Addiction Today: ‘Legal’ highs – what you need to know

As if trying to keep our kids of illegal drugs is not enough, now we have to worry about "legal" highs and peole who tout them as safe. When I was a hippie, I remember learning about banana peels and how people said we could dry them and roll them and get high on the smoke--not so much. But then they talked about the spices--like allspice--that was more dangerous--destroying the lungs. Geese--now you parents have businesses and head shops advertising these things,,, read below:

Addiction Today: ‘Legal’ highs – what you need to know: "Over the last 10 years, novel psychoactive substances – NPSs or ‘legal highs’ - have become increasingly available to those looking to abuse them in the UK.  Not only are they advertised and sold widely on the internet and head shops but they are also sold as “safe” and “legal” alternatives to illicit drugs. In reality, they can be just as harmful and addictive as illegal drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy or ketamine. Information on their effects is minimal or inaccurate.  "

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Biases against AA? | Jean-Paul Bedard

Deciphering Addiction | Jean-Paul Bedard: "Whatever bias you have against 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, they are incredibly effective for many suffering addicts. They can help establish routine and accountability in an addict's life. More importantly, recovery meetings give addicts like me the "rewards" we were seeking in the drugs and alcohol. It's a safe place to make connections with others, and through sharing our struggles and fears with other addicts, we are given a cathartic release that quiets our restless mind."



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Mississippi Welfare Reform Links Parent Drug Test to Child Benefits -

If I say I agree--people will call me heartless. But when parents do drugs, kids are not taken care of anyway...I know I've been there.

Mississippi Welfare Reform Links Parent Drug Test to Child Benefits - Businessweek: "Progressive groups have taken particular issue with a proposed regulation, drafted by the Mississippi Department of Human Services as part of putting HB 49 into effect, that would cut off benefits for children if a parent refused a drug test or failed one after completing a treatment program. The critics contend that such a provision contradicts state law by punishing the families of drug users and should be scrapped. "

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Behaving our way into Better Feelings

We are responsible for what we do. So why do we so often give young adults a pass?

I did things like that too when I was young.
Kids will be kids.
They are sowing their oats.
They come from a broken home.
There is no father in the home.
If you came from the neighborhood, what would you do?
Racism contributed to his problem.

How many excuses can you think of the let kids do things they should not? Do you think it helps them or hurts them to excuse inexcusable behavior?

21: Science's limit when it comes to the drinking age

The law of unintended consequences. When Ronald Reagan signed the law that raised the drinking age to 21 he wanted to address a health concern, mainly drunk driving for underage drivers. And the law did help. Fatal crashes involved underage drinkers dropped from 61% in 1982 to only 33% in 1991. But once they made alcohol the forbidden fruit, drinking underage actually increased!

Why? Because kids want what they can't have..they test, they experiment. It is natural and a part of maturing. Read the study. Remember, when you "forbid" something--it makes it all the more intriguing. This same principle apply to the kids you have at home. Be very careful when you "forbid" your kids from doing something and rethink how you present rules. This doesn't mean you don't take stands and tell them how you feel and what your limits are...but consider it carefully understanding how your kids develop.Read this article--it can help give you ideas.

21: Science's limit when it comes to the drinking age - CNN.com: "But while the law did have a significant impact on drinking and driving, it did not stop kids from drinking. In fact, it may have made drinking even more appealing to teens, whose brains naturally seek out risk more than adult brains do -- without considering what the consequences might be.
A survey of students at 56 colleges across the country just a couple years after the legislation passed found that "significantly more under-age students drank compared to those of legal age." This study concluded that "the increase in purchase age appears to have been not only ineffective but actually counter-productive, at least in the short run.""

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Health News - Who will binge-drink at age 16?

Yikes--one aspect of this study surprised me. that was even drinking 2 before 1 could predict binge drinking by 16! I'd like to see some follow up studies--it would be really helpful if such a predictor were true.

Health News - Who will binge-drink at age 16? European teen study pinpoints predictors: "Surprisingly, when developing their model to predict teenage binge-drinking, the scientists found that even 1-2 instances of alcohol consumption by age 14 was sufficient to predict if the teenagers would binge-drink at age 16. Previous research has suggested that the odds of adult alcohol dependence "



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SAFE Helps Parents Combat Kids’ Drug Use

It looks like these people are giving out good information. I am often very critical of programs designed to "help" and what they really do is blame parents, take responsibility away from the kids, or inadvertently glamorize drug use. But this program seems down to earth and practical--



SAFE Helps Parents Combat Kids’ Drug Use: "Some parents believe it is okay to have a party in their home because then “they know where their children are,” Ortiz said. “That attitude is not okay.”
 
Ortiz said that currently the major concern for Glen Cove Police is the sale of medication by children, which they take from their relatives and then sell in school. “Even kids that are prescribed medication are selling their own medication,” he said. “We are working hard to stop this in Glen Cove.”"



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When parents chase drugs, kids are left on their own |

We usually talk about the effect of kids taking drugs on parents--lets not forget its a two way street.

When parents chase drugs, kids are left on their own | The Columbus Dispatch: "Karen Ezirim promised her five young children she would be gone only a few hours when she left them with a family member.

But her best friends — alcohol, crack cocaine and pain pills — persuaded her to stay longer.

When she returned home days later, Ezirim’s children were gone, taken by Franklin County Children Service"



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