Students teach parents that their prescription pills can start kids down road of drug addiction

Hey, these kids are teaching their parents about prescription drugs! I love this. If you set kids on a mission (or anyone for that matter) to research something so they may teach it to another--who learns the most? Great approach and I applaud the teacher who created this "lesson". Remember Johnathon Livingston Seagull? "You teach best what you most need to learn."

In Hillsdale, students teach parents that their prescription pills can start kids down road of drug addiction - News - NorthJersey.com: "As part of a sophomore honors English course, the students spent most of the school year researching how teenagers use prescription drugs, how prevalent their use is and how parents can curb the dramatic rise in drug abuse. Their work culminated Monday night in a class presentation of the first of two forums for school-district parents as part of their “Lock It Up, Drop It Off” project. "

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A heroin victim's poetic warning for her sister – and the world |

A heroin victim's poetic warning for her sister – and the world |  "It was written by the young Harrisburg-area woman on Christmas Day 2005 – three months before she died of a heroin overdose at the age of 20 – to warn others about the dangers of abusing drugs. Natalie wrote the poem from Dauphin County Prison. She died 19 days after she was released."

Heroin

By Natalie Cribari

Through poison-tainted veins, I feel

A warmth that soothes, but is surreal

It's funny how we became acquainted

He made me quiver, I almost fainted.

He seemed so cool, so calm, and sweet

He swept me off my virgin feet.

We fell in love, or so I thought

My soul, Almighty love, is what he sought.

He hid his identity with a comforting mask,

read more

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Mentors help at-risk youth avoid addiction

Helping mentor kids is a great way to volunteer for drug addiction prevention. The Momin the story below is dealing with the overdose death of her son by reaching out to other young people and sharing her experience. This is one of the ways to deal with grief and really help others--one real person sharing an experience with another--its real and it comes from the gut.

Other ways to share are by providing workshops that young people can come to, MIXED WITH ADULTS--like the young man below at a photography workshop in Alaska for the community--there were many teenagers taking the workshop with parents, professionals, and seniors--mixing the ages in activities betters communications and gives young people
respect and closeness with elders. 

Reach out to young people--not as an expert--not as an authority figure, but as a colleague and friend, by sharing your experiences, including young people in mixed generational activities. Include them--don't push them to be with their peers all the time (so they bond against adults) --they need varied experiences with all ages. That is how we learn. This summer be a mentor for young people, by sharing with them in conversations, activities, and respect.

Mentors help at-risk youth avoid addiction - News - Times Reporter - New Philadelphia, OH: "Otte’s son, Joey, died of a heroin overdose in September 2013, leaving her and her surviving sons devastated. That’s why she agreed to act as a mentor to a student who recently had gotten into trouble for drug use.
“I don’t want his death to be in vain,” Otte said. Telling her son’s story to other young people gives her hope that they may have a different outcome."

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Weekend-only drug use frequently slips into weekday drug use,

Peole don't "fall" into addiction and insanity--but build up slowly. They didn't need a study to know that weekend use graduates into weekday use for addicts..what we'd like to know, is why do some poeple NOT build into wekday use? Is it becasue they don't have the genitics to ease into addiciton? Is it becasue of their environment? Many questions...still too few answers--here is the study from the LA Times.

Weekend-only drug use frequently slips into weekday drug use, study says - LA Times: "ware, weekend ragers: A new study suggests that people who use drugs only on the weekends frequently begin using them on weekdays too."

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Offering Money to Smokers to Quit Pays Off, Study Finds

I like this!!!! It's a new look at getting people to do somehting that is good for them but maybe they don't really want to..like kids and drugs. We know that these things don't work:

scolding
saying, "When I was your age..."
shaming (trying to make them feel guilty)
contracts
letting them drink at home so they won't drink with their friends

Howver, if you piad them not to do drugs...would it work? Somehting to think about! If it works for smoking, it just might work (at least with some kids) for drinking and druging...

Offering Money to Smokers to Quit Pays Off, Study Finds - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: "Offering financial incentives to smokers to quit is more effective than offering free counseling and nicotine replacement therapy, a new study concludes.

More than 2,500 CVS Health employees participated in the study. They were assigned to one of five groups: individual reward (based on their own performance); collaborative reward (based on their group’s performance); individual deposit (requiring an upfront deposit of $150 with subsequent matching funds); competitive deposit (competing for other participants’ deposits and matching funds) or usual care (including free smoking cessation aids and informational resources)."

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Vaping Tricks Increase Teens’ Attraction to E-Cigarettes

Whaever happened to blowing bubbles and creating "tricks" with soap bubbles--now it has to be vaping??? Oh my, how times change.

Vaping Tricks Increase Teens’ Attraction to E-Cigarettes - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: "Many teens who use e-cigarettes say they enjoy performing tricks with the vapor, such as blowing smoke rings or creating funnels of smoke that look like tornadoes. Performing tricks is one of the top two reasons teens say they enjoy using e-cigarettes, Reuters reports."



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More parents fret over kids’ mental health than drugs

It's a shame but so many parents think their kids do not do drugs--or expeiriment..I've had so many kids come to me and ask me not to "tell my parents" and then confess to out of control driking or drugging. I've received messages form my web sites like www.YoungSoberFree.com   why is it so difficult to bleive--we know that most kids experiement with drugs, many abuse them, and yet parents always think they are the exception. Wishful thinking?



Are tyou a parent? Are your kids between 10 and 20? Then take this test:  from www.SoberCoachingYourTeen.com

More parents fret over kids’ mental health than drugs: study - NY Daily News: "Sixty-five percent of the 3,100 parents surveyed worry that their teen suffers from anxiety or depression, with nearly half saying that their kid has confessed mental health struggles to them.

But more than 75% kept their heads in the sand when it came to substance abuse, saying their little angels would never partake."

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Santa Monica 'Reality Parties' To Scare Parents Into Thinking Their Kids Are Addicts

Never heard of this before--reality parties. It is designed to get parents to see what a party is really like and is supposed to "scare" them into thinking their kids are headed for tragedy if they pal around with their friends at these parties--the article here is sarcastic but the concept is intriguing. these "reality" parties for parents might be poorly done, but I think if done right, it could be a good thing--open up dialog, and help parents see thsings they are blind to. It might be a good way to teach parents about Sober Coaching their kids.

Santa Monica 'Reality Parties' To Scare Parents Into Thinking Their Kids Are Addicts: LAist: ""The goal of the #ItsTooEasy Reality Party is to create an opportunity for parents, administrators and community leaders to come together to discuss how we can better protect our youth from the misuse and abuse of drugs and alcohol," Brenda Simmons, Director of the Westside Impact Project, told the Santa Monica Mirror. Her organization is co-hosting the reality parties along with the CLARE Foundation and Straight Up Reality Improv, and will be sponsored in part with your hard-earned taxpayer dollars from the City of Santa Monica and its police department."

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Former anti-drug activists reflect on marijuana legalization

It's a thorny issue--this stuff about legalizing Drugs. Since we do allow the recreational use of drugs, mainly alcohol and cigarettes, I find it hard to rationalize why marajuana can't be among them. It certianly is less violent and disruptive than the drug acohol in the family and community. Humans use drugs. They always have and apparently always will. If we want to control their use as a culture and society, it woud lbe best to make it the least harmful form a societal and familial sense--that means taking the money out of it for the gangs and cartels (and some say the CAI). These women have an intersting take on it.

Former anti-drug activists reflect on marijuana legalization - The Washington Post: "But there was something different, Vonneva Pettigrew could tell, about her neighborhood that day. She could smell it when she walked along the residential streets lined with tidy brick houses and sense it when she talked to the neighbors. More people were smoking pot. And they were doing it in the open. Marijuana may have been legal for only a day, but for Pettigrew, 76, it was the 1970s all over again."

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Breaking through crowd not always easy.

Some times you just have ask people to get out of your way.



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“Palcohol” Maker Says His Product is No More Dangerous Than Liquid Alcohol

Unbelievable!!!! You got to read this one. Now kids can snort their alcohol. I hope this manufacturer is proud of what he or they have accomplished.

“Palcohol” Maker Says His Product is No More Dangerous Than Liquid Alcohol - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: "The maker of the powdered alcohol product “Palcohol” says it is no more dangerous than liquid alcohol, The New York Times reports. Palcohol, recently approved for sale by a federal agency, has been banned in six states. A bill to ban powdered alcohol’s sale and manufacture nationwide has been introduced by Senator Charles Schumer of New York."

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Students teach about drug dangers -

Often, kids will listen to other kids before they listen to their parents. People think that kids get hooked ondrugs from the local drug dealer down the street--but research shows that kids are more like to get on drugs fromt heir older siblings and fromtheir friends at school--finding the local drug dealer comes AFTER they were introduced from their frinds, not before.

In any case, I like the concept here of middle school kids working with grammer school kids. I'd like to revisit this in a year or two and see what happens.



Students teach about drug dangers - Mount Airy News - mtairynews.com: " Surry County Schools are hoping to spark a culture change among local families to combat prescription drug abuse. This year marks the fifth year a student task force has planned and held programs shared in schools."



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Local agency offers free drug testing kits for teens

I'm thinking I like giving these test kis out for free--It's not so pleasent to ask your child if they are doing drugs."mind if I test you?"  that might be hard. Unless they are acting really really weird and you need to know why. I think this is an individual choice, however. Waht is going to work in your family? Are you doing this becasue you need an answer or are you testing becasue you want to humiliate them? You need to be clear on why you are doing it and what the answer will set in motion.

Local agency offers free drug testing kits for teens - WPSD Local 6: Your news, weather, and sports authority: "A $20 test offers results for ten types of illegal drugs, but Andrea Hoskins with The Graves County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy and Prevention said it also can offer parents peace of mind. "Parents can have that open communication with their child about drug use that they may not have had before, especially if they suspect it."
"



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Maryvale to mandate drug forums for parents -

I like the idea of parents learning about drug abuse--BUT mandatory? By whose authority? The school systems work for us. We don't work for them. Just another Big Government power grab. "We know what is best for you, so you have to do what we say."



Yeah right--like when they told us speed was not addictive, that eating 3 meals a week with your kid prevents addiciton, like saying marajuana will drive you instantly mad...like when they used to tell parents they should teach their children how to drink at home--all expert advice at one time or another. Wake up parents.



Maryvale to mandate drug forums for parents - City & Region - The Buffalo News: "During its meeting Monday night, the Board of Education approved mandatory parent meetings to begin next academic year.

Parents of students in sixth to 12th grades will be required to attend the forums or their children will be unable to participate in extracurricular activities, such as sporting events, dances and clubs. In consideration of families with more than one child, attendance would cover parents for four years."



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12 hospitalized after taking drug Molly on Wesleyan campus

It's always something...I get so tired of the revolving drug scene--just as soon as we get a handle on one drug, the kids find the next "new" thing to abuse--a few die, a few are hospitalized, they "learn their lesson" and find the next one...Sigh

12 hospitalized after taking drug Molly on Wesleyan campus: "Ten Wesleyan University students and two campus visitors were admitted to the hospital Sunday after taking a drug called Molly, according to a statement from Wesleyan president Michael Roth.

Molly is a potent substance in the same family as ecstasy or MDMA."



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The Parental Blame Game

Part of the reason I became so interested in helping parents with their addicted children, especially those in recovery is because I am the daughter of an alcoholic and the monther of one! Sandwitched inbetween with my own addiciton problem I can say I have looked at "clouds from both sides now, from up and down and still somehow, life's illusions I recall, I really don't know clouds (addicition recovery) at all." 

I know my own recovery and what worked for me. I know what helped me move forward, my mother in recovery herself, and my daughter in and out of recovery and so dear to me. It runs in our family, our very DNA, but the good thing is - so does recovery! If you want to know my story, it was published in "in-Recovery Magazine" fall of 2014. I hope you enjoy.

My Story as it appeared in in-Recovery Magazine, Fall 2014

My seventeen-year-old daughter’s face looked ashen. Why wasn’t she happy to see me after two weeks in a treatment center? Her crestfallen demeanor concerned me.

“Honey,” I asked, “what’s wrong? I know addiction treatment isn’t fun.”

“No, it’s not that. I like it here . . .” she hesitated. “It’s just that you wrote the book they gave us here in treatment.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Well, the psychiatrist called me in, and said it was a joke on you – that you wrote the book, and now your daughter is an alcoholic.” Read more...

Talk to children about drug abuse -

It is always wise to remind parents to talk to their kids about drugs. It is a revolving educational wheel. Each year new parent's have have that reach the teen years and so each year we have to tell them the same thing we told parents last year. When we talk to our kids, the main thing is to make it real. If you used drugs, talk about it. Be open and honest and share your concerns. Let them know what is acceptable and what is not. And most of all--do not threaten. If you have a boundary they cannot cross, let them know and enforce it. Don't make threats you will not carry out. Kids are smarter than you think. And if you are talking about now, they probably have already experimented. So let them know what you think and ask them what they think. You probably won't stop them from experimenting, but at least they know they can talk to you.

Talk to children about drug abuse - Bowling Green Daily News: Features: "Continue talking through adolescence,” she said. “It is important they become aware of your concerns and know how you feel. Plus, it’s always healthy and beneficial to communicate calmly and clearly. Initiate an open dialog, and be sure to listen to what they have to say – despite the fact that the subject matter may make you uncomfortable.”"



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Drugs, near death and a miraculous second chance for a 28 years old

Addicted to pankillers at age 20--he found reocvery by 28--an inspiring story.




Drugs, near death and a miraculous second chance for Midland Beach man -- in his own words | SILive.com: "The doctors saw that I was in pain, and prescribed painkillers.  It started off with Vicodin, and then Percocet.  I kept periodically upping my dose until the amount of medicine I needed increased."

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Sober Sensations | Alcoholics Anonymous International Convention 2015

Going to be LOTS of sober entertainment at Sober City in Atlanta this July. The AA international is there and I have a booth to sell books! You can buy books, then listen to music, catch a meeting, and then watch a movie--peek at what they have and plan to come!

Sober Sensations | Alcoholics Anonymous International Convention 2015: "Sober City at The Atlanta Tabernacle : 152 Luckie St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303"



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Commentary: The Power of Support Groups -for Parents!

Many of thsoe in recovery from various addictions udnerstand how strong the support group is for support and direction. But it is less well understood how important the groups are for family members affected by the disease. Tehy think, "They've got the problem, not me." And they don't seek support for themselves. But being able to offer the best best help for your kids often depends on you learning what works and what doesn't. That is why my brother and I put together the workbook for parents, "Sober Coaching Your Teen." You can get it from Amazon or at our site--at our site, there are a lot of free downloads and interesting articles. Join together has an interesting article on the power of support groups for parents.

Commentary: The Power of Support Groups - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: "“I have attended parent support group meetings since 2010. When my husband and I were in the darkest place of our lives, we didn’t even realize how much we needed to be with people who had a shared experience. Nearly five years later, we are still active in our support group, and the men and women we have met in those rooms are some of our closest friends today. I do not know where we would be without that group."

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