Teens Now Getting High off Digital Drugs
I-dosing on “digital drugs” is becoming an alarming new trend amongst teens. Web sites are luring kids with free downloads of “digital drugs,” which are audio files designed to induce drug-like effects. Videos of teenagers trying the digital drugs are […]
Read MoreThe role of parents in preventing alcohol misuse
An Evaluation of the Kids, Adults Together Programme (KAT)
INTRODUCTION
A key influence on the timing of young people’s first alcohol use is the family (Spoth et al. 2002) and a number of substance misuse prevention programmes (mainly in the USA) have […]
The Importance of Family Dinners VI
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 more than twice as likely to say that they expect to try drugs in the […]
Tool May Allow Doctors to Assess Meth Impact on Babies Exposed Before Birth
A new assessment tool may allow doctors to evaluate the impact of methamphetamine on babies exposed in the womb. The tool may help identify which babies will go on to develop problems due to exposure to the drug, according to […]
Brain Scans Show Danger of Meth Exposure During Pregnancy
A new study suggests that the brain damage suffered by children whose mothers used metamphetamine during pregnancy may be even worse than the effects that alcohol has on a fetus.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that some […]
Supervised drinking at home can lead to alcohol problems as a teenager
Many mothers and fathers think that allowing their children to have a supervised drink is a good way of exposing them to alcohol safely and taking away its illicit thrill. But new research suggests it sends mixed signals that result […]
Long-term effects of a parent and student intervention on alcohol use in adolescents: a cluster randomized controlled trial.
In this Dutch study, promoting parental rule setting and classroom alcohol education together nearly halved the proportion of adolescents who went on to drink heavily. Rarely have such strong and sustained drinking prevention impacts been recorded from these types of […]
Children of addicts ‘more likely to experience problems in adulthood’
Children of drug addicts are suffering in desperation as shame and secrecy shroud the substance misuse in families, it was claimed today.
Youngsters whose parents take drugs are also more likely to have problems with substances, as well as their mental […]
Parents: Know warning signs of drug abuse
Q: How can I tell if my child has been using marijuana?A: There are some signs you might be able to see. If someone is high on marijuana, he or she might:
• Seem dizzy and have trouble walking;• Seem silly […]
Crystal Meth Detected In Newborns’ Hair
TORONTO, Nov. 2 — Methamphetamine can be detected in the hair of newborns whose mothers used the drug during pregnancy, researchers here have found.
Action Points
Note that this study shows that methamphetamine used during pregnancy can be found in the hair […]
Adopted kids’ drug abuse risk affected by biological family
Adopted children are twice as likely to abuse drugs if their biological parents did too, suggesting that genetics do indeed play a role in the development of substance abuse problems. However, trouble or substance abuse in the adoptive family is […]
Read MoreTeens’ ‘cinnamon challenge’ is dangerous
A word of warning to parents of adolescents, from the nation’s poison centers: Yes, you’ve secured your medicine chest and your liquor cabinet, but a new thrill-seeking activity among teens might make you consider locking away the cinnamon shaker as […]
Read MoreParents and parents of friends can influence drug use
Parents of teenagers’ friends can have as much effect on the teens’ substance use as their own parents, according to a new study.
“Among friendship groups with ‘good parents’ there’s a synergistic effect – if your parents are consistent and aware of […]
Smoking ban ‘cuts birth problems’
The smoking ban in public places has led to a reduction in the number of complications in pregnancy, a new study has found. Complications in pregnancy have fallen as a result of the ban on smoking in public places, according […]
Read MoreAcross the United States , Teenagers are Becoming Less Aware of the Dangers of Marijuana Use.
While negative influences abound, positive messages reinforcing a drug-free lifestyle seem scarcer all the time. More responsibility than ever falls on the parents of our teens to educate them of the pitfalls of marijuana — a gateway drug. New data […]
Read MoreWhen It Comes to Our Kids, Is a Little Marijuana Okay?
Adolescent use of marijuana has become almost as acceptable as staying out a little past curfew. Most agree the latter shouldn’t happen, but it’s understandable and as long as things don’t get worse easy to address with a clock and […]
Read MoreReclassifying Cannabis
The article “Reclassifying cannabis ‘would make no difference to young’ – Experts say that the vast majority of teenagers get the drug from their friends” by Jonathan Owen from U.K.’s The Independent, January 6, 2008, relates to basic concerns that […]
Read MoreTeens Using Drugs to Cope with Stress, Parents Underestimating Pressures
NEW YORK, NY – A new study released by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America reveals a troubling new insight into the reasons why teens use drugs. According to the 2007 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study of 6,511 teens (PATS Teens), […]
Read MoreEffective Parenting can reduce risk of substance use by adolescents.
Researchers have tested several models to explain in what way different factors influence the possibility that an adolescent starts to abuse substances. In all of these models, parental and family factors have a central position in the long-term pathways leading […]
Read MoreDrug Education
The article below was written in an American publication in 2008 and drew on previous articles from the 1990s – also included here. It is salutary to see that the comments about drug education in schools in the USA are […]
Read MoreChapel Hill ISD Presenting Drug Prevention Program For Parents
Chapel Hill Independent School District announced today that they will host Project 7th Grade, a national initiative of the notMYkid organization that educates parents, schools and children on substance abuse prevention, for a presentation on effective means for families to […]
Read MoreDinner with family helps prevent drug use
Compared to 12- and 13-year olds who have frequent family dinners, those who have infrequent family dinners are six times likelier to use marijuana, four times likelier to use tobacco, and three times likelier to use alcohol.• Compared to teens who […]
Read MoreTeens Who Drink With Parents May Still Develop Alcohol Problems
Parents who try to teach responsible drinking by letting their teenagers have alcohol at home may be well intentioned, but they may also be wrong, according to a new study in the latest issue of the Journal of Studies on […]
Read MoreThe Impact On Children Whose Parents Are Alcoholics Or Drug Addicts
Children in families experiencing alcohol or drug abuse need attention, guidance and support. They may be growing up in homes in which the problems are either denied or covered up. These children need to have their experiences validated. They also […]
Read MoreResearch Shows Parenting Can Prevent Drug Use, Aid Brain Development, NIDA Chief Says
From the founding of National Families in Action during the height of the War on Drugs to Joseph A. Califano’s book, How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid, parents and communities have been touted as the keys to preventing alcohol and […]
Read MoreKids who drink with parents ‘develop alcohol problems’
Children, whose parents allow them to have alcohol at home in a bid to teach responsible drinking, drink even more outside of home, a new study claims.
A study of 428 Dutch families has found that teens who drank under their […]
Parents encourage youngsters to drink, finds Oz study
A new Australian study suggests that parental encouragement leads to alcoholism in teenagers. The latest MBF Healthwatch survey found that 63percent of Aussies in the higher income bracket approve of alcohol consumption by 15 to 17 year olds at home […]
Read MoreParental monitoring can reduce teens’ marijuana use
A new American study suggests that parental monitoring can help bring down the cases of marijuana use by adolescents.
Psychologists Andrew Lac and William Crano of the Claremont Graduate University examined various studies to find the connection between parental monitoring (when […]
The Importance of Family Dinners
CASA REPORT FINDS TEENS WHO HAVE INFREQUENT FAMILY DINNERS LIKELIER TO DRINK, SMOKE, USE MARIJUANA
Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five or more per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are twice […]
My son’s death makes me fear for her family
John, an engineer in his fifties, lives in Scotland with his wife. One of their two sons, Simon, became a heroin addict.I have huge sympathy for Amy Winehouse’s parents, I know exactly what they are going through.
We had high hopes […]
Study: Parents’ Expectations Can Influence Risky Teen Behavior
Research Summary
The more parents expect their teens to engage in risky behaviors such as drinking and using drugs, the more likely their teens are to follow through with those behaviors, Reuters reported Oct. 16.
Researchers found that adolescents with mothers who […]
Be a WebSafe Parent – protect your kids from pro-drug web content
One of the questions that comes up time and again is how do we safeguard our children from being exposed to drugs and pro drug use content on the Internet?
Most parents are already attuned to risks on the web like […]
Guide to implementing family skills training programmes for drug abuse prevention.
UN-commissioned guidance from international experts on how to mount prevention programmes based on family skills training involving parents and children in a joint effort to improve family dynamics and child development. Engaging parents seems the major barrier.
Abstract
This review and guidance […]
Today’s Parents ‘Not To Blame’ For Teenage Problem Behavior
Poor parenting is not the reason for an increase in problem behaviour amongst teenagers, according to research led by Oxford University.
A team led by Professor Frances Gardner from the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of […]
Shocking toll … under-age boozing has soared since Labour introduced 24-hour drinking in 2005
THE number of children being treated for booze problems nearly DOUBLED in three years, The Sun can reveal.A staggering 8,799 under-18s – including some of PRIMARY school age – were treated for misusing alcohol in the 12 months to April […]
Read MoreTeens Who Drink With Parents May Still Develop Alcohol Problems
Parents who try to teach responsible drinking by letting their teenagers have alcohol at home may be well intentioned, but they may also be wrong, according to a new study in the latest issue of the Journal of Studies on […]
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A Fairy Story
Once upon a time there were places in the world where children were not mini adults. Little boys wore short trousers and climbed trees and made camps. Little girls played with dolls and wore frilly dresses. Children went to school […]
Read MoreBig Tobacco Still Targetting Kids
Parents – did you know that if you can encourage your children not to smoke you will be helping them to remain drug-free ?Research shows that only 2% of non-smokers use illegal drugs compared to 56% of smokers. Cigarette companies […]
Read MoreFinding the Courage To Speak After Losing A Son
“My son Ian died of a drug overdose. If this can happento him, it could happen to anyone.”
Ginger Katz
The night before Ginger Katz had to face the grim reality of burying her 20-year-old son, Ian, she had a vision. She […]
Especially for Parents
News and Commentary by Sharon Secor September 2004
Big Pimpin’ For The Shorties
It’s probably not surprising, in a cultural climate in which porn inspired phrases as “the money shot” or drug-dealer slang as “re-up” have come to be used so commonly that […]
A Healthy Start: Some Parenting Practices May Protect Youth From Early Marijuana Use
Parenting practices during the middle years of elementary school, such as supervision and monitoring, may affect adolescent initiation of marijuana use, according to a new NIDA-supported study conducted by Dr. Chuan-Yu Chen and colleagues from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg […]
Read MoreFamily-Based Intervention Helps Male Children of Drug Users Avoid Substance Use Disorders
Children of drug users are at high risk for developing substance use disorders themselves later in life. From 1991 to 1993, researchers funded by NIDA recruited families, with a parent in methadone treatment for heroin addiction and at least one […]
Read MoreResearcher Decries Parental Permissiveness on Drinking
Research Summary
A Penn State researcher says that parents who let teens drink alcohol may be setting their kids up for binge drinking in college, but the study by Caitlin Abar of the school’s Prevention Research and Methodology Center makes no […]
Predictive factors for illicit drug use among young people
A literature review
ResultsThe most extensive and consistent evidence relates to young people’s interaction with theirfamilies. The key predictors of drug use are parental discipline, family cohesion and parentalmonitoring. Some aspects of family structure such as large family size and low […]
Effect of Prenatal Smoking on Genes Increases Risk for Disruptive Behavior
In a new study, researchers have determined that prenatal exposure to cigarette smoking, when combined with a specific genetic variant, places children at increased risk for aggressive behavior and other behavioral problems.
The study, led by scientists at the Institute for […]
Drug Use Down in USA
Being a teenager isn’t as risky as it used to be, but too many teens still put their lives and their health at risk, a CDC survey shows.
Every two years, the CDC conducts its huge Youth Risk Behavior Survey. It […]
Family Dinners and Teen Substance Use
As frequency of family dinners increases, reported drinking, smoking and drug use decreases. Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven family dinners per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are […]
Read MoreSmoking During Pregnancy Increases Risk of Behavioral Problems in Children
A recent study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has revealed that women who continue to smoke during pregnancy are more likely to have children with behavioral problems. Disturbances caused can show signs as early as when […]
Read More“Drugs Don’t Discriminate”
By Ginger Katz
On September 10, 1996, I lost my 20-year-old son, Ian to a drug overdose just before he was going into a rehabilitation program the next day. Ian had used tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana in high school. At one […]
Classic Blog: Experience of a mother of two young heroin addicts
[This blog, first posted on 20th May, 2009 has had over 1100 visits]
We found my 20 year old brother dead of an overdose. He had just kicked the habit so tolerance was low. He started a job and the first […]
PRIDE Survey Shows Students with Parents who Set and Enforce Clear Rules Less Likely to Report Drug Use
The 2008-09 PRIDE Survey showed that middle and high school students whose parents set clear rules for them “a lot” or “often” were less likely to report using illicit drugs in the past year (12 percent and 21 percent, respectively). […]
Read More11,000 children addicted to drink and drugs get help
More than 11,000 children under 16 years old were treated last year for addictions to alcohol and drugs, including heroin, according to new figures released this week.
The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse puts the total figure of children treated […]
Five Moms Campaign
As a D.A.R.E. officer and a school resource officer in Reno County, Kansas, I am out every day in my community—particularly at schools—working to prevent substance abuse. When I heard about the Five Moms Campaign, I was inspired to raise […]
International Coalition For Drug Demand Reduction
3668 Bonita View Drive., Bonita, Ca. 91902 (619) 475 9941/475 9942 email rogermorgan339@sbcglobal.net
4/18/2009
To: President Barack ObamaThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Ave NWWashington, D.C. 20500
CC: Vice President Joe Biden
Director of The Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske
Dear Mr. President:
We, an […]
Stopping Drug Use – Primer for Parents-
It’s summer, when kids should be able to run free. “Should be able” is the operative phrase here, unfortunately. – No parent would ever wish drug abuse on their child; the thought that their beloved newborn could turn out to […]
Read MoreWhat a pity Universities and colleges in the United Kingdom don’t do this.
Youngsters under 21, often the first time away from home, often drink to excess when they are in college. This can reflect on their academic work, acceptable behaviour and sadly, too often, result in alcohol overdoses. Yet parents, (who are […]
Read MoreMiddle schools offer parents drug-test kits
by Ofelia Madrid
When the Paradise Valley Unified School District recently announced that it would hand out free drug-testing kits to parents of seventh-grade students, district officials did it with confidence.
They had surveyed middle school parents about the idea, and the […]
Out of joint
The government’s decision that cannabis should remain a Class C drug came as it accepted it could trigger serious mental illness. Here, one father tells the traumatic story of how cannabis turned his bright and promising teenage son into a […]
Panorama programme. Cannabis: what teenagers need to know
The BBC’s Panorama programme. Cannabis: what teenagers need to know will explore the latest scientific research on the effects of cannabis on the human mind and links between cannabis and psychosis. It will meet young people for whom cannabis use […]
Parents Can Sway Teens’ Attitudes on Drugs
FRIDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) — Peer pressure isn’t the only major factor influencing whether teens use drugs. Parents also play an important role, a new study finds.
“Much of the previous research in this area shows that adolescents make their […]
Reaching them Young…
A SPORTS DRINK FOR CHILDREN IS JANGLING SOME NERVES
The company’s marketing materials describe the drink as a way to kick-start the morning for children as young as 4. The company Web site, adorned with a picture of an elementary school […]
Sale of Drug-test Kits on the Rise
More parents are purchasing drug-testing kits to use on their children, the Wall Street Journal reported June 2. U.S. sales of home drug-test kits have more than doubled since 2003, with annual sales now around $20 million. Retailers like Wal-Mart […]
Read MoreSchool drug testing program cuts student drug use
At a time schools across the country are doing everything they can to fight drugs in schools, in Knoxville, Tennessee, one school has found a way. Scott County has taken a STAND against drugs.
Sarah Byrd is a senior at Scott […]
Schools Discover Benefits of Student Drug Testing Programs While Avoiding Costs and Liabilities
Some parents oppose school drug testing as an invasion of privacy and waste of resources. Others praise the idea. A new home-testing campaign initiated by TestMyTeen.com gives parents responsibility for safer schools along with administrators.
St. Louis, Mo. (PRWEB) January 10, […]
What’s up with that snowman T-shirt?
NEW YORK (AP) — One of the hottest-selling T-shirts around the country shows a simply drawn snowman with a menacing expression.
It’s not Frosty’s evil twin. The image popularized by drug-dealer-turned-rapper Young Jeezy symbolizes those who sell a white substance known […]
Parents Smoke, Kids Don’t
Prevention in the home works for children of tobacco users, new study shows.
Parents who can’t quit smoking can still take decisive action to prevent their kids from smoking, according to new research.
A three-year study found that kids whose parents smoke […]
National Study Reveals Drug-Experienced Parents See Less Risk
Just as Teens Confront New Drug Threats and Changing Landscape, New Cohort of Parents Carry Lax Attitudes, Less Concern About Drug Risks Facing Kids, Talk Less With Teens About Drugs
New York, NY. /PRNewswire/ – When it comes to today’s parents […]
Substance-Free Dorms Get Good Grades
Parents, school administrators, and students are counted among the fans of substance-free dorms, which ban the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
The New York Times reported Nov. 6 that it is often parents who sign their kids up to […]
Summer time increased use of Marijuana
ONDCP Alerts Parents: Marijuana Use Spikes When School’s Out. More Teens Try Marijuana During the Summer Than Any Other Time of Year
(Washington, D.C.)—White House Drug Czar John P. Walters warned parents today that first-time marijuana use among teens increases dramatically […]
The Summer Activity Checklist
Have You Done These With Your Teen Yet?1.. Set Rules Have you set clear rules and let your teen know that marijuana use is unacceptable? Two-thirds of kids say that upsetting their parents or losing the respect of family and friends is […]
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