Blog Entries tagged 'addiction'

Too Few Parents Talking to Teens About Drugs

aotate1@gmail.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

A recent survey by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy found that the majority of parents have difficulty engaging in meaningful conversations about drug use with their teens."'This poll reinforces a disconcerting trend we're seeing with parents today. Too many parents are avoiding tough conversations - or tough stances - because they're afraid of jeopardizing their relationship with their teens,' said John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Pol [...]

Huffing is Nothing New

aotate1@gmail.com — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

In the 1980's it was gasoline and rubber cement. Today it's hair and cleaning products. "Huffing", the practice of inhaling dangerous chemical in order to get high, is not as prevalent as other forms of substance abuse, but still exists."These products are cheap, easy to access, provide a quick, intense buzz and allows students to return to classes odorless, unlike smoking or drinking."The high experienced by huffing is caused by a lack of oxygen. Though the effect is [...]

Teen Dies of Apparent Overdose

aotate1@gmail.com — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

A West Vancouver (Canada) teenager who left her home after telling her mother that she was going to the movies was found dead later that night at the Edmonds SkyTrain station. The cause of death appeared to be a drug overdose. "Jenni was the second teenager to die suddenly within the past month in circumstances that suggest illegal drugs might have been involved."Though autopsy reports haven't returned yet, police suspect Ecstasy is to blame for the teen's death. Authorities ho [...]

Illinois Mom Thinks Drug Testing is Good for all Students

aotate1@gmail.com — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Tammy East has a son in junior high, and she thinks the random drug testing that he and other students will be subjected to throughout the year is good. She only has one objection:"I think they should have drug testing for everyone, not just those in sports or other extracurricular activities..."The drug testing policy, which has been in place at the high school level since the 1997-98 school year, has previously applied only to athletes. This year, however, testing will be expanded to [...]

Officials Attempt to Outlaw an Herbal High

aotate1@gmail.com — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Salvia is an herb that can produce short, intense, hallucinogenic trips when it's smoked. For years, the substance went relatively unnoticed by law enforcement personnel - but it has recently garnered the attention of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, as well as several local governments that are trying to ban it. "A dozen states have outlawed or begun regulating salvia since 2005, including Delaware, whose law was pushed by a mother who believes salvia contributed to her son's suic [...]

Teens Give Advice

aotate1@gmail.com — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Talk about teen substance abuse typically centers on extreme behavior - getting drunk at parties, habitual drug use, and so on. But even occasional use can create a dangerous habit. "Most teenagers will tell you gulping down an occasional glass of beer along with a cigarette at a bar is fun, not substance abuse. That's where they are wrong. One glass of beer may not be addictive, but can lead to a chain of behavior that can leave you a physical and mental wreck. It can become a habit.&q [...]

New Tool May Help You Spot Drug Abuse

aotate1@gmail.com — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:00:00 +0100

The state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) of New York has created tool it hopes will help parents spot drug abuse problems in the home. "The state Office... created the tool to help New Yorkers track prescription and over-the-counter medicines in their home. It's intended to be filled out weekly." The PDF tool is downloadable off the OASAS website and is a grid-like worksheet that can be used to track: a medication's dose amount, when the prescription [...]

New "Gimmick" Markets Meth to Younger Crowd

aotate1@gmail.com — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0100

Police and substance abuse officials in western states are beginning to report the appearance of candy-flavored methamphetamine. Strawberry, chocolate, and cola are among the flavors being marketed to younger people."They [meth dealers] are having a tough time selling this product, especially to younger people. What do people in marketing do when they have a tough time selling a product? They have to come up with some sort of gimmick."It's believed that meth dealers hope to increas [...]

This is my story

christy_southerland@yahoo.com — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:00:00 +0100

I first started as a teenager with my boyfriend; I guess I should've known at the time that there was something wrong because not only did I drink with him on weekends, but I wanted a bottle of my own. After I graduated from high school and went to work, there was always happy hour at the bars; then I got to where I wanted to go home at lunch and have a drink. Going to dinner, I always wanted more than the person I was with; then after I got married and had started snorting cocaine, we drank [...]

Alcoholics need help to stop drinking too

christy_southerland@yahoo.com — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 01:00:00 +0100

With alcohol being everywhere, it is so easy to find that you are drinking too much; the help is out there for you, that is the good news. I had to have help to quit; what I did was to find a long term facility that addressed all my issues and I am so grateful that today I have now ben clean for 7 years! It is so easy to say that we will quit on our own, but the reality is that that is not true. If you have a problem and need help to quit, please get busy finding a way out; get on the internet o [...]

My story of drug and alcohol addiction.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

I started smoking marijuana and drinking many years ago when I was a teenager. I thought that I needed to do this to be cool and fit in with the other kids at school. I never was a straight "A" student but I did OK. I was never involved in any of the school activities that were offered that so many of the other kids were involved with. I tended to go the wrong direction and hang out with the crowd that would rather party than involve themselves in academic thing [...]

Why can't you just use a little willpower?

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

"Why can't you just use a little willpower to stop drinking?" This question is often asked by individuals that have no understanding of alcohol and how it affects someone. Alcoholism has little to do with what kind of alcohol one drinks, or how long one has been drinking, or even how much alcohol has been consumed. It does have a great deal to do with a person's uncontrollable need for alcohol. The alcoholic is often in the grip of a powerful craving for [...]

Be willing to reach out for help.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

The slide into alcohol abuse and alcoholism can take many forms and be gradual and subtle. Many use it to escape their daily problems, frustrations and feelings of inferiority. Some alcohol abusers have physical and emotional problems when they start drinking. It sometimes takes years for drinkers to develop into a more noticeable phase of alcoholism. Some people the alcohol pattern develops within weeks of their first use. Some alcoholics drink daily, others in epi [...]

When alcohol acts as a tool to aviod pain.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Almost anything can become an addiction, especially when it acts as a tool for the avoidance of our internal pain. Most addictions begin with the feel good factor, with things that make us feel better, and draw us up and out of our normal painful existence. We may begin doing something for pleasure or need. Soon we discover accidentally that the behavior has a pay off, it keeps our real pain away from our consciousness. Then we begin to do the behavior less for the desire and m [...]

Alcohol affects individuals differently.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

More money is spent every year promoting the use of alcohol than any other product. Through the use of elaborate and creative marketing, the most basic fact about alcohol is overlooked "alcohol is a drug". It is the most commonly used and widely abused psychoactive drug in the world. Alcohol interacts with the body's systems in predictable ways to lead to physiological addiction. Alcohol affects individuals differently. Your age, weight, gender, time o [...]

The consequences of heavy drinking.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Drinking more than 15 drinks a week for men or 12 drinks or more for women increases the risk of alcohol dependence. Steady drinking over time can make you physically dependent on alcohol. Just drinking by itself is only one of alcoholism's risk factors. Genetics, sex, age family history and emotional disorders are other risk factors.

People don't drink to become alcoholic. Many people drink alcohol throughout their lives without a problem, but others abuse alc [...]

Breaking the addiction is difficult.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Alcohol addiction can pose a serious threat to a person's life. To break the addiction is difficult for a number of reasons: the psychological desire for the effects brought on by the drugs; the brain's adaptations to the chemical changes brought on by the drug; and a slew of habits and environmental triggers that support the addiction. Just like any serious health concern, an addiction to alcohol will require long-term professional help to break the cycle. The [...]

More on binge drinking.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

The most common pattern of binge drinking is consuming 8 or more drinks for males, and 4 or more drinks for females, in about 2 hours. It is often associated with drinking with the intention of becoming intoxicated. Another form of binge drinking is the self-destructive & unrestrained bout of drinking lasting for a couple of days, at this time the intoxicated drinker does not work, ingornes responsibilities, wastes money and can even engage in harmful behaviors like unprote [...]

The startling facts.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

It is estimated that 40% of the population will have an addiction problem some time in their life. More than 7% of the population 18 years and older have problems with drinking and can be considered alcoholics. These alcoholics will significantly impact an average of 4-5 other lives they come into contact with. It doesn't have to be like this, there is hope for the alcoholic to overcome their addiction with treatment, you don't have to suffer from alcoh [...]

Alcohol addiction and our youth.

dirincome@stopaddiction.com — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

In the past 10 days nearly 11 million youths, ages 12 to 20 have consumed alcohol. As age increases so does alcohol consumption from 2 persent at age 12 to 27 persent at age 16 and 57 persent at age 20. With this alcohol consumption increase so does the possibility of becoming an alcoholic increase. Be proactive in protecting your loved one from becoming an alcoholic. No child should have to suffer from alcohol addiction, and there is hope with drug rehab and the t [...]