Together We Can Make a Difference

What Parents Should Know About Prescription Drug Use

Contrary to popular belief, abuse of prescription drugs is no less serious than the use of illegal street drugs. In fact, teens abusing prescription drugs are more likely to become victims of violence, drug addiction and HIV/AIDS because they are less on guard and unaware of how deadly prescription medication can be. Most importantly, drugs used for non-medical reasons alter brain activity, and in a very short period of time will lead to dependence and addiction. So the earlier you get involved, the better.

Prescription drug abuse abetted by family, friends: study

The study, based on an ongoing national survey of nearly 70,000 Americans aged 12 and over, offers a snapshot of a growing health and safety problem that is already responsible for more fatal overdoses than cocaine and heroin, combined, and has begun to spawn other crimes including gang violence. “This is one of the greatest drug threats we have ever faced,” Michele Leonhart, who heads the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, told reporters as the study was released. An estimated 7 million Americans abuse pharmaceutical drugs. Prescription drugs account for about 75 percent of all drug-related U.S. overdose deaths, according to

Read the Rest…

Hand Sanitizer Used by Teens To Get Drunk: Dangerous Teen Trends

As many as six California teenagers were hospitalized with alcohol poisoning last month, and two last weekend alone, from drinking hand sanitizer. Coming on the heels of cough medicine, hand sanitizer is the latest in a string of household products used to induce intoxication, and it has public health officials worried, as a few squirts of hand sanitizer could equal a couple of shots of hard liquor. “This is a rapidly emerging trend,” Dr. Cyrus Rangan, medical toxicology consultant for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, said in a news conference today. About 2,600 cases have been reported in California since 2010,

Read the Rest…

Teenagers’ Latest Bad Idea: Drinking Hand Sanitizer

by Nancy Shute Keep the sanitizer on your hands and out of your mouth. Teenagers can be pretty creative in their pursuit of a cheap buzz. Last month we reported on the “cinnamon challenge,” which involves snarfing down a spoonful of the powdered spice. Now we’ve got teens quaffing hand sanitizer, and ending up sick in the ER.

Sharp Increase in Prescription Drug Poisonings Among Teens Reported

By Join Together Staff | April 17, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Drugs, Prescription Drugs & Youth Poisoning deaths among teenagers rose 91 percent between 2000 and 2009, primarily due to prescription drug abuse, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prescription drug abuse appears to be replacing marijuana as a “gateway drug” that leads to the abuse of harder drugs, said Dr. Julie Gilchrist of the CDC’s Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention. Overall, death rates from unintentional injuries of children and teenagers decreased by almost 30 percent between 2000

Read the Rest…

Teens Who Play Choking Game More Likely to Engage in Drug Abuse, Study Finds

Teenagers who play a risky activity called the “choking game” to get high are more likely to engage in other kinds of high-risk behavior, such as drug abuse and sex, than their peers who do not play the game, a new study suggests. An estimated 5 percent to 11 percent of teens have tried the choking game, the Los Angeles Times reports. Teens who play the game either choke each other, or use a noose to choke themselves. After a short time, they can pass out, which may lead to serious injury or even death from hanging or strangulation, according

Read the Rest…

Commentary: 6 Tips to Protect Your Child From Online Drug Threats

Many people in Philadelphia were stunned by a recent report that students in one community had been depicted on YouTube drinking and taking other drugs. It’s not entirely clear what people were most shocked by – the realization that kids abuse drugs and alcohol, that videos glorifying the use of drugs and alcohol appear on the Internet or simply the fact that this was done by local students. The fact that kids abuse dangerous substances is definitely not new. Findings from the Monitoring the Future Study (2010) indicated that in the prior year alone, 1.8 million kids under the age

Read the Rest…

Teens Say Drinking and Driving Riskier Than Texting and Driving, Survey Finds

  A new survey finds U.S. teens think drinking and driving is riskier than texting and driving, despite research that indicates they can be equally dangerous.

State must stay ahead of drug peddlers

Arizona outlawed powerful and addictive designer drugs, known as “bath salts,” on Friday. The bill was the first one Gov. Jan Brewer signed this year. It takes effect immediately under an emergency clause. This was a rush process for the Legislature. But it’s too slow to keep up with the danger of this ever-changing class of drugs. They’re marketed as “legal highs,” and the state needs a rapid-response system to make these new concoctions illegal as soon as possible. The label does make a difference. When a product is legally available, and easily accessible, casual users and especially young people

Read the Rest…

Almost Alcoholic: Could Your Drinking Be a Problem?

Posted: 03/26/2012 4:35 pm  A father who falls asleep on the couch after having several drinks three or four days a week, thereby missing out on time with his kids and wife. A sales executive who likes to “sip” scotch on the rocks from the time he finishes his dinner to the time he goes to bed. A college student who repeatedly has trouble making it to class because he was drunk the night before. A mother who looks forward to her daily double glass of wine to help her get through the day. An assisted living resident who finds

Read the Rest…