Perez Hilton's View on Teen Drug Use

Oh, you kids today!

Marijuana is becoming increasingly popular among teens in the US, which is supposedly attributed to the national debate over medical marijuana and researchers believe it makes it seem safer to teens.

Teens also feel this way about abusing prescription drugs, which may make them more popular in the future.

But booze remains the most popular drug of choice for teens with 43.5 percent of 12th graders admitting to drinking in the past month.

Some things never change!

Borrowed from perezhilton.com celebrity gossip. Even he is paying attention to this issue and the way it affects teens, thank you for taking notice Perez!

If your interested in help for yourself or your teen please click here adolescent drug treatment

Teen Drug and Alcohol Rehab

In a recent survey, forty percent of teens report that they can find marijuana within a day, and over two-thirds of those adolescents surveyed said that drugs are sold, kept, and used at their school. One in five teens say that they can get prescription drugs within an hour and that their own homes and friends are how they get them.
When I was abusing prescription drugs, I regularly went into my friend’s parents bathrooms and went through their medicine cabinets in Corpus Christi. I usually found something I wanted to abuse, like sedatives or painkillers. Medicine cabinets in the suburbs were like candy stores to me. No one seemed to suspect what my friends and I were up to until it was too late.
Prescription drug abuse is rapidly becoming the number one drug of choice for teens because of their widespread availability, lack of social stigma, and the misperception that pill forms of drugs aren’t as dangerous or addictive. One expert recommends having your child’s physician do a drug test at their yearly physical in order to determine drug abuse that may be going undetected. If you find that your teen is indeed abusing prescription drugs, teen drug rehab is an effective way of helping teens find ways to live clean and sober.
Because teens adapt so easily and become addicted so quickly, it is important to address the issue in a big way. I had to be removed from my old life in order to see just how bad it had actually become. Teen drug rehab gave me the space, time, and safety to deal with the issues that led me to use, and to find new ways to live free of drug use. It was hard admitting I was a drug addict at 16, but doing so has given me a whole life to be free, and I can be anything I want. I certainly didn’t have a future when I was using. Get a future contact teen drug and alcohol rehab.

DJ AM Found Dead

Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM was found dead in his New York City apartment of a suspected drug overdose. Drug paraphernalia was found near his body. Celebrity disc jockey Goldstein, who narrowly escaped death in a plane crash nearly a year ago, had at one point attempted suicide to escape addiction, but entered treatment and maintained sobriety for ten years. Prescription drugs were found throughout his apartment and a crack pipe was reportedly found near his body.
Goldstein was a good friend to many people and many recovering addicts are coming forward to recognize how much he helped them in their sobriety. It is truly sad to know that addiction resurfaced and took a person that helped so many people. In his last Twitter post, Goldstein quoted a Grandmaster Flash song: “New York, New York. Big city of dreams, but everything in New York ain’t always what it seems.”

Celebrities admit addiction to prescription painkillers

‘Tis the season to admit to having a prescription drug problem it seems. Paula Abdul joins Eminem this week in admitting to her past addiction to prescription painkillers. She reports that she finally took the plunge and went through the pain and discomfort of withdrawal last Thanksgiving because she couldn’t go on the way she was living. She recognizes now that the pills could have killed her. The singer and American Idol judge cites longstanding health problems, multiple surgeries, and strong drive to keep working and performing contributed to her increased dependency on pain pills.

Celebrities opening up about their own struggles with substance abuse generally helps to shine the spotlight on the addiction struggles of everyone else.

Prescription drug abuse, especially amongst teenagers, is a growing problem. The Office of National Drug Control Policy reported in 2007 that the number of adolescent prescription drug abusers has caught up to adolescent marijuana abusers, and that prescription drugs are the most commonly abused drug among 12-13 year olds. The most frequently abused prescription drugs are the powerful painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin. The report states that adolescents are more likely than young adults to become addicted to prescription drugs, as they are often viewed as harmless by teens. Teens easily get these drugs from friends and relatives. BYOP (bring your own pills) parties are where teens bring whatever pills they have, be it their own prescriptions or their parents’, and mix the pills into a pile, called “trail mix.” Whatever you get is whatever you get. In order to keep highs exciting, teens blindly take medications so that they will be surprised by their high. If prescriptions must be kept in the home, parents should keep them in a locked location. Pills that have the potential for abuse should be counted frequently. Parents should talk to their children about the true dangers of prescription drug abuse. If you suspect that your teenager is struggling with prescription drug abuse, don’t hesitate to contact us. Help is available.

teen-prescription-drug-abuse

Fake Prescriptions for Kids

Controversial placebo designed to placate children.

clipped from www.momlogic.com Trick Your Kids With Pills One step beyond "Mommy will kiss it and make it all better"--a new placebo pill goes on the market in June. Is your kid a tiny hypochondriac begging for sympathy for non-existent aches and pains? Give them a pill--a fake one. A controversial "medication" Obecalp  (placebo spelled backwards) is being marketed to parents who want to make their kids feel better--if there's nothing really wrong with them-- with a sugar pill. The pills, 50 tablets for $5.95, will be available next week on the Efficacy Brands website. Beyond the ridiculousness of paying for pills that don't do anything, pediatrician and friend of momlogic Dr. Gwenn thinks "fake medicine" is a bitter pill to swallow. She suggests parents should "avoid tactics that trick the child into thinking he is getting a medication because it sends the wrong message."

Xanax, Methadone and Vicodin Combination Kill Teen

Teen, mother give personal warnings about drug abuse


Corey McNeill, a De Pere High School senior and standout wrestler, left a mourning family behind. The 18-year-old died of an overdose during an October 2006 party after taking a combination of Xanax, methadone and Vicodin.


Matt Danen, 19, is also suffering the consequences. He provided the methadone and is now serving a jail term in Brown County. Upon release, he will still have the ramifications of having two felony drug convictions on his record.


He said he never considered just how severe the consequences could become.


"Everything I did backfired on me in the long run," Danen said.


McNeill's mother, Karen Falck, and Danen spoke Monday night to a crowd of several hundred people at Kimberly High School, providing their personal warnings to parents and students on the danger of prescription drug abuse.


Falck reminded students that they aren't invincible. She told
parents to follow through on their suspicions. Falck suspected drugs and confronted her son, but said she didn't push hard enough.


He could just wrap up that whole conversation with a smile and a hug, and I'd believe him," she said.

Teens Getting High on Houselhold Products

Studies may indicate that the overall percentage of elicit teen drug use has declined over recent years. However, the use and subsequent abuse of prescription medication has steadily increased in this age group at an alarming rate. Many teens find the pills in their parent’s medicine cabinet. Others share or buy them from peers. Shockingly, some even rummage through their neighbors trash to find leftover prescriptions. Furthermore, teens may not risk buying illegal drugs when they can get high on many household products, such as aerosols and other inhalants. Dust Off, super glue, oven cleaners, and other strong smelling chemicals will kill brain cells and possiably do irreparable damage to the brain.

Based on this information, it is important to remember that what we regard as “unsafe to children” extends to teens as well. Reconsider locking up anything that you might consider dangerous to a child. When you throw away an old prescription, seal it, and grind it up in cat litter or old coffee grounds. These simple precautions may save the life of someone, namely someone you love.

Teens abuse over the counter, prescription drugs

July 30, 2007

Thomasville -- It's a growing drug abuse trend. More young people are abusing easy-to-access over the counter and prescription drugs. Drug education officers say if kids think that's not dangerous, they're wrong. Deputies in Thomas County say this school year, they plan to crack down.

Thomas County D.A.R.E. Officer Sgt. Steven Jones says teen drug abuse is a different game in schools today. "Drug use is down in every category except one. That one category being over the counter and prescription drugs."

Cold medicines, with an ingredient called dextromethorphan, are the most common source of over the counter drug abuse.

"Kids are figuring out, learning from the Internet, learning from their friends that cold medications give them a particular kick or feeling that they're looking for," says Jones.

Most parents don't realize, kids are using what's right in their own medicine cabinet to get high. The best idea is to keep these items, along with your prescriptions, in a place where kids can't get to them."

"It's easy access, it's right there in the home, in the medicine cabinet, that's where so many of them get it," says Jones.

At Thomas county schools, the sheriff's office dealt with around half a dozen cases last school year, but they say there probably were even more than that. Here, authorities have mainly discovered teens abusing a drug called, Coricidin, a brand of over the counter cold tablets.

"It's illegal for them to have those on campus. Anything they bring on campus they're supposed to take to the school nurse and we're going to try to do a better job this year of cracking down on that."

Small amounts of the drugs are fine, but officers say many teens are ignoring use and dosage labels, a dangerous idea.

"They're experimenting, and that's what's scary because this stuff can cause some really serious side effects, as well as can kill them."

With a special eye on the look out for over the counter meds, DARE officers say this school year their zero-tolerance drug policy will be enforced more strongly than ever.

This week during planning, D.A.R.E. officers in Thomas county are educating school staff on what these drugs look like and the signs to look for in kids who use the drugs.