness

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The problem of stimulant abuse among young people is not exclusive to the United States. Officials in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia have warned students against abusing prescription meds during exam time.

"Abdullah Sarouji, executive director of the Society to Combat Smoking and Drug Abuse, said its field studies affirmed that the drug pushers keep on trying to win more addicts by giving samples to students," Arab News reported. "Sarouji warned parents and teachers that if any student shows a tendency to smoke heavily during the examination season he might drift toward drug habits."

According to Abdul Llah Al-Sharif, assistant director of preventative medicine at the Anti-Narcotics Department, many students are under extreme pressure  often from families  to do well on exams. Saudi border guards have foiled several attempts to smuggle stimulant medications across into their country.

Government officials estimate they have prevented more than five million pills from illegally coming into the country in the past year.

Labels: students, saudi arabia, stimulants

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Gordie Bailey is the subject of a documentary aimed at helping college students understand the dangers of hazing. Bailey, who was 18 years old when he pledged a fraternity at the University of Colorado, died from alcohol poisoning during a fraternity initiation ritual.

The documentary, titled "HAZE," was shown to University of New Hampshire fraternity and sorority members Sept. 23. Student staff writer Mallory Baker reported on the screening in the Sept. 24 edition of the school newspaper:

Gordie Bailey, was a pledge at Chi Psi fraternity at the University of Colorado in Boulder. On Sept. 16, 2004, he was sent into a local forest with his pledge class with orders to finish four handles of whiskey and six bottles of wine in the span of a half hour.

On Sept. 17, he was found dead in the library of the frat house. ...

In one respect, the message of HAZE was quite clear: College campuses nationwide have become both a haven and training ground for binge drinking, which the documentary defines as consuming five drinks in one sitting for men or four drinks in one sitting for women at least once in a period of two weeks.

In fact, according to a variety of alcohol and substance abuse experts interviewed in HAZE, 44 percent of college students in the United States are binge drinkers.

Labels: students, binge drinking, hazing

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In an aftermath of an academic year during which students committed 57 in-school drug- or alcohol-related violations occurred, Oregon's Lincoln County School District has announced the adoption of a new program that may result in financial penalties the parents of student-athletes who fall afoul of school rules.

A June 30 article by Larry Coonrod of the South Lincoln County News provided a look at the district's contract with the Life Of an Athlete (LOA) program:

Instead of just signing a permission slip for their students to participate in athletics, LOA requires parents to attend a mandatory meeting on the program before signing a contract acknowledging their understanding.

Students who violate the student code of ethics will be required to meet with a substance abuse evaluator at the family's expense, meet with law enforcement officials, and write a letter of apology. ...

Wendy Rudy, the LOA coordinator, said the program has a strong educational component, and is more than just negative consequences for violations.

"It addresses chemical health," she said. "What students don't know is that one night of binge drinking destroys 14 days of training. That's something for them to think about, all that work training can be gone in a night."

The County News article also noted that a recent survey of Oregon youth found that 25 percent admitted to past-month marijuana use, and 45 percent said they had consumed alcohol during the same time period.

Labels: alcohol_abuse, drug use, students, athletics

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The use of medications for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder among college students who dont have ADHD is increasing. Most students who abuse ADHD meds do so when they have a big test, or need to pull an "all-nighter" to study or finish a project. But experts say that the benefits students believe they are receiving by abusing ADHD meds are largely imagined:

The ideas so simple: Just pop a bill and become Encyclopedia Brown. Hate to break it to you, but thats not how it works. Adderall and Ritalin are prescription medications for a reason. For one thing, they take weeks of regular use before they are properly metabolized for use by the brain: One pill a few hours before class wont suddenly increase your cognitive ability.
-- Source: La Voz Weekly (De Anza College, Calif.)

In addition to delayed or nonexistent "benefits," the abuse of ADHD medications is associated with a wide range of side effects, the La Voz article noted. The abuse of ADHD pills and other prescription medications is approaching epidemic levels in the United States, and is causing many young people to require the types of comprehensive services that are offered in residential rehab centers for teens.

Labels: students, adhd, abuse, medications

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Tammy East has a son in junior high, and she thinks the random drug testing that he and other students will be subjected to throughout the year is good. She only has one objection:

"I think they should have drug testing for everyone, not just those in sports or other extracurricular activities..."

The drug testing policy, which has been in place at the high school level since the 1997-98 school year, has previously applied only to athletes. This year, however, testing will be expanded to include all students involved in all extracurricular activities in both junior and senior high. Source: Peoria (IL) Journal Star

Labels: students, drug_testing, drug_screening

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Students at Pleasant Valley High School in Jacksonville, Alabama, got to experience firsthand the effects of alcohol. A grant from Westinghouse allowed the school to purchase four sets of "fatal vision goggles" which distort vision and simulate the effects of a 0.08 blood alcohol level.

"Students walked the green line of tape, were asked to stand on one foot for 30 seconds, find a nickel among a group of coins on the floor and then, the most difficult part, to pick it up... Most students were amazed by how distorted their vision was..."

The goggles were part of a Drunk Busters program which was held just a few days before prom. The hope was that students would be deterred from drinking and driving during this year's prom celebration. Source: Jacksonville News

Worried about being liable for your teen's risky behavior behind the wheel? Learn more about Parental Liability for Underage Drivers at DrugRehabTreatment.com.

Labels: alcohol, students, drunk_driving

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The drug is nicknamed "dex", but is commonly known as Dextroamphetamine or Dexedrine. It's a stimulant that prescribed to patients who have ADHD, but some Canadian college students have begun using it to help them cram for finals.

"One first-year U of C business student told a Calgary TV station that he buys Dexedrine for $5 a pill from a friend with ADHD. He said dex keeps him extra-focused for hours of hard-core studying and also while he's writing exams."

One of the dangers of misusing Dexedrine is that is can aggravate existing medical conditions like high blood pressure, and there is a risk of psychological addiction. Read more at EdmontonSun.com.

Labels: students, prescription drugs, stimulants

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Of the more than 7 1/2 million people who attended college in 2005, 1.8 million met the medical criteria for substance abuse or dependence. The report was released by the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University and says this number is about 2 1/2 times the national average.

"[The center's president, Joseph Califano Jr.] said nearly two-thirds of college student drinkers began drinking in high school, and 8% began in junior high."

Use of prescription drugs has skyrocketed among college students, as has marijuana use. Read more at Freep.com.

Labels: high school, students, binge drinking, college

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The Pequannock High School recently approved a new "Monday Test" that can determine if students had been drinking for up to 80 hours prior to the test. The tests will take place each Monday, but testing is voluntary and will not be forced.

"...students who test positive will not be kicked off sports teams or barred from extracurricular activities. Instead they will receive counseling, and their parents will be notified."

This is not the first school district to implement such tests. Alcohol and drug testing has been implement in several other states, including Texas. Pequannock implemented drug testing in 2005 and has seen a dramatic reduction is drug use among the school's students. Read more at DailyRecord.com.

Labels: high school, students, drug testing

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Rates of teen alcohol abuse rise during the summer between high school and college, according to Dr. Mark Wood, a professor of psychology at the University of Rhode Island.

• Dr. Wood's research indicates that most American teenagers begin to drink by age 15 years old, but their consumption increases during that summer and their first semester of college.
• This occurs even among students whose parents establish rules and provide emotional support.
• Dr. Willett and his colleagues studied the drinking habits of 1000 incoming college freshmen, and then showed them how their habits compared to others their age.
• Some students received a Brief Motivational Intervention at the beginning of the study.

About 28 percent of the students did not drink at all, and many were surprised to learn the percent was so high. Heavy drinkers who got the intervention tended to cut back on their alcohol consumption. Moderate drinkers were less likely to transition into heavy drinking or develop alcohol-related problems if they participated in the intervention.

The study appears in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
 

Labels: alcohol_abuse, students, college

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Random drug testing in high schools may cause a slight short-term reduction in drug abuse among students, but it has no long-range impact, according to a new report from the Department of Education.

• Researchers studied 36 high schools.
• In half the schools, students underwent random drug testing; students were not tested in the other schools.
• Random testing reduced drug use from 22% to 17% among students enrolled in athletics and other extracurricular activities.
• However, the tests had no impact on other students, and no impact on their plans to use drugs in the future.

Thirty-six percent of students reported using drugs in the past month, and 33% said they would "probably" or "definitely" use drugs in the future.

The implication of this study is that random drug testing is not an effective means of reducing student drug use.
 

Labels: schools, students, drug testing

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