How to Keep Sober After Rehab

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Rehabilitation on May 17th, 2012

The real test on staying sober begins once the patient leaves the rehabilitation center. Here are some tips for teens and young adults as they go into the real world after drug abuse treatment.

drug abuse recovery1. Keep healthy habits. Taking care of one’s self is one of the best ways to control cravings. Having a healthy diet, getting enough rest each day and being with friends who encourage you to stay healthy could make a big difference on how your life will turn out.

2. Always remind yourself of what you have learned. A relapse prevention plan always comes in handy when you want to stay clean and reach full recovery. Practice the steps that will help you deal with situations that can trigger a relapse. Following your plan religiously will one day lead you to become the healthy person you want to be.

3. Keep yourself busy. It’s best to find a safe new hobby or join activities that promote healthy living so that you won’t slip to boredom or loneliness. You can even find a job that will make you feel good about yourself again. Never hang out with the same people that led you to drugs or alcohol before.

4. Talk to your parents or school adviser especially in making decisions once you are out of the treatment facility. Express your feelings and let them know about any discomforts you might experience at anytime. You can enlist their help if you want to stay away from the same group that drove you to your addiction. They can also give you sound advices on how to stay sober at all times.

5. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself when you succumb to relapse, seek the guidance and assistance of the experts and discuss what happened and what triggered the act to prevent it from happening again.

No Comments

District Schools Work Together Against Substance Abuse

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Prescription Drug Abuse on May 16th, 2012

In 2010, the Illinois Youth Survey yielded alarming results that showed about 10% of 8th graders in Lake County have already encountered alcohol at the tender age of 10 or even younger. It was also uncovered that 6% of sophomores are lighting up pot at least twice in a month.

teen drug abuseThis is why the Stevenson High School community took the responsibility of holding the “Saving Our Children” symposium which tackled issues on the use of illicit drugs. Aside from their own parents and students, families from Libertyville and Vernon Hills High schools were also present during the event.

Elisabeth Nelson from the Lake County Health Department said that the data gathered in 2010 failed to include the use of OTC drugs among kids but promised to include the subject in this year’s survey. “We have seen a slight increase in prescription drug abuse in the past year’s data,” Nelson added. “Cough medicine is higher than pain killers.”

According to Nelson, it has been recorded that children who start with the abuse of pain killers, such as Oxycontin and Percocet, ultimately go up the ladder towards heroin addiction. She added that the best sources of these pain medications are the home medicine cabinets where parents and grandparents store their prescriptions without proper security.

While alcohol remains the top drug choice among kids in Lake County, other household substances like inhalants are easily misused especially by middle school students.

Thus, Stevenson High School student assistance program coordinator Stephanie Elsass makes it a point to solicit the support of nearby schools in hosting the symposium every year. For the past seven years, schools in their area have taken turns as panel of experts during the forum.

In a report from the Sun Times, Nelson reminded parents to monitor their children especially in the coming summer season and that the talk on drugs and alcohol should be done at the earliest time possible.

No Comments

Teen Behaviors May Be Influenced by their Friends’ Parents

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Abuse Prevention, Raising Healthy Kids on May 15th, 2012

A new study suggests that a teen’s behavior towards drinking, smoking and drug use may not only be influenced by their peers but also by their peers’ parents as well.

teen friendsStudy author Michael Cleveland from the Penn State University said that while teens are learning to choose their set of friends, parents should not be far behind in making sure that their kids’ friends also have responsible parents. There is a relationship between a teen and the behavior and attitude of his friends’ parents.

“Among friendship groups with ‘good parents’ there’s a synergistic effect — if your parents are consistent and aware of your whereabouts, and your friends’ parents are also consistent and aware of their (children’s) whereabouts, then you are less likely to use substances,” Cleveland said.

Children with parents who refuse to deal with the issue of substance abuse and at the same time belonging in a circle with friends under the same condition will more likely to go the wrong way.

The study was done with about 9,000 students from rural school districts in the 9th grade. The research team were able to identify almost 900 groups from the participants classified as to who their friends are and the parents of their chosen peers. After a year, the groups were surveyed and allowed to answer questions on alcohol, cigarette and marijuana use.

It was found out that teens with parents who regularly check on them and know their activities were less likely to get involved in drugs or alcohol use. Yet having friends with parents that are not aware of their kids’ whereabouts and activities significantly influenced the teen’s decision on the said issues despite having “good parents.”

The complete results of the study can be found in the latest issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

No Comments

Marijuana Use Among Teens Increases

Posted by Drug Free in Marijuana Use and Abuse, Prescription Drug Abuse on May 14th, 2012

While the use of cocaine and methamphetamine among teens may have stabilized in the last few years, pot use is on the rise. In a new study released by The Partnership at Drugfree.org, one in every ten kids is smoking marijuana at least 20 times within a month. Students between the 9th and 12th grades are also experimenting with prescription drugs.

smoking potThe situation elevated due to the fact that most parents think that weed is just weed, no cause for alarm. Yet Partnership President Steve Pasierb said that parents should not take the issue of marijuana for granted. “Parents are talking about cocaine and heroin, things that scare them. Parents are not talking about prescription drugs and marijuana. They can’t wink and nod. They need to be stressing the message that this behavior is unhealthy.”

The report showed that marijuana use has increased from only 19% in 2008 to about 27% in 2011. Teens who smoked pot at least 20 times in a month also climbed from 5% in 2008 to last year’s 9%. That’s about 1.5 million teens who regularly light up marijuana.

Previous researches made also had parallel results, like that of a recent survey made by a team from the University of Michigan. The initiative was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that claimed marijuana use is again on the rise after a decline in the last decade.

Results of the study have linked the use of pot and other drugs. It was suggested that teens who regularly use marijuana were also twice more likely to take cocaine or ecstasy.

The study also tackled the issue of pain medications abuse, putting Vicodin and Oxycontin as the drug of choice among teens. It was also noted that ecstasy or cocaine use is highest among Hispanic teens (almost 50%). African American teens followed suit with almost 42% hooked on prescription medications while that of Caucasian teens reached 39%.

No Comments

Parents Should Know How Kids Cheat on Drug Tests

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Testing on May 12th, 2012

Parents should be on the lookout when kids try to cheat on drug tests. Here are things that kids do to cover up their drug use when testing procedures are done.

drug tests1. Drinking too much water before giving urine samples. This is probably the oldest method used not only by kids but for adults too. According to Sharon Levy, a pediatrician from the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, kids consume water to flush out the drugs in their system.

2. Destroying samples. When kids get desperate, they will find ways to tamper with the samples. A few drops of bleach, detergent, vinegar or cleaners are added to mess up samples that would have tested positive for drugs.

3. Using another person’s clean urine samples. When kids know they are about to be tested, they sometimes resort to using other urine samples that are clean or even purchase freeze-dried urine samples online to use as their own.

4. Taking vitamins. To aid in the body’s metabolism, kids take Vitamin B3 in the hopes of getting rid of any drug traces in the body. What they don’t know is that this could lead to complicated conditions and even death. There have been previous reports of kids rushed to ERs due to a sudden drop in blood sugar levels or “liver toxicity” caused by an overdose of niacin.

5. Changing the drug of choice. Before the drug testing procedure, kids can switch to other types of drugs that will give them the same euphoric effect but remain clean upon testing. Inhalants are the best examples of alternative drugs that give the same “high” but do not yield positive drug results.

While these methods cannot guarantee a negative drug test, as most drug testing laboratories already have cheat detection tools in place, it is still best to be observant on the practices above.

No Comments

Tennessee Implements Law to Control Prescription Drug Abuse

Posted by Drug Free in Prescription Drug Abuse on May 11th, 2012

Authorities, law makers and residents of Tennessee know that their state is under a prescription drug abuse epidemic. To address the current situation, a new act has been passed last April 25 that will hopefully put a stop to the growing problem.

The Tennessee Prescription Safety Act will require all prescribers and dispensers of drugs under schedule II, III, IV, or V of the Food and Drug Authority to register in a database.

prescription drug abuseTennessee health commissioner John Dreyzehner said that Tennessee has been battling prescription drug abuse and that they are doing their best to discourage people from getting hold of unwanted medications through the newly approved act.

The Tennessee Drug Diversion Task Force has previously ranked medications such as hydrocodone, alprazolam, and oxycodone as the top controlled substances that doctors instruct their patients to take for relief of any pain discomforts.

Commissioner Dreyzehner warned that although prescription painkillers are a big help to patients, the improper use and abuse of the said medications could lead to disastrous results. “It’s part of the human condition, really. Some of the same things that make us successful as a species … those are some of the same pathways that get stimulated when people abuse certain substances.”

In 2002, the Controlled Substances Database was initially used to identify prescriptions used by patients, and by 2013, all prescribers and dispensers will be ordered to use the database under the Tennessee Prescription Safety Act.

In a feature from the Daily Herald, exceptions to the rule are those under medication from surgery, prescriptions of less than 7 days, and those put in hospice care.

The new legislation will serve as a safety net against prescription drug abuse. It can be remembered that in 2010, drug overdose claimed 1059 lives in the state.

“(As a doctor,) I really want to know if you are already taking (certain medications), because I would not want to harm you inadvertently,” Dreyzehner said.

No Comments