Parents as First Responders in Adolescent Substance Use | Youth Today

What is a First Responder? According to the National First Responders Organization, "A First Responder is any individual who runs toward an event rather than away." and you know what Mom and Dad--when your kid is in trouble, that is YOU. While everyone else is trying to figure out how to rid themselves of this drug addict kid, you are right in the middle of it. This is a great article on Parents as first repsonders with their kids--worth reading.

Parents as First Responders in Adolescent Substance Use | Youth Today: "Studies show that 90 percent of people with substance use disorders began using during their teen years when the brain is still developing, so taking action is important regardless of the level of use. While the most recent survey from Monitoring the Future, an ongoing study of U.S. high school students, shows a decline in teens’ use of alcohol, it still shows that two in every five high-school seniors have consumed alcohol in the past year, with one in every six teens engaged in binge drinking (more than five drinks in a row) once or more often in a two-week period. One in every 17 high school seniors smokes marijuana daily, with a majority of seniors reporting that they see no harm in regular marijuana use."



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'It's beyond pain': how Mormons are left vulnerable in Utah's opiate crisis |

Prescription pain pills are taking a lot of folks out--especially in AA. Yes, we sometimes need pain killers for surgeries, an accident, some unforeseen event--but it should be with the doctor's full knowledge that we are alcoholics and addicts--if you don't tell your doctor in clear terms then you are leaving the way open to continue to get drugs--many many people go out when their doctor prescribes pills. It is epidemic not only in Utah but across the country.

When you work with others in the program a strict rule is this:

Tell your primary caregiver, your secondary caregiver, your dermatologist, your dentist, --every provider that you do not take mind-affecting chemicals BECAUSE you are an alcoholic/addict. You only take them under supervision and for the least amount of time possible.

For chronic pain, you must find other solutions and, yes, there are many other solutions. The person who wants to stay sober will find those solutions. The inner addict will claim that only the pills work.

Read the article about Utahans below--it is what is happening around the country.

'It's beyond pain': how Mormons are left vulnerable in Utah's opiate crisis | US news | The Guardian: "“Maline never thought she had a problem,” said her sister, Mindy Vincent, a recovering addict. “She was a firm believer that because the doctor prescribed the pills it was OK. She didn’t see any shame in it. She didn’t think she was an addict. It wasn’t like taking drugs. But she was on the painkillers for 15 years until they wouldn’t give her any more."

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7 Tips for Mothers of Adult Addicts

 Good parents are not perfect parents and there are things you can do to help your adult child addict. I read these 7 suggestions and I love them! If you are dealing with addiction and an adult child--please read this article. It is worth your time! Takes 4 minutes.

7 Tips for Mothers of Adult Addicts | Psychology Today: "Depending on how far from your personal measure of “good” your child falls, your personal level of anger and shame may vary. Some parents resort to hot anger and recriminations of “I didn’t raise you to be like this!” Other parents fall into a trap of accepting the blame that some misbehaving adult children want to place on them. Some parents may be bled dry by meeting the financial assistance pleas/demands from children who are habitually showing up in the judicial system and need money for court/legal fees. (And they may hope, often in vain, that the money goes to the stated purpose rather than buying their child more trouble). Some parents carry great shame about their children’s mistakes – believing that if they had just done a better job somewhere along the line, this problem/incidence/pattern/behavior would not have appeared in their child’s life."



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Risky Business: Drug Abuse Among Baby Boomers On Rise

Just remember in the world of drugs, it is not "Do as I say..."  It will always be "Do as I do..." for kids with parents who use and abuse and grandparents who use and abuse.

Risky Business: Drug Abuse Among Baby Boomers On Rise | Falmouth Columns | capenews.net: "Kids who are exposed to parents or grandparents who drink excessively, use recreational street drugs, or misuse or abuse prescription medication (especially opioid painkillers) are more likely to develop a substance use problem. Also, older adults tend to use more prescription medication, especially painkillers. Having these medications around in a cabinet, on a kitchen counter, in a pillbox or a purse provides easy access to a family member or friend who might want to either sell or use the drugs. Research studies have documented that more than 60 percent of teens who start to abuse prescription opioids get the drugs from a family member."



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'Drug Recovery Pods' help Manatee County offenders battle addiction

This is amazing--I would love to see this program with their recovery pods in action--like a sci fi film!

At least this legal system is working on solutions! 50 people began the program in their recovery pods--article worth reading for anyone in the field.

'Drug Recovery Pods' help Manatee County offenders battle addiction - Sarasota News | Mysuncoast.com and ABC 7: Local News: ""They have parenting skills, life skills, employability skills training, full church services," says Lt. Yvonne Ingersoll, the program coordinator. "You name it, they get it, and it's 100 percent participation." It's volunteer-only, and inmates must admit to having a problem. "You can't commit a person to sobriety, it has to come from within," says Ingersoll, who's brother battled addiction through his life."



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Jennifer’s legacy - Mother’s grief fuels push for substance abuse reform law

This is an interesting take on helping other with drug problems. I have usually believed that we need to let people kill themselves if they want--Alcoholics and drug addicts--you don't think clearly when on the drugs but if you take them willingly, do others have the right to stop you if you aren't hurting them?  This mother says YES. She believes if you can make decisions for a Alzheimer's victim then you can for someone messed up on mind-affecting chemicals too.

Well, she has a point. One I need to think about.

Jennifer’s legacy - Mother’s grief fuels push for substance abuse reform lawLargo Leader - Tampa Bay Newspapers: "Blair said the Jennifer Act could’ve given her the power she needed to save her daughter’s life. “I have power of attorney over my mother, who is 81 years old. I have legal rights to make decisions as her advocate because she is elderly and can’t make medical decisions for herself sometimes and I can take over her affairs,” Blair said. “I have the right to do that, but I didn’t have the right to do that with Jennifer because she was over 18. I needed the right to be able to do that for Jennifer just like I can do it now for my mom. It’s the same thing. You are stepping in for somebody until they are stable or get clarity and then you can give them that power back to make medical decisions.” "



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TV’s quiet 12-step revolution: Prestige comedies are changing the way we see addiction, sobriety and AA - Salon.com

Sarah Hepola is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, "Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget." writes this "Article" (Its more like a novel!) about TV and our view of 12 Step programs. One of my biggest bitches with using AA members in TV and movie plots is the writer's need to get everyone drunk, especially their characters who have been sober for many years--so and so's sponsor who had 15 to 30 years. I hate it. In the name of "plot tension" they always get the sober guys drunk--its like Hollywood can't figure out that the 12 Step program actually WORKS for many people--in Hollywood members of AA always fail in recovery--ostensibly to give the plot more spice.

Sarah writes about drama and comedy and AA--gives some great examples and complains that Hollywood makes sobriety look easy, "Stories about addicts follow a familiar arc: the exhilaration of alcohol or drugs, followed by the train wreck, and then — tah-dah! — a shiny new life in recovery." Maybe, but they also make it look basically unattainable and everyone at some time has to get drunk again! Since there are many of us DON'T get drunk again--I find it insulting to show audiences only one side of AA--get in trouble, get in treatment, change your life, relapse at some point!

I'm grateful that recovery is part of life portrayed on TV today. Now lets get real and cut the easy way out of writing "tension" into a plot--try reality--and start with those of us that don't slip for the shock value. Read Sarah's piece here:


TV’s quiet 12-step revolution: Prestige comedies are changing the way we see addiction, sobriety and AA - Salon.com: "People often complain that recovery stories are all the same, because they follow the same trajectory, which is sort of like saying that human lives are all the same, because we all wind up dead. The drama is entirely in how we get there. What I think people are saying is that we keep telling recovery stories in the same way, and it’s boring. Fair enough. I think we need more stories, better stories, different stories. "



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Alcoholic now has 100 convictions after verbal abuse in Crawley church

Alcoholism. Isn't it wonderful? /sarc

Alcoholic now has 100 convictions after verbal abuse in Crawley church and at Gatwick | Crawley News: "At the court appearance on Wednesday last week (March 9) Haynes pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting a police officer, one count of racially aggravated assault, three counts of being abusive towards members of the public and police officers, and one count of failing to appear in court. Prosecutor Melanie Wotton explained that Haynes was battling an alcohol problem. She said: "On November 25, 2015 Mr Haynes was on a bus coming back from Brighton where he was intoxicated."



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Parents are hiring this man to search their kids’ rooms with a drug-sniffing dog - The Washington Post

I have always been for drug testing our kids, especially when there is reason to suspect that the child is in trouble. But drug Sniffing dogs? that might be a better way to find drugs in your home, and I am conflicted. How can you protect your young person if you don't know exactly what is going on? And don't give me this "If you raised them right you could trust them" crop because it simply is not true. It is a young person's job to break away from their parents even when it involves drugs..a right of passage is hiding things from Mom and Dad and testing the waters... any kid who doesn't won't break free to begin their own life.

Still, this is a good article and maybe worth considering--its less invasive than some drug test kits...

Read the article below.

Parents are hiring this man to search their kids’ rooms with a drug-sniffing dog - The Washington Post: "In nine out of 10 homes, Davis told The Washington Post, his dogs have located drugs. The most common drug the drug-sniffing dogs find is heroin, Davis said, though his dogs have also turned up cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines and barbiturates, sometimes elaborately hidden in homes and cars."



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Almost 90 Percent of Teens Who Abuse ADHD Drugs Use Someone Else’s Medication

Almost 90 Percent of Teens Who Abuse ADHD Drugs Use Someone Else’s Medication - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: "Using someone else’s medication was the most frequently reported form of misuse, at 88 percent, the researchers wrote in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. The study found 39 percent took more medication than prescribed."

Interesting--but not nearly comprehensive enough. I have news for these folks, most drugs that are abused include the user using other's meds! How so? When pills are prescribed and the person begins to abuse and take more than necessary--they run out quickly but can't get the doctor to write another script. It used to be easy to get multiple doctors to write scripts but new laws have cut down widely on that practice, so what happens? The drug abuser then goes to the streets, "borrows" meds from their friends and steals them from everyone else.

In the 12 step programs, there are some members who get caught up in the practice of using other's meds--telling themselves they are sober and just "borrowing" the pills for some pain. It is a huge problem right now because they don't actually pick up alcoholic but relapse on pills telling themselves they are sober.

The remedy? Honesty--tell the one nodding off in the meeting the truth and discuss taking meds in meetings.



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Parents should 'try everything' to stop kids' drug abuse, youth worker says

Finally, an honest worker who admits that kids drug abuse is not the result of bad parenting!!!! About time.

Parents should 'try everything' to stop kids' drug abuse, youth worker says - Manitoba - CBC News: "Drug use isn't a result of bad parenting, but parents should step up if they suspect their kids might be using, she said. Any change in the kid's typical behaviour should prompt parents to investigate, she said."



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Using Great Photos to create messages

Scott Wilson of Scott Wilson Photography has contributed to my campaign of presenting messages using great photos---Here is a way to think about God or is it God thinking about you?

Correlation of drug, child abuse is a wake-up call |

We most often talk about Parents who are trying to care for their drug addicted kids--but the reverse is also true--often kids are trying to care for their addicted parents! and they suffer the abuse and neglect of parents who are not in their right minds and emotions. The article is interesting--the situations are really sad. If you know of these situations, what would you do?

Correlation of drug, child abuse is a wake-up call | Editorials | www.journalgazette.net: "New data from Kids Count in Indiana show 13.4 percent of children were found to be living with a parent who abused drugs or alcohol. It also places the state fifth highest in the nation for first-time victims of child abuse or neglect reported in the past year. Pratt, who handles children-in-need-of-services cases, commonly known as CHINS cases, sees firsthand the effects of drugs on children whose parents are abusing substances."



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Nothing matters until we know it does

I always have to say to parents of teens and preteens--you don't know you need my workbook until its too late! Parents don't think drug crisis prevention is important until their kid is in real trouble. Even when they are beginning to get into trouble parents don't believe it's happening to their family and blame their child's friends. Parents don't wnat to believe their kid is in real danger until its in their face! So this is a great cartoon--meant for business people, just change a few words and it can refer to parents of teens.

until we know it does - Gapingvoid Blog | Gapingvoid Blog: "This is a riff on a constant theme of mine, “Nothing happens until somebody feels something.”
In other words, it’s amazing that for something to actually matter to us, a switch inside our head needs to be suddenly activated, instantaneously. And until that moment arrives, you’re wasting your time trying to change behavior.
But it’s too easy to forget this, when you’re sitting in a meeting, looking all sharp and businesslike, trying to sound clever and important."



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