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News of Hope email. |
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October 2011
'News
of Hope'
The
United States Senate by
unanimous consent passed
a Resolution designating
October 2011 as
"National Medicine
Abuse Awareness Month”
(NMAAM). The NMAAM
Resolution raises
awareness about the
critical issue of
prescription drug use, which
is our nation’s second
biggest drug problem,
and urges communities to
“carry out appropriate
programs and activities
to educate parents and
youth of the potential
dangers associated with
medicine abuse.”
Though our news this
month is not altogether
"hopeful" in
that drug abuse and
underage drinking are
increasing problems in
America, the
"hope" lies in
the greater awareness
and focus on these
issues in every area of
American life: schools,
workplace, government
support, and in the
home. Prevention is the
critical element in
protecting YOUR
children. Armed with
knowledge and
communication commitment
and skills, parents make
the primary difference.
And keeping youth off
drugs and alcohol until
at least 21 greatly
increases their chances
of having established
some healthy emotional
coping skills and
reduces the need for
abuse that leads to
addiction.
We hope you'll read
every article - some are
straight from the
"teen's
mouths," some are
based in current
research. All help you
be effective parents,
counselors, teachers,
and advocates.
Regards, Susie Vanderlip
P.S.
HELP US, IF YOU WOULD!
If you've never
forwarded our newsletter
to a friend or
colleague, please
consider doing so this
month. Forward
this message to a friend
THX!
Pictured
above:
Pic 1: Members of the
Weld County Prevention
Partners who sponsored
and coordinated their
first Solutions Summit!
Attendees included
social workers, law
enforcement, educators, medical
professionals, social
services and non-profit
organizations, and more.
Pic 2: The enthusiastic
and dedicated WCPP
leader - Nomie
Ketterling with Susie!
October 2011
NEWSLETTER CONTENT
•
Inconsistency Leads Some
Teens to Use Pot and
Drink
•
Overall drug
availability and
abuse is increasing:
- See
report from National
Drug Intelligence Center
-
Boeing incident
highlights Workplace Prescription
Drug Epidemic
• Teens
Who Eat at Family
Dinners Less Likely to
Drink, Smoke and Use
Marijuana
Access
13 years of newsletter
articles on our website!
Fall
Schedule Opportunities
Contact
us to piggyback on
Susie being in your
area. Fall plans thru
November, 2011:
Sept.
20-21 - Greeley, CO -
Weld County Prevention
Partners Solutions
Summit
Sept.
26-27 - Bardwell, KY -
Middle and High School
Sept.
28-Oct. 2 - Fort Myer,
FL
Oct.
23 - Nov. 4 - southeast
Alberta, Canada tour
in collaboration with
FCSS of Canada
Nov.
15 - Orange County Girls
Juvenile Hall in
collaboration with
Assistance League of
Orange
|
|
LACK
OF CONSISTENCY LEADS
SOME TEENS TO ALCOHOL
AND POT USE
By Susie Vanderlip
In
September, I was
intrigued during a
workshop with teens to
hear that a lack of
consistency after
parental divorce had led
a number of teens and
their peers to start
using pot and to start
drinking.
I conducted this
workshop at the Weld
County Prevention
Partners (WCPP)
Solutions Summit in
Greeley, Colorado,
followed by a teen panel
presentation to the
adult attendees.
Primarily an adult
conference, everyone I
met there was
enthusiastic, committed
and dedicated to the
prevention of underage
drinking and drug use.
The statistics, however,
were daunting as usual.
The
Summit was concerned
with all underage use,
and in particular, the
increasing number of
adolescent girls having
their first drinking
episode between 12 and
14 years of age. Youth,
male or female, who
start drinking between
12 and 14, are 4 times
more likely to become
problem
drinkers/alcoholics as
they get older.
I
was intrigued by the
candid remarks of teens
during an hour-long
discussion session I
conducted prior to the
teen panel. I
worked with a group of
approximately 15
teenagers in 9th
thru 12th
grades from several
different high schools
across the county. They
shared without
reservation:
- Several
teens said they
began and continued
to usepot and/or
alcohol to manage
the feelings of
confusion and
inconsistency in
their lives when
parents divorced.
All the teens agreed
that divorce creates
a significant
emotional need in
teens and many use
pot and/or alcohol
to cope with the
impact of parental
divorce on their
family lives.
- Teens
agreed that pot can
provide a consistent
way to feel OK, even
good. It is that
consistency they
seek – whether to
consistently feel
close with friends
or to consistently
relieve the
depressed moments.
In
addition, the teens
shared stories similar
to those I have heard
all across the United
States:
|
OVERALL
DRUG
AVAILABILITY AND
ABUSE IS
INCREASING
National
Drug
Intelligence
Center Releases
National Drug
Threat
Assessment
This
week, the
National Drug
Intelligence
Center (NDIC)
released the
National Drug
Threat
Assessment 2011
detailing drug
trafficking and
abuse trends
within the
United States.
The NDTA 2011
discusses
emerging
developments
related to the
trafficking and
use of illicit
drugs, the
non-medical use
of controlled
prescription
drugs (CPDs),
and the
laundering of
proceeds
generated
through illicit
drug sales. It
also addresses
the role that
drug trafficking
organizations
and organized
gangs serve in
domestic drug
trafficking, the
significant role
that
the Southwest
Border plays in
the illicit drug
trade, and the
societal impact
of drug abuse.
Significant
findings
include:
• The illicit
trafficking and
abuse of drugs
present a
challenging,
dynamic threat
to the United
States.
• The abuse of
several major
illicit drugs,
including
heroin,
marijuana, and
methamphetamine,
appears to be
increasing,
especially among
our nation’s
youth.
•
Mexican-based
transnational
criminal
organizations
dominate the
supply,
trafficking, and
wholesale
distribution of
most illicit
drugs in the
United States.
• The
Southwest Border
remains the
primary gateway
for moving
illicit drugs
into the United
States.
• Overall drug
availability is
increasing.
http://www.cadca.org/resources/detail/national-drug-intelligence-center-releases-national-drug-threat-assessment
Arrest
of Boeing
Workers
Highlights
Prescription
Drug Abuse
Problems
in the Workplace
By
Join
Together Staff
| October 3,
2011 |
The arrest of 37
people on drug
charges at a
Boeing aircraft
plant last week
puts the
spotlight on the
increasing
problem of
prescription
drug abuse in
the workplace,
according to
experts. The
former and
current Boeing
employees who
were arrested
were charged
with selling or
trying to buy
painkillers and
anti-anxiety
drugs at the
plant in
Philadelphia,
according to Reuters.
The arrests
followed four
years of
undercover
investigations.
Detecting
prescription
drug abuse in
the workplace is
difficult, the
article notes.
Many drug tests
used by
employers do not
detect
painkillers or
other
prescription
medicines. For
example, of the
4.5 million drug
tests conducted
last year, only
12 percent
tested for the
painkiller
oxycodone. Most
drug tests are
conducted before
a worker is
hired, so
employers often
are not aware
when employees
become addicted
to a drug after
they are on the
job.
U.S. Drug
Enforcement
Administration
spokesman Rusty
Payne told the
newspaper,
“These
problems with
prescription
drugs, the
addiction rates,
the abuse rates,
are happening in
a lot of places
that would
surprise you.
These are people
who don’t fit
the profile of a
typical drug
user.”
A study released
in September
2010 from
more than 5.5
million urine
drug tests found
an 18 percent
increase in drug
tests positive
for opioids in
the general
U.S.workforce
from 2008 to
2009, and more
than a 40
percent jump
from 2005 to
2009.
http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/drugs/arrest-of-boeing-workers-highlights-prescription-
drug-abuse-problems-in-the-workplace?utm_source=Join+Together+Daily&utm_campaign=94fc734874-JT
+Daily+News%3A+Four+Loko+Maker+Agrees+to...&utm_medium=email
|
Teens Who Eat at
Family Dinners Less
Likely to Drink, Smoke
and Use Marijuana
Compared
to teens who have
frequent family dinners
(five to seven per
week), those who have
infrequent family
dinners (fewer than
three per week) are
almost four times
likelier to use tobacco;
more than twice as
likely to use alcohol;
two-and-a-half times
likelier to use
marijuana; and almost
four times likelier to
say they expect to try
drugs in the future,
according to The
Importance of Family
Dinners VII, a new
report from The National
Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse at
Columbia University
(CASA Columbia).
The CASA Columbia family
dinners report revealed
that teens who have
infrequent family
dinners are likelier to
say they have ready
access to alcohol,
prescription drugs
(without a prescription
in order to get high) or
marijuana. Compared to
teens who have frequent
family dinners, those
who have infrequent
family dinners are more
likely to be able to get
alcohol, prescription
drugs or marijuana in an
hour or less. In
contrast, teens who have
frequent family dinners
are more likely to
report having no access
to such drugs.
The CASA Columbia family
dinners report reveals
that 58 percent of teens
report having dinner
with their families at
least five times a week,
a proportion that has
remained consistent over
the past decade.
“This year’s study
reinforces the
importance of frequent
family dinners,” said
Joseph A. Califano, Jr.,
CASA Columbia's Founder
and Chairman and former
U.S. Secretary of
Health, Education, and
Welfare. “Ninety
percent of Americans who
meet the medical
criteria for addiction
started smoking,
drinking, or using other
drugs before age 18.
Parental engagement in
children’s lives is
key to raising healthy,
drug-free kids and one
of the simplest acts of
parental engagement is
sitting down to the
family dinner. Seventeen
years of surveying teens
has taught us that the
more often children have
dinner with their
families the less likely
they are to smoke, drink
or use drugs.”
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