Archive for September, 2009

Drug Addiction: Risk Factors and Protective Factors

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 18th, 2009

risk factors

The factors that influence drug abuse have been discussed at length. There are a number of factors that act as RISK FACTORS increasing the risk of drug abuse by pushing the individual towards it. But there are also more than a few PROTECTIVE FACTORS which do just the opposite. Various studies have identified specific individual and environmental factors that have a risky or protective influence, but they are not exhaustive or absolute. What might be risk for one may not be risk for another. But identification of the factors is an absolute necessity to prevent youngsters from abusing drugs

Individual Level
Risk Factors

  • Excessive dependency, over protectiveness, poor social skills, low self esteem, physical and mental problems, willingness to take risks for the sake of new sensation and thrills.
  • Poor performance in school, aversion towards school, school dropout.
  • Early exposure to substance use.
  • Lack of religious beliefs. 
  • Having a positive view about substance use behavior.

Protective Factors

  • Independence and ability to cope with stress, good social skills like problem solving, decision making, interpersonal skills, good temperament and personality e.g. optimism, intellectual competence, understanding of different aspects of life, empathy, self esteem, a positive goal in life along with determination and perseverance to achieve the goal.
  • Positive attitude towards school, good academic performance, appreciation, involvement in extra-curricular activities.

Family Level

Risk Factors

  • Broken family, poor parenting skills, substance abuse by a parent/sibling, violence, rejection, basic needs unfulfilled due to extreme economic deprivation.

Protective Factors

  • Healthy bondage among family members that fosters care and support, few stressful events.
  • Effective parental skills, proper monitoring, inculcating a positive value system.
  • Fulfillment of basic needs.

Community Level

Risk Factors

  • Lack of healthy recreational facilities, peer using substances, lack of school values, high rate of unemployment, lack of proper laws pertaining to drug use.
  • Easy availability of substances.

Protective Factors

  • Availability of healthy recreational activities, employment opportunities, favorable peer group, positive value reinforcing norms.
  • Effective policies and laws to limit availability of substances.

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Drug Abuse: A Faulty way to cope with Life

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 16th, 2009

drug abuse teen

Drug abuse, as I had mentioned in my earlier post, is a maladaptive way to cope with one’s life and its problems. Interaction between certain factors increases the vulnerability of an individual to use drugs as a support to overcome the hurdles in life. There are some other factors which make the younger generation even more prone to abuse drugs. An understanding of these aspects is essential for the parents as well as the service providers so as to deal with the problem of teenage drug abuse more effectively.

Young people are curious and love to experiment with new things. Peer influence is maximum during this age. Peer group acts as the main source of information which may not be correct or appropriate. Their behavior, lifestyle, values, beliefs, personal self concept are more likely to be influenced by them. They might end up with peers who may not necessarily be good role models. They might get exposed to unhealthy behavior patterns through them.

Young people are constantly striving to be accepted by others. They make every effort to be a member of a group. If substance abuse is a culture of the group, the young members adopt it to be accepted by the group. It is also a way of showing that they are matured and are not afraid to be a member of the group.

Gaining personal independence and establishing a personal identity are major characteristics of adolescents and young adults. They seek separation from their family, gain a self determination, choose an occupation and develop their personal values. In an attempt to achieve all these they turn rebellious and suffer from low self esteem. In order to cope with these challenges they might turn to drugs.

Boredom is yet another risk factor since they get bored very easily. Feelings of inadequacy and anxiety regarding low performance in school could also act as precipitating factors.

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Why are Young People Vulnerable to Drug Abuse?

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 14th, 2009

young drug abuse

Experimenting with drugs at young age has become a vital concern of the people in this country. Often it is seen teenagers or more precisely the adolescents are more prone to abusing drugs. There was a time when most of them used the drugs without actually understanding its dire consequences. But today several preventive programs adopted at different levels have been quite successful in spreading the awareness about the ill-effects of substance use. But still teenage drug abuse is on the rise. The question is why is it so? Thus understanding the inherent factors is an absolute necessity to prevent teenage drug abuse.

There are varied reasons which account to teenage drug use, the most important of them being their struggle to overcome identity crisis and establish an identity of their own. Sometimes they have no one to share their concerns with and this is when the peer group takes the charge. They disregard parental guidance and are very prone to peer pressure. The Public Health Model shows that substance use is the result of an interaction between three factors –

The individual – the knowledge that the individual may have about substance use and its consequences as well as his coping skills with respect to the difficulties in his life and peer pressure may influence his decision to take drugs.

The substance – the availability of a substance is also a fundamental risk factor. The composition and nature of the substance can also influence its use.

The environment – the environment or the context of drug use is a very important factor. A number of factors within the environment increase the vulnerability of drug use. These are – behavior of parents, peers and role models, existing cultural norms, attitude about drug use, laws and policies regarding the availability of the substance, possibilities or perceived possibilities for livelihood and personal development.

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Global Awareness Campaign to Fight Substance Abuse

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing, Prescription Drug Abuse on September 12th, 2009

SPSARV

A yearlong awareness campaign to fight substance abuse and related violence is being launched by the United Methodist Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV). National Recovery Month, the annual US observance in this month is serving as a channel to start the global initiative. This year’s theme is “Together We Learn, Together We Heal” and its objective is to uphold the necessity of spreading the awareness about substance abuse and also the importance of developing and accessing effective treatment and recovery services. The target group of this awareness campaign is the church leaders who will be encouraged to effectively respond to issues related to substance abuse in their congregations and communities.

The activities of SPSAVR in collaboration with the General Board of Church and Society’s Alcohol, Other Addictions and Health work area includes advocating for public policy on substance abuse and related violence. It works through its United Methodist Inter-Agency and Standing Committee Task Force to distribute resources throughout the global church.

The World Health Organization estimates that globally there are 76.3 million people suffering from alcohol related problems and 15.3 million people suffering due to substance abuse. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in 2007 around 20.8 million people in the country were in need of treatment services for alcohol or substance abuse problem but had no access to it.

Melissa H Davis, executive director of SPSARV said, “We hope the campaign will demonstrate to United Methodists throughout our church’s connectional system the sheer magnitude of the global alcohol and drug problem and encourage congregations to launch addiction ministries and advocate for just public policies in response.”     

The campaign will distribute educational articles to educate church leaders on issues related to substance abuse, identify clergy who are working for the cause and also disseminate The Big Book.

If you wish to have more information on SPSARV, you may please visit www.umspsarv.org.

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Beware of Brownies: They may be laced with Drugs

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing on September 10th, 2009

pot+brownies

I was just going through some interesting news and happened to read one of them which I think is worth sharing. It happened on 7th April in Los Angeles. According to reports, a pre-school teacher bought brownies from a street vendor who claimed that he was selling the sweet treats as a means of raising funds for the church. Each brownie was wrapped in plastic wrappers.

The teacher bought the brownies for $ 1.50 each and took the sweets to her workplace for her colleagues to share. During the break hours five teachers ate one brownie each while the sixth one took a bite and spit it out complaining that it had an “unusual taste”. The teachers fell ill after sometime complaining of dizziness and “tingling of the face, forehead, arms and hands”, according to reports submitted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The lady who had bought the brownies did not have any but her son ate one before she brought them to school. Some of the people who had had the brownie later reported that the food had a “medicine like aftertaste or smell.” But the people who were affected had an entire brownie. 

The pre-school director contacted the pastor to verify the genuineness of such a fundraising program. She was informed that there was no such fundraiser.

The pastor informed the police who in turn called the public health department. An investigation of the matter revealed the fact that the teachers had unknowingly taken brownies laced with pot. Two of the teachers required medical care at an urgent-care center one of whom was a breast feeding mother.

The lesson to be learned from this incident is that drug pushers are always trying out various innovative ways to trap people into their network. It is your responsibility to be cautious and save yourself from their influence. So be on the guard.

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18 Killed in a Drug Rehabilitation Center

Posted by DrugFreeHomes in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, Drug Facts, Drug Rehabilitation, Drug Testing on September 8th, 2009

mexico

Shocking but true – gunmen killed 18 under treatment drug abusers in a rehabilitation center in Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican city, bringing to light the current scenario of illicit drug trade and drug abuse in the country. On 2nd September at around 7.15 am a group of 8 gunmen broke open one of the doors of the center, lined up the victims against the wall and fired them.

This is the third time that a drug rehabilitation center has been attacked in Ciudad Juarez. In one of the attacks the gunmen killed 8 patients and injured 6 others. Mexico has been struggling with domestic consumption of drugs and trafficking for quite some time. According to reports of a government survey released last year, there are 460,000 drug users in the country which is 51% higher than the number of users six years back. As a response to this intensification of the problem, several rehabilitation centers have sprung up many of which are not regulated properly. The center in which the incident occurred is located near the border where drugs and prostitution is rampant.

The state authorities of Chihuahua are of the opinion that rehab centers have turned to hideouts for drug smugglers who are being sought by the police and the other rival gangs. The drug cartels also use them as training and recruitment centers.

Such incidents are absolute confirmation of the fact that the escalating problem of violence and crime related to trafficking of drugs is going beyond control. Rehabilitation centers are places where hapless people come with some hope of overcoming their crisis. It is strange how such incidents could happen repeatedly in a place where security of the patients should be the topmost priority of the authorities. Is it just the end of another drug addict or is it the end human lives who had the right to live like any other fellow beings?

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