Parents of teenagers’ friends can have as much effect on the teens’ substance use as their own parents, according to a new study.

“Among friendship groups with ‘good parents’ there’s a synergistic effect - if your parents are consistent and aware of your whereabouts, and your friends’ parents are also consistent and aware of their (children’s) whereabouts, then you are less likely to use substances,” said Michael J. Cleveland, research assistant professor at the Prevention Research Centre and the Methodology Centre, Penn State.

In the study, 9,417 ninth-grade students were surveyed during the spring semester, and then again the following spring semester. The subjects came from 27 different rural school districts in Pennsylvania and Iowa, all participating in the Promoting School-university-community Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) study.

In ninth grade, the students were asked to name five of their closest friends. The researchers then identified social networks within the schools by matching up the mutually exclusive friendships. Overall, the team identified 897 different friendship groups, with an average of 10 to 11 students in each group.

At that time students also responded to questions about their perceptions of how much their parents knew about where they were and who they were with. They were also asked about the consistency of their parents’ discipline.

In the tenth-grade follow-up, participants answered questions about their substance use habits, specifically their use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana.

Researchers found parenting behaviours and adolescents’ substance-use behaviours to be significantly correlated that higher levels of parental knowledge and disciplinary consistency leading to a lower likelihood of substance use, whereas lower levels lead to a higher likelihood of substance use.

It was also found that behaviours of friends’ parents influenced substance use even when taking into account the effects of the teens’ own parents’ behaviours and their friends’ substance use, demonstrating the powerful effect of peers on adolescent behaviour

For example, if adolescents’ parents are consistent and generally aware of their children’s activities, but the parents of the children’s friends are inconsistent and generally unaware of their own children’s activities, the adolescents are more likely to use substances than if their friends’ parents were more similar to their own parents.

“The peer context is a very powerful influence,” said Cleveland. “We’ve found in other studies that the peer aspect can overwhelm your upbringing.”

According to the authors, this to be the first study where parenting at the peer level proved to have a concrete and statistically significant impact on child outcomes.

“I think that it empowers parents to know that not only can they have an influence on their own children, but they can also have a positive influence on their children’s friends as well,” said Cleveland. “And that by acting together the notion of ‘it takes a village’ can actually result in better outcomes for adolescents.”

The study was published in this month’s issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

A word of warning to parents of adolescents, from the nation’s poison centers:  Yes, you’ve secured your medicine chest and your liquor cabinet, but a new thrill-seeking activity among teens might make you consider locking away the cinnamon shaker as well.

 In the first three months of 2012, the nation’s poison centers have had 139 calls—close to three times as many as were received in all of 2011—seeking help and information about the intentional misuse of cinnamon.  At least 122 of these calls arose from something called the “cinnamon challenge”—a game growing in popularity among teens in which a child is dared to swallow a spoonful of ground or powdered cinnamon without drinking any water.

 As cinnamon coats and dries the mouth and throat, coughing, gagging, vomiting and inhaling of cinnamon ensures, leading to throat irritation, breathing difficulties and risk of pneumonia, says Dr. Alvin C. Bronstein, medical and managing director of Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center.   For teens who suffer from asthma, the “cinnamon challenge” can be particularly risky, because they can develop shortness of breath.

 Of the 139 calls received so far this year by poison control centers, 30 required medical evaluation.  What started kids abusing the contents of the kitchen’s little bear shaker?  Look no further than the internet:  Videos posted there are helping spread word of the cinnamon challenge.

 ”We urge parents and caregivers to talk to their teens about the cinnamon challenge, explaining to their teens that what may seem like a silly game can have serious health consequences,” said Bronstein.

 The latest warning comes out of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System, which collects data on some 2 million calls made to poison control lines across the country each year, providing early warning of dangerous trends.

 Source:  ErieTimes News  - USA    2^nd April 2012

 Q: How can I tell if my child has been using marijuana?

A: There are some signs you might be able to see. If someone is high on marijuana, he or she might:

 Seem dizzy and have trouble walking;

• Seem silly and giggly for no reason;
• Save very red, bloodshot eyes; and
• Have a hard time remembering things that just happened.

 When the early effects fade, the user can become very sleepy.

 Parents should be aware of changes in their child’s behavior, although this may be difficult with teens. Parents should look for withdrawal, depression, fatigue, carelessness with grooming, hostility and deteriorating relationships with family members and friends.

 In addition, changes in academic performance, increased absenteeism or truancy, lost interest in sports or other favourite activities, and changes in eating or sleeping habits could be related to drug use. However, these signs may also indicate problems other than using drugs.

In addition, parents should be aware of:

 Signs of drugs and drug paraphernalia, including pipes and rolling papers;

• Odour on clothes and in the bedroom;
• Use of incense and other deodorizers;
• Use of eye drops; and
• Clothing, posters, jewellery, etc., promoting drug use.

 Source: The National Institute on Drug Abuse  2010

Adolescent use of marijuana has become almost as acceptable as staying out a little past curfew. Most agree the latter shouldn’t happen, but it’s understandable and — as long as things don’t get worse — easy to address with a clock and threat of grounding. No big deal. Not so with marijuana. If your child is smoking pot and it starts to get worse you won’t know when or why until you have a child for whom a grounding is a mere impediment to a dangerous new lifestyle. And more importantly you will have missed critical opportunities to help your child address his problems in a healthy, positive way.

I see a lot of adolescents in my practice, many of whom arrive after a lengthy relationship with pot… But my first contact is usually with the anxious parents. “Something is going on,” they say. “His grades are going down; She’s spends all her time in her room; He’s moody and uncommunicative; she’s lost interest in her flute. ” “He’s different,” they say. “She’s like a stranger.”How long has this been going on I ask? Around six months says mom. Closer to a year says dad.

I ask a few questions — a sort of psychological triage looking for any recent changes or traumas that might offer a clue.Then I put it out there. “Do you think your child is involved with drugs?” Here is the answer I almost always receive. “No. I don’t think so. Maybe just a little marijuana.” So, let’s stop here. I want to say this loud and clear. The correct answer to my questions is a simple “YES.”

I realize there is a battle afoot to legalize the stuff. I understand that most parents when asked if their child smokes marijuana will usually respond in a tone rife with defeatism, “Of course. They all do.” I get it. There is comfort in numbers. But unfortunately this beleaguered answer tends to end a conversation instead of inspire a look at the heart of the matter. “Why does my child choose to do drugs?”

Certainly I know there are some teens who dabble with marijuana every so often at a party. Maybe she wants to fit in. Maybe the munchies and some frenzied laughter feel like a fun release. But this same adolescent stays on top of her grades, enjoys long term friendships and converses typically peevishly with her parents on a regular basis. I don’t meet these kids or their parents in my office. Obviously not every child who smokes marijuana is going to dance around the drain.

But from what I can see, more and more kids are doing just that . At this point you might be thinking, ” When I was young I smoked all the time. I was fine!.” Well, the truth is marijuana is more powerful now, 20 to 30 times according to some estimates, and is more often laced with other drugs. The information age has also made it far easier to get it when you want it. All of this makes a big difference.

I recently attended a lecture at a private Residential Treatment Center for adolescent drug addicts, at which the director made a point of saying there wasn’t a child there who hadn’t convinced their parents or themselves that a little marijuana was okay.

Adolescents are walking into my office in increasing numbers having grown alienated, unproductive and increasingly self-destructive. They are standing on a long road of marijuana use. These are unhappy kids and whether they are smoking a little on occasional weekends, every weekend, everyday or are already into heavier stuff, they need emotional help.

The sooner they get it the better. Which is why it is critical that every parent recognize that their pot smoking teenager, who may be doing what everyone else is doing, IS STILL DOING A DRUG and that it is a form of self-medication. This is no time to seek comfort in numbers. It’s a time NOT TO PANIC, but to pay attention.

Marijuana helps kids hide from the painful and negative feelings with which so many teens struggle. By minimizing pot, parents may be neglecting to look around for the REASON their particular teen is needing to stifle his or her feelings. They are looking away from their child’s emotional health which may in fact be far more fragile than it seems. Most kids don’t connect hating life with identifiable painful feelings. They just think life stinks and drugs offer a vacation.. So how do you help open their eyes?

If you ask your child if she is depressed or anxious she will likely say “no.” This is because she doesn’t really know what the words mean and anyway believes she’s found a way to stop feeling “bad.” Ask anyway. It’s an opportunity to teach emotional vocabulary. For example, “You’ve been so quiet lately. Not laughing much and you’re not hanging out with your friends. You seem depressed, kind of sad to me.” Your teen will most certainly say you’re wrong, but that’s okay. Her education has begun.

As for how to ask your teen about drug use it’s really quite counterintuitive. Don’t ask when he is bleary eyed, or comes home laughing hysterically, or if you walk in his room and find yourself in a haze of AXE. Wait for a quiet moment when you’re child is not going to be highly defensive, or out of it and express the question with concern as opposed to accusation.

Point out what you noticed the other night, say you’re worried about drugs including marijuana, and then center on your concern for how she is FEELING. If she closes down just smile and invite her to talk when she’s ready. If she snaps that everyone smokes a little marijuana try, “I understand the way it is out there but it doesn’t make it right or healthy.” Then let it alone. Return to the subject when there are more clues or you can sense there’s an opening. The point is not to let her waste energy being angry at you. She needs that energy to just think.

When it comes to their well-being teens rarely do that. Which is why you have to. Marijuana is a drug. For many kids it will become addictive. It could become the first step to the use of other drugs. Drugs that could ruin and even end lives.

So watch your child. If there’s a problem you’ll see it…because too many times just a little marijuana, despite what you are being told, is simply not okay. And remember, “just a little” is dangerously subjective.

Source: www.megfschneiderlcsw.com August 19, 2010

Q: How can I tell if my child has been using marijuana?
A: There are some signs you might be able to see. If someone is high on marijuana, he or she might:

• Seem dizzy and have trouble walking;
• Seem silly and giggly for no reason;
• Save very red, bloodshot eyes; and
• Have a hard time remembering things that just happened.
When the early effects fade, the user can become very sleepy.

Parents should be aware of changes in their child’s behavior, although this may be difficult with teens. Parents should look for withdrawal, depression, fatigue, carelessness with grooming, hostility and deteriorating relationships with family members and friends.

In addition, changes in academic performance, increased absenteeism or truancy, lost interest in sports or other favorite activities, and changes in eating or sleeping habits could be related to drug use. However, these signs may also indicate problems other than using drugs.

In addition, parents should be aware of:

• Signs of drugs and drug paraphernalia, including pipes and rolling papers;
• Odor on clothes and in the bedroom;
• Use of incense and other deodorizers;
• Use of eye drops; and
• Clothing, posters, jewelry, etc., promoting drug use.

Source: The National Institute on Drug Abuse 2010

I-dosing on “digital drugs” is becoming an alarming new trend amongst teens. Web sites are luring kids with free downloads of “digital drugs,” which are audio files designed to induce drug-like effects. Videos of teenagers trying the digital drugs are all over YouTube
Web sites are luring kids with free downloads of “digital drugs,” which are audio files designed to induce drug-like effects. The sites claim it is a safe and legal way to get high, but parents fear it could lead to illegal drug use.
Videos of teenagers trying digital drugs are all over YouTube, leaving parents, educators and law enforcement officials with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs concerned.
“Kids are going to flock to these sites just to see what it is about and it can lead them to other places,” said OBNDD spokesperson Mark Woodward.
The digital drugs use binaural or two-toned technology to alter your brainwaves and mental state.
“Well it’s just scary, definitely scary. Just one more thing to look out for,” said parent Kelly Johnson.
Recently Mustang Public Schools sent out a letter warning parents about the new trend after several high school students reported having physiological effects after trying one of these digital downloads. Students and graduates are still talking about it.
“I heard it was like some weird demons and stuff through an iPod and he was like freaking out,” said Mustang High School student Meghan Edwards.
“People do need to be concerned about it. It’s not just something that should be overlooked,” said Shelbi Reed, Mustang High School graduate.
“We had never come across anything like this and anything that is going to cause these physiological effects in a student, that causes us concern,” said Shannon Rigsby, Mustang Public Schools Communication Officer.
Mustang schools are doing what they can to put a stop to it, including cracking down on the use of cell phone and other technology while on campus.
The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics said parental awareness is key to preventing future problems, since I-dosing could indicate a willingness to experiment with drugs.
“So that’s why we want parents to be aware of what sites their kids are visiting and not just dismiss this as something harmless on the computer,” Woodward said. “If you want to reach these kids, save these kids and keep these kids safe, parents have to be aware. They’ve got to take action.”
Another concern the OBN has is that many of these I-dosing sites lure visitors to actual drug and drug paraphernalia sites.

Source: www.newson6.com 13th July 2010

Q: How can I tell if my child has been using marijuana?
A: There are some signs you might be able to see. If someone is high on marijuana, he or she might:

• Seem dizzy and have trouble walking;
• Seem silly and giggly for no reason;
• Save very red, bloodshot eyes; and
• Have a hard time remembering things that just happened.

When the early effects fade, the user can become very sleepy.

Parents should be aware of changes in their child’s behavior, although this may be difficult with teens. Parents should look for withdrawal, depression, fatigue, carelessness with grooming, hostility and deteriorating relationships with family members and friends.

In addition, changes in academic performance, increased absenteeism or truancy, lost interest in sports or other favorite activities, and changes in eating or sleeping habits could be related to drug use. However, these signs may also indicate problems other than using drugs.

In addition, parents should be aware of:

• Signs of drugs and drug paraphernalia, including pipes and rolling papers;
• Odor on clothes and in the bedroom;
• Use of incense and other deodorizers;
• Use of eye drops; and
• Clothing, posters, jewelry, etc., promoting drug use.

Source: The National Institute on Drug Abuse 2010

Parents who try to teach responsible drinking by letting their teenagers have alcohol at home may be well intentioned, but they may also be wrong, according to a new study in the latest issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

In a study of 428 Dutch families, researchers found that the more teenagers were allowed to drink at home, the more they drank outside of home as well. What’s more, teens who drank under their parents’ watch or on their own had an elevated risk of developing alcohol-related problems. Drinking problems included trouble with school work, missed school days and getting into fights with other people, among other issues.

The findings, say the researchers, put into question the advice of some experts who recommend that parents drink with their teenage children to teach them how to drink responsibly — with the aim of limiting their drinking outside of the home.

That advice is common in the Netherlands, where the study was conducted, but it is based more on experts’ reasoning than on scientific evidence, according to Dr. Haske van der Vorst, the lead researcher on the study.

“The idea is generally based on common sense,” says van der Vorst, of Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. “For example, the thinking is that if parents show good behavior — here, modest drinking — then the child will copy it. Another assumption is that parents can control their child’s drinking by drinking with the child.”

But the current findings suggest that is not the case.

Based on this and earlier studies, van der Vorst says, “I would advise parents to prohibit their child from drinking, in any setting or on any occasion.”

The study included 428 families with two children between the ages of 13 and 15. Parents and teens completed questionnaires on drinking habits at the outset and again one and two years later.

The researchers found that, in general, the more teens drank at home, the more they tended to drink elsewhere; the reverse was also true, with out-of-home drinking leading to more drinking at home. In addition, teens who drank more often, whether in or out of the home, tended to score higher on a measure of problem drinking two years later.

The findings, according to van der Vorst, suggest that teen drinking begets more drinking — and, in some cases, alcohol problems — regardless of where and with whom they drink.

“If parents want to reduce the risk that their child will become a heavy drinker or problem drinker in adolescence,” she says, “they should try to postpone the age at which their child starts drinking.”

Available at: http://www.jsad.com/jsad/link/71/105

Source: H. van der Vorst Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 71 (1), 105-114. Jan 2010

THE number of children being treated for booze problems nearly DOUBLED in three years, The Sun can reveal.
A staggering 8,799 under-18s – including some of PRIMARY school age – were treated for misusing alcohol in the 12 months to April last year.
This was a shocking 80.1 per cent rise on the year to April 2006, when just 4,886 received help.
And figures released to The Sun under the Freedom of Information Act show 67 kids aged just 11 or younger were treated for alcohol problems in 2008-09. More than half of those referred or treated during the year were either 16 or 17.
The regions with the biggest child booze problems were the North West, where 1,760 kids received help, and the South East, where 1,148 were treated.
Another 872 kids from London received help for alcohol problems.
The sharp rise has come since the introduction of 24-hour drinking in November 2005. The figures, released by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, show another 7,248 under-18s referred to them with drug problems also had trouble with drink.
Earlier this month, The Sun reported that three kids under 10 are being treated in hospital for drug abuse every day.
Source  www.thesun.co.uk  22nd March 2010

Poor parenting is not the reason for an increase in problem behaviour amongst teenagers, according to research led by Oxford University.

A team led by Professor Frances Gardner from the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Oxford found no evidence of a general decline in parenting. Their findings show that differences in parenting according to family structure and income have narrowed over the last 25 years. However, the task of parenting is changing and could be getting increasingly stressful, particularly for some groups.
Parents and teenagers are choosing to spend more quality time together than 25 years ago, with 70 per cent of young people regularly spending time with their mothers in 2006 compared to 62 per cent in 1986. For fathers, the figure had increased from 47 per cent to 52 per cent.
This research follows a Nuffield-funded study in 2004, which identified an increase in both adolescent conduct and emotional problems over the last 25 years.
Despite the rise, this latest study shows that today’s parents are more likely to know where their teenage children are and what they are doing than their 1980s equivalents. The proportion asking what their children were doing has increased from 47 per cent in 1986 to 66 per cent in 2006.
Differences in the monitoring of teenage children, according to family type and income, have narrowed. For example in 1994, 14–15 year olds from single parent families were more likely to be out late without their parents knowing where compared with two parent families, but by 2005 this difference had disappeared.
Professor Gardner said: ‘We found no evidence for declining standards of parenting overall, and this leads us to believe this factor does not generally explain the rise in problem behaviour.’
Parents of teenagers are increasingly likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety themselves, particularly one-parent families and those on low incomes. For example, the proportion of parents from the most economically disadvantaged group who reported symptoms of depression and anxiety had increased by more than 50 per cent between 1986 and 2006.
The research highlights a different set of challenges for parents compared with 25 years ago. Young people now are reliant on their parents for longer, with higher proportions of 20–24 year olds living with their parents. Many more remain in some kind of education or training into their late teens. In addition, the development of new technology, such as mobile phones and the Internet, has created new monitoring challenges for parents.
‘Today’s parents have had to develop skills that are significantly different and arguably more complex than 25 years ago, and this could be increasing the stress involved in parenting,’ Professor Gardner said.
The research, commissioned by the Nuffield Foundation for a briefing paper, Time trends in parenting and outcomes for young people, was authored by Dr Ann Hagell, Head of the Nuffield Foundation’s Changing Adolescence Programme.
The research team reviewed published evidence, and analysed two sets of UK nationally representative data. The first was the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), with annual data on parenting reported by teenagers and their parents from 1994 onwards. The second data source comes from a related Nuffield-funded project, led by Dr Stephan Collishaw, to study causes of trends in youth mental health.

Source: Science Daily 2 August 2009

UN-commissioned guidance from international experts on how to mount prevention programmes based on family skills training involving parents and children in a joint effort to improve family dynamics and child development. Engaging parents seems the major barrier.

Abstract
This review and guidance initiated by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime concerned the role of family skills training programmes in the prevention of substance use problems among children in families across the board (‘universal’), or families whose children are particularly at risk (‘selective’). Unless integrated with these types of interventions, the document did not include programmes aimed at individuals identified as at high risk or as already experiencing substance use problems (‘indicated’). A literature and website review identified 130 universal and selective programmes. Research articles and programme descriptions were solicited from the developers. Practitioners, managers, researchers and developers from these programmes throughout the world were invited to a technical consultation meeting. The guide was drafted on the basis of the discussions and the literature review. This account largely relies on its final chapter, which summarised the major points.
Families can act as powerful protective forces in healthy child development, in particular with regard to substance use. To bolster this process, universal and selective family skills training programmes generally aim at strengthening the protective factors in families, equipping parents with the skills to provide supportive parenting, supervision, monitoring and effective discipline, and giving entire families opportunities and skills to strengthen attachment between parents and children. These approaches are more intensive and differ from parent education, which typically limits itself to providing parents with information about substances and their effects and does not involve the children.
Such programmes have been extensively evaluated and found effective in preventing substance abuse and other risky behaviours – about three times more effective than life skills education programmes aimed only at children and young people, and with more long-lasting benefits. Conservative estimates indicate that for each pound spent, over the long term these programmes return a saving of nine pounds. They also form part of effective multi-component programmes which offer other interventions in other settings (such as schools, media and the community), and of tiered programmes which operate across several levels of prevention simultaneously according to the needs of the families (universal, selective and indicated).
Although the evidence is limited to few programmes in high-income countries, recommended principles for family skills training programmes can be identified. These include a solid theory of how the training will affect risk and protective factors based on research on factors related to substance abuse which can be addressed at the family level. Programmes should be matched to the target population, especially the age and developmental stage of the children and the level of risk or problems in the families. This makes accurate needs assessment vital. Programmes must be of sufficient intensity and duration to address the targeted outcomes. In general, universal programmes extend over four to eight sessions, selective programmes for higher risk families, 10 to 15. Sessions last about two to three hours and should be based on interactive techniques implemented in small groups of eight to 12 families. A typical and effective programme will provide parents with the skills and opportunities to strengthen positive family relationships, family supervision and monitoring, and improve the communication of family values and expectations.
Recruitment and retention of parents are significant barriers to the dissemination of such programmes. However, retention rates of over 80% can be achieved by addressing the practical (transportation, childcare) and psychological (fear of stigmatisation, feelings of hopelessness) barriers. Interventions are most effective if participants are ready for change, such as at major transition points like children starting school or a new school phase.
Often it most feasible and/or cost-effective to base a project on an evidence-based programme developed elsewhere for a similar target group, preferably one with the best prevention record. In this case, it is important to carefully and systematically adapt the programme to the cultural and socioeconomic needs of the target population. Such adaptations enhance recruitment and retention of families. However, during its initial use the programme should be implemented with only minimal local adaptations or changes. Feedback from participants and group facilitators on what worked or did not work so well can be used as the basis for further refinements. Experience with these and outcome evaluations should be used to assess whether a deeper adaptation is required.
As with other types of programmes, adequate training and ongoing support must be provided to carefully selected staff. Most evidence-based programmes require two to three days of training for 10 to 30 future group leaders. Training should give them the opportunity to practise their skills, but also discuss the theoretical foundations, evidence of effectiveness, and the values of the programme. Ongoing support by programme managers and supervisors (and, if possible and appropriate, from programme developers) is important, especially in the form of e-mail contacts and web-based networking of group facilitators across agencies. Site visits and debriefing sessions also enhance quality and fidelity of implementation, as well as the collection of monitoring data.
Programmes should include strong and systematic monitoring and evaluation components. This work contributes to the understanding of prevention strategies, indicating which programmes are effective, under which circumstances, and for which populations, and provides evidence of effectiveness which can be used to lobby policymakers and donors, potentially helping to sustain the programme.
There is no question that the family is a powerful influence on child development and on substance use and problems in particular, nor that interventions with families and parents can (see for example this demonstration from Sweden) help prevent substance use in various forms. What is questionable is whether the research, though sometimes promising, is sufficiently extensive and sound to warrant widespread implementation of these programmes. Searching for practical guidance, British reviewers found that research deficiencies mean that no clear choice could be made about what works best either for marginalised and vulnerable groups, or for families in general. The background notes focus on two of the best researched family skills interventions (the Strengthening Families Programme and the Family Check-Up) as a way of testing the adequacy of the evidence overall, and address the issue of engaging families of early adolescent children. For other relevant evidence run this search for pre-school and parenting interventions on the Findings site.
When in 2008 the US government analysed the costs and benefits of substance use prevention programmes, family skills training programmes were among those with the highest benefit to cost ratio, though they lagged behind some other school/community/family programmes, and also well behind some entirely different kinds of initiatives like enforcing laws on serving drunk customers in licensed premises. Estimates for the two relatively well researched family skills interventions focused on in the background notes rested on one or two studies, which in both cases provided a narrow and at best tentative basis for the calculations, casting doubt over the degree to which they can be relied on to guide prevention programme planning. Nevertheless, the same may be said of some of the other programmes included in the analysis. For the analysts, the major drawback of family training as a universal prevention modality was its higher cost relative to other types of initiatives, leading them to suggest that this approach be reserved for high risk schools, areas or families
A particular issue is whether by the time family skills training comes in to its own – from age six to 11, and in major studies not until the early years of secondary schooling – enough families can be involved to make these strategies a viable way of curbing youth substance use problems across the population as a whole. British experience so far suggests this is not the case, though high-risk families under pressure to attend and/or energetically and sensitively targeted can be engaged in and benefit from family skills training. As the featured review comments, one way cost and accessibility barriers are being addressed is through computerisation of such programmes so families can go though them at times convenient to them and in their own homes, a tactic trialled for example with some success among mothers and daughters in New Jersey.
Based on UK experience and the adequacy of the international evidence, family skills training programmes of the kind reviewed can be recommended for consideration for families who have come to attention because their children (age six upwards) are at risk of behavioural problems which may include risky substance use. Sensitive personal approaches from programme staff, perhaps preferably from the same communities, can recruit many to participate, stay in and benefit from the programmes. Universal application to all families seems at the moment to lack sufficient evidence (especially in the UK) to warrant the considerable investment required, a situation which may change if low-cost, accessible computer-based alternatives prove feasible, effective and capable of widespread implementation.

Source: K. Kumfer www.findings.org.uk 09 March 2010

One of the questions that comes up time and again is how do we safeguard our children from being exposed to drugs and pro drug use content on the Internet?
Most parents are already attuned to risks on the web like online predators and sexual content. Increasingly, sites that promote illicit drug use — actually explaining which drugs to use and how to do it — are coming to the attention of parents as their children are exposed.  What’s more, rogue online pharmacies and their e-mail spam promote painkillers and other drugs to teens with “no prescription needed” while blogs and teen content portray drug and alcohol abuse as no big deal.
Our colleagues at the Treatment Research Institute in Philadelphia have been studying the growth of these sites.  They came away so worried about the scale and scope that they’ve invited us to partner with them and an Internet developer to launch a new online platform called WebSafe Parent available at www.websafeparent.com
WebSafe will be an online community educating adults about this content and how their children are exposed to it.  WebSafe will also provide Community Alerts that regularly notify registered “WebSafe Parents” about new and potentially harmful websites and other threats.  Parents who want to go a step further can purchase state-of-the-art software that can monitor and control how long, when and what sites children are visiting — and even block children from giving out personal information.  Longer term, members will be invited to join local “WebSafe Communities” where they can exchange information about threats with other adults in their area.
This is an increasingly digital world where teens surf freely and much of the time profit greatly from the experience.  Our goal through this latest partnership is to enlighten and empower parents to protect their kids when they get into situations that can ultimately prove dangerous.  It’s also a prime opportunity to remind parents and caregivers of the immense power and influence you have to help your kids make the right choices for themselves!
What are your thoughts on the content kids are exposed to on the web?  Do you think your kids have discovered pro drug, sexual or other content?

Source www.timetotalk.org.

Research Summary

The more parents expect their teens to engage in risky behaviors such as drinking and using drugs, the more likely their teens are to follow through with those behaviors, Reuters reported Oct. 16.
Researchers found that adolescents with mothers who expected them to be more rebellious and take greater risks reported higher levels of risky behavior than other adolescents during follow-up surveys.
On the other hand, parents may lower the rate of risky behavior among their adolescent children by expecting that they can resist negative peer pressure and instead engage in positive behavior, according to the study. 
“Parents who believe they are simply being realistic might actually contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said study author and Wake Forest University psychology professor Christy Buchanan. “By thinking risk-taking or rebelliousness is normal for teenagers and conveying that to their children, parents might add to other messages from society that make teenagers feel abnormal if they are not willing to take risks or break laws.”
The study’s recommendations for parents included modeling good behavior for their teens, exposing them to examples of positive things that other teens are doing, and making sure their teens know there are consequences to risky behavior. 
The study was based on surveys of more than 200 6th- and 7th-graders and their mothers.

Source: Journal of Research on Adolescence. June 2009

John, an engineer in his fifties, lives in Scotland with his wife. One of their two sons, Simon, became a heroin addict.
I have huge sympathy for Amy Winehouse’s parents, I know exactly what they are going through.
We had high hopes for Simon. He was highly intelligent and had a natural ability with computers. We first realised something was wrong when he started having rapid mood swings, from happy to extremely angry. He also went from having glowing school reports to not doing well at school. He seemed to have got in with the wrong crowd.
Simon had started using drugs when he was 13 but we didn’t realise it until a couple of years later. I found cannabis in his bedroom and didn’t know what it was, but I flushed it down the lavatory. He said he was looking after it for a friend and, foolishly, I believed him.
We moved to the north of Scotland, in the hope of removing him from the bad influences, but again he got in with the wrong crowd. At 16, he was excluded from school for generally bad behaviour. We put him into a private college and he then took a string of manual jobs, but they didn’t last. He would just sit up all night watching television and then sleep through the day. And he would disappear for days at a time, leaving his mother and me tearing our hair out.
Simon left home when he was around 18 – a mutual decision. It had been like living in a war zone. There were lots of confrontations, occasionally violent, and he stole from us to the point where we never left money lying around at home, and put a lock on our bedroom door.
He denied taking drugs other than cannabis. He told me I was imagining things. I felt sad and disappointed, watching someone with a lot of potential and ability throwing it all away.
After leaving home, he still lived in our city. I continued to subsidise him, thinking that I was helping with his rent and not realising that he spent the money on drugs. I’m not sure when he progressed to heroin. But from the moment he started using it, it controlled him.
We would get calls from the police, who had him in custody for possession or whatever, or we would get calls from him in winter, saying he had no money for gas and electricity. At first I gave him money, but that meant that he could spend his benefit money on drugs. Eventually, I told him where to get emergency loans and free food parcels.
My younger son’s friends would see his brother begging. It hurt us terribly. At least the papers weren’t printing pictures of my son, apart from when he was in court, like they do with Amy Winehouse. Addiction affects the whole family – it’s a family illness – but a lot of statutory bodies forget this and focus on the addict alone.
There is still a huge stigma attached to drug addiction, which makes it even harder for addicts’ parents, because they are so isolated. A lot of my own family didn’t know about Simon’s problem – it’s something you don’t discuss.
Nine years ago, a friend of my wife’s suggested that we went to Families Anonymous meetings, and we’ve been going ever since. They allowed us to realise that we had no control over our son and that only he could change himself. The meetings also allowed me to get my life back. Before, it had been out of control, even though I was still going to work. They made me realise that I had to practice tough love toward my son. I would never presume to give advice to Amy’s parents because everyone’s situation is different, but the one thing I would suggest is to give Families Anonymous a try.
In 2006, Simon went to the Cenacolo rehabilitation centre in Ireland. He was expected to remain there for a year. We were told he was doing well but he decided to leave after four months. He returned to his flat that summer, and died in December of a drug overdose, aged 26.
• Names have been changed to protect anonymity. Families Anonymous helpline 0845 1200 660.

Source: The Observer 28th Jan 2008

CASA REPORT FINDS TEENS WHO HAVE INFREQUENT FAMILY DINNERS LIKELIER TO DRINK, SMOKE, USE MARIJUANA
Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five or more per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are twice as likely to use tobacco or marijuana; more than one and a half times likelier to use alcohol; and twice as likely to expect to try drugs in the future, according to The Importance of Family Dinners V, a new report by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
The CASA report also found that compared to teens who have frequent family dinners, those who have infrequent family dinners are more than twice as likely to be able to get marijuana in an hour and one and a half times likelier to be able to get prescription drugs to get high within an hour.
The report reveals that compared to teens who have frequent family dinners without distractions at the table (talking or texting on a cell phone, using a Blackberry, laptop or Game Boy), those who have infrequent family dinners and say there are distractions at the table, are three times likelier to use marijuana and tobacco, and two and a half times likelier to use alcohol.
The report also found that compared to teens who have five to seven family dinners per week, those who have fewer than three family dinners per week are:
• Twice as likely to have friends who use marijuana and Ecstasy;
• More than one and a half times likelier to have friends who drink, abuse prescription drugs, and use Meth; and
• Almost one and a half times likelier to have friends who use illegal drugs like cocaine, acid and heroin.
“The magic of the family dinner comes not from the food on the plate but from who’s at the table and what’s happening there.  The emotional and social benefits that come from family dinners are priceless,” said Elizabeth Planet, CASA’s Vice President and Director of Special Projects.  “We know that teens who have frequent family dinners are likelier to get A’s and B’s in school and have excellent relationships with their parents.  Having dinner as a family is one of the easiest ways to create routine opportunities for parental engagement and communication, two keys to raising drug-free children.”
Family Dinners and Parental Attitudes and Behaviors on Alcohol
The report found that compared to teens who have five to seven family dinners per week, those who have fewer than three family dinners per week are more than one and a half times likelier to have seen their parent(s) drunk and to think their father is okay with them drinking.
Teens who think their fathers are okay with their drinking are likelier to drink and get drunk than teens who believe their fathers are against their drinking.  Teens who have seen their parent(s) drunk are likelier to drink, get drunk, and try cigarettes and marijuana, compared to teens who have not seen their parent(s) drunk. 
The Family Dinner
“Over the past decade and a half of surveying thousands of American teens and their parents, we’ve learned that the more often children have dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.  I urge parents to arrange their schedules and the outside activities so that they can have frequent family dinners.  If they do so, they’ll discover what a difference dinner makes.”  Says Joseph Califano.
Other Notable Findings
• Compared to 12- and 13-year olds who have frequent family dinners, those who have infrequent family dinners are six times likelier to use marijuana, four times likelier to use tobacco, and three times likelier to use alcohol.
• Compared to teens who attend religious services at least weekly, those who never attend services are more than twice as likely to try cigarettes, and twice as likely to try marijuana and alcohol.
• Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners, those who have infrequent family dinners are one and a half times likelier to report getting grades of C or lower in school. 

Source:www.casacolumbia.org New York, NY, September 23, 2009 –

From the founding of National Families in Action during the height of the War on Drugs to Joseph A. Califano’s book, How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid, parents and communities have been touted as the keys to preventing alcohol and other drug problems among youth, and research now shows that environmental and genetic risk factors can be trumped by parental engagement during the critical adolescent years, according to Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
“Parents are incredibly important in raising drug-free kids, but in many instances they are not there or are not involved” — absences that can have measurable effects on brain development as well as other aspects of growing up — said Volkow. For example, studies of orphans have demonstrated that the brains of children who lack connections to parents actually mature more slowly, raising the risk of drug use and other impulsive behaviors. Half of all vulnerability to addiction can be traced to an individual’s genetic background, but that hardly means that a child’s fate is sealed if they have a family history of addiction. Rather, Volkow said that addiction is, in many ways, a developmental disorder that is intimately linked to the maturation of the brain from childhood through adolescence and into early adulthood.
Delivering the keynote address at the Nov. 17 CASACONFERENCESM How to Raise a Drug-Free Kid: The Straight Dope, organized by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA*) at Columbia University, Volkow compared this brain development to a sculptor taking a block of stone and transforming it into a work of art.
“In childhood the brain is particularly ‘plastic,’” said Volkow. “It is open to stimuli much more than as an adult, and these stimuli affect brain formation both physically and chemically. A child’s cerebral cortex — the brain’s center for memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought, language, and consciousness — starts out larger than that of an adult, but shrinks as the brain differentiates during the first two decades of life. “The brain of an adult is much more connected than that of a child,” noted Volkow.
The frontal cortex — critical for using cognitive control to regulate desires — is the last part of the brain to fully differentiate, said Volkow, which helps explain why adolescents are especially prone to risk-taking and experimentation. As the brain advances on its “developmental trajectory” it can be strongly influenced by environmental factors, she said. Social stresses are crucially important,” Volkow said, pointing to the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Study research showing that risk of drug abuse rises tenfold among individuals who experience five or more “adverse childhood experiences,” such as recurrent physical or emotional abuse.
“Studies of children raised in orphanages showed that their brain connectivity was much less developed than those with normal parenting,” added Volkow; the effect was most pronounced among the children who had been living in orphanages the longest. The research “directly connected the lack of parenting to delays in the development of the brain,” she said. Children who are genetically predisposed to addiction rarely suffer from drug problems if they have parents who are actively involved in their lives, according to researchers. Those who have both genetic vulnerability and absent or uninvolved parents have a “very significant increase in drug addiction,” however, according to Volkow.
Studies of prevention programs like “Preparing for the Drug-Free Years” (PDF) and “Communities That Care” demonstrate that parents, families and communities can create an environment that is protective against youth drug abuse. Moreover, said Volkow, researchers have found that interventions can actually improve dopamine levels in the brain. Even though kids may be born to very adverse environments, the plasticity of the brain now gives us a path forward in terms of identifying interventions to help reverse the changes caused by these stimuli and increase the likelihood that kids will be able to stay drug-free,” said Volkow.
The NDPA would agree with the comments below – you can be an excellent parent and still have a child who chooses to use drugs…. However, the article ids also correct in stating that parents who know as much about illegal drugs as their children and who parent ‘actively’ (i.e. know where their children are, who are their friends, how are they achieving in school etc.) are less likely to have the problem of drug use in their family.
COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:
Posted by Amy Rosenman, MD on 07 Dec 09 02:07 PM EST
This review is too simplistic.There are still many children brought up in ideal circumstances who develop drug problems. This review still seems to “blame” the family for something beyond their control in many circumstances. However, knowing that family involvement and support is crucial gives many hope that recovery is possible. I too have worked with families of addiction for many years in my medical practice. 12 step programs are very valuable and help keep the family relationships constructive.
Posted by Emily on 07 Dec 09 06:28 PM EST
I agree that parental involvement helps prevent drug abuse, but I know of families that were doing everything right, and their child still became addicted to drugs. In at least one case, the child had no risk factors for substance abuse other than an alcoholic grandparent. I think it is important for parents to know that a family history of alcoholism or drug abuse should not be ignored. In such cases, parents need to be better educated regarding what to do to prevent substance abuse and how to recognize it when it happens.
Posted by Jay Arr on 10 Dec 09 10:35 AM EST
We are the product of our reactions to all the forces of our genes, enviroment, inter-personal relationships,cultural impact, and our reactions to them. Sometimes we are the victims by being stuck in a prison of emotional immaturity. Alcohol and drugs beckon us to escape this life of lies and the lies eventually become our reality. The reality is SAD-S for stigma, A for apathy, and D for denial..I was saved by Alcoholics Anonymous-25 years ago.
Source: CASA Conference. Columbia University Nov. 17th 2009

Children in families experiencing alcohol or drug abuse need attention, guidance and support. They may be growing up in homes in which the problems are either denied or covered up. These children need to have their experiences validated. They also need safe, reliable adults in whom to confide and who will support them, reassure them, and provide them with appropriate help for their age. They need to have fun and just be kids.
Families with alcohol and drug problems usually have high levels of stress and confusion. High stress family environments are a risk factor for early and dangerous substance use, as well as mental and physical health problems. It is important to talk honestly with children about what is happening in the family and to help them express their concerns and feelings. Children need to trust the adults in their lives and to believe that they will support them. Children living with alcohol or drug abuse in the family can benefit from participating in educational support groups in their school student assistance programs.
Those age 11 and older can join Alateen groups, which meet in community settings and provide healthy connections with others coping with similar issues. Being associated with the activities of a faith community can also help. Dependence on alcohol and drugs is our most serious national public health problem. It is prevalent among rich and poor, in all regions of the country, and all ethnic and social groups. Millions of Americans misuse or are dependent on alcohol or drugs. Most of them have families who suffer the consequences, often serious, of living with this illness. If there is alcohol or drug dependence in your family, remember you are not alone. Most individuals who abuse alcohol or drugs have jobs and are productive members of society creating a false hope in the family that “it’s not that bad.”
The problem is that addiction tends to worsen over time, hurting both the addicted person and all the family members. It is especially damaging to young children and adolescents. People with this illness really may believe that they drink normally or that “everyone” takes drugs. These false beliefs are called denial; this denial is a part of the illness. Alcoholism and other drug addiction have genetic and environmental causes. Both have serious consequences for children who live in homes where parents are involved. More than 28 million Americans are children of alcoholics; nearly 11 million are under the age of 18. This figure is magnified by the countless number of others who are affected by parents who are impaired by other psychoactive drugs.
Alcoholism and other drug addiction tend to run in families. Children of addicted parents are more at risk for alcoholism and other drug abuse than are other children. Children of addicted parents are the highest risk group of children to become alcohol and drug abusers due to both genetic and family environment factors. Biological children of alcohol dependent parents who have been adopted continue to have an increased risk (2-9 fold) of developing alcoholism. Recent studies suggest a strong genetic component, particularly for early onset of alcoholism in males. Sons of alcoholic fathers are at fourfold risk compared with the male offspring of non-alcoholic fathers. Use of substances by parents and their adolescent children is strongly correlated; generally, if parents take drugs, sooner or later their children will also. Adolescents who use drugs are more likely to have one or more parents who also use drugs. The influence of parental attitudes on a child’s drug taking behaviors may be as important as actual drug abuse by the parents. An adolescent who perceives that a parent is permissive about the use of drugs is more likely to use drugs.

Source: Public Service Announcement from SAMHSA in the public domain 27th Jan 2010

Parents who try to teach responsible drinking by letting their teenagers have alcohol at home may be well intentioned, but they may also be wrong, according to a new study in the latest issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

In a study of 428 Dutch families, researchers found that the more teenagers were allowed to drink at home, the more they drank outside of home as well. What’s more, teens who drank under their parents’ watch or on their own had an elevated risk of developing alcohol-related problems. Drinking problems included trouble with school work, missed school days and getting into fights with other people, among other issues.

The findings, say the researchers, put into question the advice of some experts who recommend that parents drink with their teenage children to teach them how to drink responsibly — with the aim of limiting their drinking outside of the home.

That advice is common in the Netherlands, where the study was conducted, but it is based more on experts’ reasoning than on scientific evidence, according to Dr. Haske van der Vorst, the lead researcher on the study.

“The idea is generally based on common sense,” says van der Vorst, of Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. “For example, the thinking is that if parents show good behavior — here, modest drinking — then the child will copy it. Another assumption is that parents can control their child’s drinking by drinking with the child.”

But the current findings suggest that is not the case.

Based on this and earlier studies, van der Vorst says, “I would advise parents to prohibit their child from drinking, in any setting or on any occasion.”

The study included 428 families with two children between the ages of 13 and 15. Parents and teens completed questionnaires on drinking habits at the outset and again one and two years later.

The researchers found that, in general, the more teens drank at home, the more they tended to drink elsewhere; the reverse was also true, with out-of-home drinking leading to more drinking at home. In addition, teens who drank more often, whether in or out of the home, tended to score higher on a measure of problem drinking two years later.

The findings, according to van der Vorst, suggest that teen drinking begets more drinking — and, in some cases, alcohol problems — regardless of where and with whom they drink.

“If parents want to reduce the risk that their child will become a heavy drinker or problem drinker in adolescence,” she says, “they should try to postpone the age at which their child starts drinking.”

Available at: http://www.jsad.com/jsad/link/71/105

Source: H. van der Vorst Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 71 (1), 105-114. Jan 2010

Chapel Hill Independent School District announced today that they will host Project 7th Grade, a national initiative of the notMYkid organization that educates parents, schools and children on substance abuse prevention, for a presentation on effective means for families to communicate and prevent teenagers from abusing prescription and illicit drugs. Project 7th Grade serves as a family-oriented prevention resource that helps parents develop plans to communicate and maintain an early, but ongoing dialogue with their children about the perils of substance abuse, incorporating drug testing as a cornerstone of deterrence.
This presentation will be held in English on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 and in Spanish on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at 6:30p.m. at 13172 Hwy 64 E Tyler, TX. All area parents are invited to attend this program but please note it is not open to students. Parents will learn about drug issues, trends, terminology, see photos of paraphernalia and be given tips on talking to their kids about drugs and establishing a proactive drug prevention plan for their families. Each family that attends is also given a First Check drug test kit to take home with them, it tests for seven illicit and five prescription drugs, and often just having the kit in the home is enough of a deterrent for middle school students.
“Project 7th Grade is unique because it encourages proactive, two-way communications between parent and child to prevent drug use before it has had a chance to occur,” said Lacy Lowrey, Manager of National Program Development for Project 7th Grade. “We provide the essential resources so that pare! nts can develop their own family substance abuse prevention plans based on their own particular circumstances, as well as offering test kits to serve as an effective deterrent and means for teenagers to escape peer pressure.”
Source: www.kltv.com 21.4.08

The article below was written in an American publication in 2008 and drew on previous articles from the 1990s – also included here. It is salutary to see that the comments about drug education in schools in the USA are still completely relevant to drug education in Britain today.

Parents should ask to see which drug education programme is being used in the schools which their children attend – and they should read them with great care, to identify any covert messages. To prevent drug use by young people it is vital that parents, schools and colleges all give the same message – drug use is unlawful, unhealthy, and unacceptable – NDPA

In a recent article about the debate on the legalization of marijuana between Robert Stutman, a retired DEA agent, and Steve Hager, editor-in-chief of High Times Magazine, which had been sponsored by the student union at the University of Kansas, a student later said that the debaters had appealed too much to the emotions of the audience, that she had wanted more concrete facts.

Another notable comment from another student said she did not smoke marijuana but was interested in the event because some of her friends did smoke. “I don’t look down on people that smoke,” she said. “I have never smoked and never will. It’s a personal choice, and it’s just how I am.”

It seems that many students think that marijuana use is a “personal choice,” without regard to its being against the law and school codes. Several highly qualified people who have reviewed school drug curricula have pointed out that the approach being used in most school drug education, which focuses on self-esteem and teaching ‘decision-making skills,’ implies that drug use is a choice for the student to make. Furthermore, with that psychosocial emphasis, indications are that there has been too little knowledge provided to students about drugs and the harms of their use, which is surely what drug education is assumed to be about.

Arlene Seal, Ph.D., who has a vast background in drug-prevention analysis and activities, wrote several excellent articles in the mid-1990s about concerns regarding the choice/decision-making approach being used in school drug curricula. Two of those articles are excerpted below, and also below is an excerpt from another article on the same subject, that one written in 1990 by a professor in education at Northern Illinois University.

Although there may have been some improvements in school drug curricula since these articles were written, apparently the basic “choice/decision-making” emphasis remains the same, as was indicated by the comment of the student in the recent article about the marijuana legalization debate held at Kansas.
If we are to be effective in youth drug-use prevention, we must pay more attention to, and have an input in, what is being taught (and how) in drug education in the middle and high schools, prior to students arriving at college.
Source: Nancy Starr, Drugwatch International. October 2008

THERE IS NO CHOICE

by Arlene B. Seal, Ph.D., published in Prevention Pipeline, May/June 1991,
condensed from a longer article published in Dec./Jan. 1991 Adolescent Counsellor. (Dr. Seal has been a drug-education consultant for many years, was a Fulbright Scholar, and is Founder/President of Positive Moves.)

I am very concerned about the prevalence of drug education throughout the country that focuses on individual choice and decision-making skills. Most often these programs and curricula emphasize self-esteem or self-confidence as prerequisites for responsible behavior and ‘good choices or decisions.’ Although engendering important social development and life skills, this approach dilutes the fact that illicit drugs are dangerous and illegal.
Drug education for young people that relies upon ‘choices’ or ‘moderation’ about drug use carries subtle and misleading messages that say:

* Any age is old enough to have gained a perspective in life and an experienced frame of reference to make critical life decisions to choose what one wants to do.

* Laws are not important. One has a right to do whatever one individually feels or thinks is best for oneself regardless of authority or society.

*When one is able to make a choice equivalent to deciding whether or not to go out and play, it must mean that there is no real harm in drug use.

Furthermore, ‘choice’ implies that there are two or more viable options. Is there any ‘choice’ about drugs that is medically and socially acceptable other than no unlawful use? Use of illicit drugs is against the law because it is harmful to the survival and well-being of society. It is not a matter of choosing whether or not to use illegal drugs, but rather a decision whether or not to break the law.

Drug education, especially for children, that centers on choice has three inherent problems:

1. Choices or decisions cannot be made without a frame of reference.
Over the past thirty years, American society changed many of its rules and the societal frame of reference got lost in individualistic interpretation. How can young people possibly make critical choices in a society that is no longer clear about the rules it follows?

2. ‘Choice’ evades a clear message of right and wrong. There is no choice about murder, it is societally unacceptable. If one commits murder, one makes a decision to break the law with known consequences.

3. Giving children critical life choices relinquishes adult and societal responsibility. One does not tell a 5-year-old that cars can hurt or kill and then send the child off alone to cross a street on the first day of school. . . Is it realistic or responsible on the part of adults to give young people choices about drug use that is equally life-threatening? . . . .

One of the most positive things we can do, as parents and as a society, to help our children, ourselves, our country and our world gain long-term freedom from rampant societal drug use, is to be clear and consistent in the messages we give and the lines we draw. We must insist that all drug education transmit a non-acceptance for illegal drug use.

From CHOICE . . . TO LEGALIZATION

- Excerpts from an article by Arlene B. Seal, Ph.D., which originally appeared as a guest editorial in IDEA Newsletter, April 1993.

Following the 1986 Drug-Free Act, many people with the best of intentions but with limited understanding of the new direction required, implemented strategies, policies and programs within the initial context of treatment and law enforcement. While treatment and law enforcement are essential parts of national policies, these approaches cannot accomplish the drug-free goal. They are both REACTIVE approaches that begin only after the problem has occurred…. .
Critical to the long-term solution of preventing the problem before it occurs, is a PREVENTIVE approach that will change societal attitudes about the acceptance of drugs…..

This raises one of the most significant problems in current US drug education strategies and policies. Much of the continued use of drugs and some of the other major problems associated with drugs in the US, such as gangs and violence, can be attributed, in part, to the type of education implemented over the past two decades at all levels.

Today, about 59%-98% of drug ‘prevention’ curricula and youth programs (including ‘drug-free’ youth programs) are based on a ‘choice/decision-making’ model.

Drug prevention education based on teaching children that ‘it is their choice or decision whether or not to use drugs’ is actually COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO THE GOALS OF A DRUG-FREE SOCIETY. In fact, teaching children that drug use is their ‘choice’ increases acceptance of drug prevalence and use by making both use and non-use viable options. More simply, choice/decision models violate the accepted federal standard of no use that is the litmus test for receiving federal monies, including drug-free school dollars.

Furthermore, since all drugs are illegal for children, teaching a child that s/he is the only one who can decide on behavior that is best for her/himself, burdens a child with responsibility relinquished by adults and society while it undermines the child’s respect for authority in any form—parent, teacher, school, religion, government.

Teaching children guided decision-making skills by responsible and caring adults is a process that takes place gradually over years (like an apprenticeship) while the child gains knowledge and a life perspective with which to make good choices and wise decisions—and to understand that there are non-negotiables in order to protect individuals and the well-being of society.

Promoting the concept that drug use is the choice of each individual is the premise promoted by drug advocacy groups. This concept is the pathway to an ultimate outcome of legalization of drugs.

By teaching children that it is their choice whether or not to use drugs, children are learning that drugs are acceptable in society while they are being indoctrinated to eventually vote for drug legalization.

SOME DRUG EDUCATION PROGRAMS SEND MIXED MESSAGES TO STUDENTS

by Lowell Horton, Professor of education at Northern Illinois University
from ‘ON TARGET’, March 1990 -reprinted in ‘National Chemical People Newsletter’, March – April 1990. Excerpts follow:

All 50 states now have laws requiring alcohol and other drug education. As often as not, these mandates are ambiguous and poorly conceived. While several good drug education packages are available, many others were rushed to the market with more interest in the bottom line than in outcome.

School leaders are required to exercise thoughtful consideration before approving programs for school districts. Many drug education programs send a mixed and confusing message to students. Others are clearly wrong. Here are some clues that your program may be worse than no program at all. (One of those clues with commentary follows.)

Drug education that is value free so students can decide for themselves. This overworked saw is still grinding in too many schools. The message from this transmogrification of teaching critical thinking is that we should simply present the facts in a non-biased way and allow children to decide for themselves whether they will drink alcohol, smoke pot or snort cocaine.

Further, this outrageous notion exhorts teachers to remain neutral without pointing out right and wrong. This absurd approach is totally inappropriate. Fourteen-year-olds do not have the ability, nor should they have the responsibility, for making unaided decisions about drug use. As educators, we do have legal and moral obligations to assist our students in making legal and healthful decisions. We don’t need to apologize for standing against drug use. Beware of mixed and hidden messages……

Administrators, teachers, community groups and students must work together to craft a program that will unequivocally contribute to the goal of a totally drug-free environment in the school and community.

COLLEGE STUDENTS LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF MARIJUANA HARM

From newsletter of The Chemical People of Erie County, Pa. Fall 2002 – The letter below, written by former Drug Enforcement Administration member Robert Stutman, was sent to nine major newspapers. Is it a reflection of what students did not learn in high school drug education and/or what they are not learning at college or what they are learning at college?

Dear Editor:
As the former head of the New York office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, as a current member of the Board of Directors of Educating Voices, Inc., an organization of people who care about this issue and are working to do something about it, and as someone who delivers about one hundred speeches a year on the subject of drugs in all types of venues, I believe that I was probably as sophisticated about drugs in America as most people could hope to be. However, with April 20th, the “Holy Grail” of the marihuana counter-culture quickly approaching, I felt obliged to speak out.

I debate the “Legalization of Marihuana” dozens of times a year on major college campuse. Recently, I have been aghast at the utter lack of knowledge and misconceptions on which our college students are basing their decisions as to whether they should use marihuana and indeed, whether it should be legalized. I have college students regularly tell me that “Marihuana cures cancer” and “I drive better when I am stoned on grass.”

Those ridiculous positions, not even advocated by leaders on the other side of the issue, are examples of the struggles and dangers we face as a nation. Unfortunately, most Americans are pretending drugs are not a major problem in the U. S. I wish they could spend time with me debating against the legalization of drugs with our college students, always in the minority in an auditorium full of students. April 20th will reinvigorate those Americans who want to make drugs available to our young people. When will the rest of us become reinvigorated?

Robert Stutman.

Researchers have tested several models to explain in what way different factors influence the possibility that an adolescent starts to abuse substances. In all of these models, parental and family factors have a central position in the long-term pathways leading to substance abuse, whereas peer influence acts as a contributing factor closer to the time when youth initiate drug or alcohol use. In other words, although peer influence is often the major reason adolescents initiate negative behaviours, a positive family environment is the primary reason youth do not engage in these behaviours, including drug and alcohol abuse, delinquency and early or unprotected sex.

While it is recognized that the peer group is influential, it is now known that an
adolescent’s choice of peers is greatly affected by the relationship he or she has with his or her parents. When adolescents have a positive relationship with their parents, they are more likely to choose peers who are a positive influence. Further research has identified the critical family factors that help to protect children from substance abuse:

(a) Secure and healthy parent/child attachment;
(b) Parental supervision, monitoring and effective discipline;
(c) Communication of pro-social family values;
(d) Parental involvement in child’s life;
(e) Supportive parenting (emotionally, cognitively, socially and financially).

Research on resiliency has also confirmed these points. This body of research focuses on children and families living through acute or chronic stressful life events and confirms that parental and family factors contribute to the capacity of youth to overcome adverse family situations and achieve positive outcomes.

Research shows that parents who are supportive, who encourage their children to become independent, expect compliance with rules and are consistent and fair in their discipline practices have children who are more resilient than other children. This style of parenting is often labelled “authoritative parenting”. Other factors that have been found to contribute to resiliency are an organized family environment, supportive relations, family beliefs, family cohesion and flexibility, family problem-solving and coping skills, and communication.

The research provides strong evidence that parents and families can be powerful
protective factors in the lives of children and youth; conversely, the research provides clear evidence that certain family characteristics can act as strong risk factors. Poor management of children’s behaviour, harsh and inconsistent discipline, and lack of opportunities to learn social skills have been associated with social, psychological and academic problems in children and adolescents. In general, a chaotic home environment and lack of structure in the family life are major risk factors for substance abuse. Moreover, parent-child relationships and families characterized by indifference, non responsiveness, emotional insecurity and lack of consistency by parents in caring and comforting children during the early years of development are associated with higher risks of depression, anxiety and relationship problems among children and adults. Childhood depression has been further associated with drug use in early adolescence.

IIMPLEMENTING FAMILY SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMMES FOR DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION
These factors often characterize families with substance-abusing parents, where family relationships are likely to be disrupted, particularly if the mother is an addict. When parents abuse substances, children have greater chances of repeated exposure to family conflicts and violence, including physical and verbal abuse, and to alcohol and drugs. Families with addiction problems tend to socially isolate to protect themselves from detection, social censure and criminal action. A side effect of this is that children also become isolated and develop fewer pro-social relationships.

To conclude, research indicates that the main factors in a family that put
children and youth at risk of substance abuse are the same factors that place youth at risk for other problem behaviours; hence efforts to prevent substance abuse will also have beneficial effects on other risky behaviours. The main factors in a family that put children and youth at risk of substance abuse are:

(a) Lack of bonding and insecure relationship with parents;
(b) Lack of a signifi cant relationship with a caring adult;
(c) Ineffective parenting;
(d) Chaotic home environment;
(e) Parents or siblings who abuse substances, suffer from mental illness or are involved in criminal behaviour;
(f) Social isolation.

Definition of family skills training programmes
What are family skills training programmes? Family skills training programmes generally aim at strengthening the family protective factors that have been mentioned above. For example, they might include exercises to increase communication, trust, problem-solving skills and conflict resolution or they might include opportunities for parents and children to spend positive time together, as ways to strengthen the bonding and attachment between parents and children. To match the protective and risk factors described above, family skills training programmes generally include strategies aimed at increasing:

(a) Positive family relationships;
(b) Family supervision and monitoring;
(c) Communication of family values and expectations.

These strategies are generally grouped and presented in three sub-sessions within a given intervention session: family skills training programmes generally combine:
(a) training of parents to strengthen their parenting skills;
(b) training of children in personal and social skills; and
(c) family practice sessions.

Thus, a typical session will see parents and children attending their own training groups and, at the end, coming together as a whole family for some practice time. These interventions are generally delivered to groups of families and allow for practice time within individual families. Some programmes use technology (computer-based learning and telephones) as an intervention modality, especially for universal-level delivery and for families living in remote locations.

A recent research review40 concluded that the most effective family skills training
programmes include active parental involvement, focus on the development of
adolescents’ social skills and responsibility among children and adolescents, and
address issues related to substance abuse. Effective interventions also involve youth in family activities and strengthen family bonds.

Source: Family skills training programmes for drug abuse prevention
ONDCP Vienna 23rd March 2009

The study’s release coincides with the Partnership’s second annual “Time To Talk” Month, a family-focused parents’ movement throughout August designed to help parents start and maintain open, honest dialogue with their kids about the risks of drugs and alcohol. Time To Talk supports and empowers parents and caregivers to have frequent and positive conversations with their teens to keep them healthy and drug free.
This year’s Time To Talk effort prompts parents to adapt the technology teens use and reaching out to them with an encouraging text message at back to school time. Parents can join the Partnership’s first-ever “Time To Text” initiative, an effort to motivate parents to open new lines of communication by learning to text message, starting with a back-to-school message as a reminder of support.
Parent visitors to TimeToTalk.org can learn to talk to their kids about drugs and alcohol in their own language by downloading a “Time To Text” guide offering tips on sending a message to their kid’s mobile phone. Those who can’t quite find the words can choose from several pre-written messages. Parents can also download a wallet card with shortcuts teens use when text messaging. The “Time To Text” guide is available at TimeToTalk.org.
PATS research consistently shows that kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs at home are up to 50 percent less likely to use than those who do not. Yet, only 32 percent of teens report that they are getting this vital message from their parents.
Parents are encouraged to visit TimeToTalk.org in August for tips on talking to teens about school stress and helping them manage pressure.
Among the recommendations for parents are regular reminders to kids that they are loved and admired for who they are, not for their grades and achievements, making family time a priority, and having frequent discussions about the risks of drug and alcohol.
Time To Talk reaches parents and caregivers through the support of 2008 sponsors A&E Television Network, Comcast, King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Major League Baseball Charities, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Yahoo!
Source: www.drugfree.org Aug.2008

NEW YORK, NY – A new study released by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America reveals a troubling new insight into the reasons why teens use drugs. According to the 2007 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study of 6,511 teens (PATS Teens), the number one reason teens see for using drugs is to deal with the pressures and stress of school. In this nationally projectable study (margin of error +/- 1.6 percent), 73 percent of teens reported that school stress is the primary reason for drug use, indicating that teens’ perceptions of motivating factors for using drugs are dramatically different than past research has indicated.
Deep Disconnect Between Teen Behavior and Parental Awareness
An accompanying 2007 Partnership study of parents’ attitudes about teen drug use, released in June, showed that parents severely underestimate the impact of stress on their teens’ decision to use drugs. Only 7 percent of parents believe that teens might use drugs to cope with stress.
“A wide disconnect exists between what teens are thinking and feeling and what parents believe about their teens when it comes to attitudes about drug use,” said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership. “This is a pivotal opportunity for parents to understand what motivates today’s teens to engage in this type of risky behavior, and to communicate the very real dangers and risks, while offering their kids support and guidance on dealing with pressure in a healthy way.”
In previous PATS Teens studies, when teen respondents were asked to select from a number of reasons for using drugs, the number one reason (65 percent) selected was to “feel cool.” The 2007 study was the first to offer the option of selecting school stress as a motivator, one which nearly 3 out of 4 teens (73 percent) strongly agreed with. This was followed closely by “feeling cool” (65 percent) and “feeling better about themselves” (65 percent).
Over the past decade, studies have indicated a steady changing trend in what teens perceive as the motivations for using drugs. The “to have fun” rationales are declining, while motivations to use drugs to solve problems are increasing.
Overall Teen Drug Use Declining; Prescription Drug Abuse Disturbingly High Among Nation’s Youth
The 2007 PATS Teens study confirms that overall substance abuse remains in steady decline among teens. Marijuana use is in its tenth consecutive year of decline, down 30 percent since 1998 alone. Teen use of Ecstasy, inhalants and methamphetamine has continued a multi-year, significant decline, and use of both alcohol and cigarettes continue to decrease.
Teens’ ongoing intentional abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications remains a serious concern, as many teens mistakenly believe the abuse of medicines is less dangerous than abuse of illegal drugs.
According to the survey:
• 1 in 5 teens (4.4 million) has abused a prescription medication,
• Nearly 1 in 5 teens (4.2 million) has already abused a prescription painkiller,
• 41 percent of teens think it’s safer to abuse a prescription drug than it is to use illegal drugs.
“Teens continue to take their lives into their own hands when they intentionally abuse prescribed medications, said Pasierb. “Whether it’s to get high or deal with stress, or if they mistakenly believe it will help them perform better in school or sports, teens don’t realize that when used without a prescription, these medicines can be every bit as harmful as illegal street drugs.”
Source Press Release. Partnership for a Drug Free America. Aug. 2008

Youngsters under 21, often the first time away from home, often drink to excess when they are in college. This can reflect on their academic work, acceptable behaviour and sadly, too often, result in alcohol overdoses. Yet parents, (who are paying the bills !) are not informed unless or until the situation is one of
asking the student to leave. Well done to the University of Kansas.
Calling parents about alcohol abuse good policy
University of Kansas officials get good marks on policy to notify parents of student drinking
University of Kansas students seeking relief from stress or just a bit of fun may think twice now before inviting alcohol or drugs to the party.

University officials have decided that what underage students are doing in Lawrence doesn’t necessarily have to stay in Lawrence if it involves alcohol or drugs. Henceforth, the university will inform parents when students younger than 21 are found to be in violation of drug and alcohol laws.

We welcome the change in policy at KU, and think universities that don’t phone home now when young students endanger their lives or the lives of others during an incident of substance abuse would do well to follow suit.

It’s the nature of university officials across the country to want to treat their students like responsible adults. However, some students don’t always act like responsible adults, and if a call home and parental intervention will put them back on track, so be it.

In KU’s case, officials had good reason to review the school’s policy and make a change. Alcohol played a role in the deaths of two students this spring.

Jason Wren, 19, of Littleton, Colo., was found dead at a fraternity house March 8 after a night of heavy drinking. He had been kicked out of a university residence hall for earlier incidents involving alcohol. Dalton Hawkins, 18, of Shawnee, died April 24 after falling off the roof of a campus building. An autopsy report indicated he had been drinking.

We think Wren’s family would have been interested in knowing he was having trouble with alcohol and are pretty sure they would have tried to help him with his problem.

It’s unfortunate that universities everywhere, including several in Kansas, have stories about students who were lost to encounters with too much alcohol. Perhaps the changes brought about at the University of Kansas following the deaths of Wren and Hawkins will save some lives.

In addition to calling parents, KU will step up efforts to educate students about drinking and has instituted an amnesty policy meant to encourage students to get help for friends having alcohol-related emergencies.

At Kansas State University, officials notify the parents of underage students who have multiple offenses with alcohol or other controlled substances that occur on the campus. The policy had been in place in KSU residence halls and was extended to the entire campus last fall.

At Washburn University, parents may be notified if a student is deemed to be in a crisis, but the school doesn’t have a policy to notify parents of use.

Stepping in to help a student before he or she has had multiple offenses or is in a crisis situation probably would prove to be more effective, and could save a life.

We’d encourage all universities to review their policies concerning students and alcohol to determine whether they’re doing all they should to ensure someone doesn’t have to call a student’s parents with some really bad news

Source: The Topeka Capital Journal May 10, 2009

It’s summer, when kids should be able to run free. “Should be able” is the operative phrase here, unfortunately. – No parent would ever wish drug abuse on their child; the thought that their beloved newborn could turn out to be a drug user, terrifies every responsible, loving parent!
Today, marijuana pervades our teens world; your children are the targets of those who promote drugs. There are tens if not hundreds of thousands of websites promoting marijuana; these websites ridicule the scientific studies; they ridicule the war on drugs, convincing many that nothing can be done to stop drug use.
Primarily, what parents need to know is: Prevention works.
Parents and grandparents can normally prevent the tragedy that comes from drug use, but they must not only educate themselves, they need to become actively and aggressively part of the anti-drug community, for drug use has now reached a pandemic stage among youth.
The average age of first use of any drug in America is 12. The first drugs of use are tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, all “gateway drugs,” and are accepted as an accurate predictor of potential future drug use.
What Can Be Done?
Use the tragedies around us to teach our children!

1. First, make sure your children know that use of any drugs is unacceptable – that participating in drug use will close any number of doors which would normally be open to them throughout their lives – that it can limit their choices, having a permanent impact on their lives.
2. In front of your children, talk about the parents whose children have become users and the pain and grieving their parents are going through! If the chance occurs, let them experience it first hand, by being with you when you visit with those parents; let them experience the pain.
3. Set rules and consequences and be consistent about enforcing them. Explain to them how the world works – regarding how education and schooling, is preparing them to support and provide for their future families.
4. Role play with them, giving them effective ways to say “no”! Peer pressure will be on them much earlier than you expect.
5. Instill leadership qualities; some children naturally tend to be followers; teach them not to.
6. Understand the pressures: the alcohol, tobacco industries and marijuana promoters know that if one is drug free at 21, it’s unlikely they will ever use drugs – children are targets and peer pressure is real.
7. Become involved with your children’s environment:
a) Schools; make sure their policies clearly promote drug-free youth.
b) Internet: monitor their use; there are many good tracking programs.
c) Music: listen to it, not only theirs, but their friends; and if you suspect lyrics, search them out online – you’ll be amazed!Music for example is one of the underpinnings of promoting drug use (as well as of other anti-social behaviors).
d) Reading: visit your library or buy and read a couple issues of “High Times” to see how pot is being presented to youth! Actively speak out against, and challenge all things which promote the acceptance of drugs – paraphernalia and hemp products.
e) Closely monitor their well-supervised and age-appropriate whereabouts; contract with them that you will be there and never complain if they ever encounter a situation where they’re in the presence of drug use – that you’ll pick them up immediately. Learn to say “no” to their requests.
Basically, engage life; support the safe environment in your community.
Now comes the hard part – if in case we loose a battle, and an older child begins to use, statistically, that child will very likely pass the drug on to younger children!
When a child begins to use and there are younger children in the home, that child needs to be put into a program to get them off and keep them off all drugs – for the sake of the younger children in the home, yet this is useless without regular testing! If they relapse, for the safety of the other children, they need to leave the home – that relates back to the #1 item above – they’ve been warned that if they’ve made a choice to violate rules, they’re old enough to not live at home.
Source: www.examiner.com 28th June 2009

3668 Bonita View Drive., Bonita, Ca. 91902 (619) 475 9941/475 9942 email rogermorgan339@sbcglobal.net

4/18/2009
To: President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

CC: Vice President Joe Biden
Director of The Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske

Dear Mr. President:

We, an international coalition of drug prevention professionals and organizations throughout the world, many with over thirty years of experience, believe that the nation’s problems of health, academic achievement, crime, welfare and resultant impacts on the federal and state budgets cannot be resolved without focusing on the root cause of all of these problems ….. alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (hereinafter ATOD). We therefore call upon the President of the United States to reduce the demand for ATOD as follows:

WHEREAS …..

• Almost all of our nation’s problems, are caused by or made worse by alcohol, tobacco
and illicit drugs. (hereinafter ATOD).

• In your first term of four years, unless there is a radical shift to prevent the disease of addiction, the nation will incur $2.4 TRILLION in cost and an estimated 2.8 MILLION AMERICANS WILL DIE from tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs and misuse of legal drugs.

• Addiction to ATOD is a “pediatric onset disease” (Dr. Barthwell, former Deputy Director of ONDCP). Almost all addiction begins with adolescents, aged 11 to 18 years old.

• If a young person reaches age 21 prior to first significant use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs, they should virtually never have a problem. (Joseph Califano Jr., Chairman of CASA)

• Just as we inoculate for measles, small pox, polio and other diseases, if we universally employ the best known prevention methods we can significantly reduce the level of death, destruction and economic cost of health care, and increase academic achievement and productivity.

• America has 5% of the world’s population, yet we consume 65% of illicit drugs. Over 2000 young people start smoking tobacco daily, 50% of whom will die from it, and in the process of dying will inflict enormous costs on society for health care. 50% of adolescents use drugs and alcohol, 25% frequently.

• Demand for drugs fuels the drug cartels which in turn financially underwrite terrorism and corruption in Mexico and throughout the world. Reducing demand is of equal importance to interdicting supply, and no longer an option if the nation is to effectively win the war on drugs.

• The High School Drop Out Rate – UC Santa Barbara recently concluded a study showing the average drop out rate in California is 24.2%. Each class of drop outs (127,000 students) cost California taxpayers $46.4 billion …. $365,000 PER DROP OUT, as two thirds will end up on welfare, in prison, and/or burdening public health care. Nationally there are 1.2 million high school drop outs (www.edweek.org). If the same cost figure applies as in California, the ANNUAL NATIONAL COST FOR HIGH SCHOOL DROP OUTS IS $438 BILLION.

• The Cost of Substance Abuse – NIDA reported in 2006 that the annual cost of illicit drugs to the nation was $181 billion, and when combined with alcohol they exceed $500 billion, which includes costs for healthcare, criminal justice and lost productivity. Add tobacco, and the figure is over $700 billion a year … SOON TO BE ONE TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

• Criminal Activity/Prison Overcrowding – Drugs and alcohol are implicated in roughly 85% of all crime. 80% of prison inmates are high school drop outs. Unless corrective measures are taken to improve the high school drop out rate, the social and economic costs to society will increase as the employment, crime, welfare and health care costs increase.

• Death Rate – According to The Center for Disease Control, overdose deaths in 2006 amounted to 3,042 deaths a month. In 1998, the last year total drug deaths were quantified, overdose deaths were only 27% of the total and drug related deaths comprised the balance. If that holds true today, 2,620 Americans die weekly from drugs….. almost the equivalent of 9/11, every week. But tobacco trumps them all, with 1200 deaths a day.

• Treatment vs Prevention – NIDA reported in 2006 23.6 million persons aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol (9.6% of persons aged 12 or older), and only 2.5 million actually got treatment. Every dollar spent on addiction treatment returned $4 to $7 dollars in reduction of drug-related crimes. While treatment is economically sound, and necessary, the savings in human lives, misery and costs from PREVENTING the problem to begin with could save HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY.

• States (and we think the federal government) spend 113 times as much to clean up the devastation that substance abuse visits on children as they do to prevent and treat it.” (Joseph Califano; 2001 Study called Shoveling Up: The Impact of Substance Abuse on State Budgets). This is appalling economic and social policy.

• “The primary responsibility for the protection of its people does lie with the state itself …. and, prevention is the single most important dimension of the responsibility to protect. “(George Soros, The Bubble of American Supremacy)

• Parents are considered to be the number one factor in determining a child’s at-risk behavior. However, parents are unable to protect all children without federal help. 56% of kids in American children are at moderate to high risk of substance abuse (CASA) and the only plausible way to ensure that all children are protected is with federally mandated and approved school-based drug prevention programs in all schools combined with improved education for students and their parents on the pharmacology of drugs.

• We cannot rely on persuasion to get 17,000 school boards in America to make the right choices to defer the onset of ATOD and protect kids. A federal mandate is required to direct schools to protect all kids using the best known prevention techniques starting with non-punitive random drug testing.

• ATOD is a national problem, that inflicts more death, destruction and economic cost on this nation than all other forms of terrorism combined. It makes no sense to focus on terrorism alone, or a war in Iraq that claimed 3,000 soldiers in four years, when 3,000 Americans die monthly just from drug overdose, not to mention a cost of $200 billion a year just for drugs ( $600 billion if one adds alcohol and tobacco.)

• Two of the most important responsibilities of all elected officials are to protect the people, and manage tax dollars intelligently.

• Schools, by virtue of the fact they house 98.5% of adolescents, are critical in terms of shoring up the shortfalls in parenting. A federal mandate for schools to implement the best known prevention practices is an absolute necessity to protect all kids.

• In large part due to drugs and alcohol, there are 6.1 million children in America being raised by grandparents or foster parents; 1.6 million of those are in foster homes.

• China has more children getting straight A’s in school than all of the kids in the school system in America combined, and 1.2 million kids in America don’t even graduate from high school. (Capt Len Kaine, Retired) We cannot retain our competitive position in the world if this is not corrected.

THEREFORE we request President Obama and the Administration to take the following actions to reduce the demand for alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs:

1) Implement a Demand Reduction Program in all schools for grades 6 through 12 to include:

A) A requirement for non-punitive random drug testing for ALL STUDENTS aged 11 to
17 years old. This is the best known tool for deterring the onset of ATOD use. It keeps kids in the system, gives them a reason to say no to peer pressure, takes the burden off teachers and the administration to play drug cop, identifies problems early so kids can get help if needed, keeps law enforcement out of the equation, gets parents involved when problems arise, decreases juvenile problems, and enhances academic achievement and graduation rates.

B) Use the best known practices to keep alcohol, tobacco and other drugs off campus.
According to CASA research, the propensity to use is 5 times greater if ATOD is readily available on campuses.

C) Strive to get Student Assistant Programs (SAP) and effective counselors on each campus, to
fill the void in many young people’s lives caused by the lack of effective parenting.

D) Continue with educational programs that convey an effective no-use message from grades
K – 12 for young people and adults in communicating the pharmacology of ATOD, and their effect on individuals and society in general.

E) Create activities during and after school that enhance physical fitness and healthy
lifestyles.

2) As a condition for receiving federal aid for welfare, health care or child/family assistance, require all
recipients to subject to random drug testing.

3) As a means of expanding knowledge on the pharmacology of drugs by parents and the general public, have ONDCP and/or the Department of Health and Human services provide materials and information to all major employers in the United States so they in turn can provide the information to their employees; and extend incentives such as tax credits for employees who pass an exam. Smaller employers should be allowed to piggy back on larger employers.

SUMMARY

The health of our nation, and the individuals in it, requires a coordinated effort by the Departments of Health and Human Service, Education and ONDCP, but most importantly, leadership from the President of the United States.

The magnitude of the problem suggests that DEMAND REDUCTION for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs is no longer an option, but a necessity, if America is to reduce the cost of health care, enhance education, productivity and retain its competitive position among nations. We pray that you will have the wisdom, courage and conviction to stand in the face of opposition and mandate a policy that will protect our young people, and in turn the future of our nation.

ENDORSED BY:

• Roger Morgan, Californians For Drug Free Schools
• Carla D. Lowe, Californians For Drug Free Schools
• Sandra Bennett, Northwest Center for Health & Safety
• Dee Rathbone, National Institute of Citizen Anti-Drug Policy
• Joyce Nalepka, Drug Free Kids, Americas Challenge
• Dr. Eric Voth, Consultant to the White House
• Ron Cuff, Partnership for Responsible Parenting
• Aurora Williams, Partnership for Responsible Parenting
• Dr. Arlene Seal, Founder & President, Positive Moves/CWD International, Inc.
• Dr. Eric Voth, Chairman of the Institute of Global Drug Policy
• Alex Romero, Founder, Arizonans for Drug Free Youth & Communities
• Mina Seinfeld de Carakushanksy, President of BRAHA, Brazilian Humanitarians in Action
• Brenda Chabot – The Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition
• Dr. Paul Chabot, Coalition for Drug Free California
• Lori Green, Yucca Valley Anti-Marijuana/drug Activist
• Cap Beyer, Chairman of the National Student Drug Testing Coalition
• Jeanette McDougall – MM, CCDP. Director – National Alliance for Health & Safety
• Katalin Szomor – Hungarian Parliament’s Drug Committee. Drug Czar 1991-1997
• Stephanie Haynes – SOS – Save our Society from Drugs
• Fabio Bernaber – President of Associazione Osservatorio Droga – Rome Italy
• Linda Taylor – Ex Director Repeal Prop 36 Fund. Anti Drug Activist
• Yvonne Gelpi, Former Head Mistress and Principle of De La Salle High School, New Orleans
• Geraldine Silverman – New Jersey Federation for Drug Free Communities
• Wayne Rogues – Retired DEA. Rogues Group
• Theresa Costello, Port Richmond Community Group, Philadephia
• Ruby Schaaf, R.N. The Chemical People of Erie County, Pa.
• Nancy Starr, The Chemcial People of Erie County, Pa.
• Kate Patten, The Kelley McEnery Baker Foundation. “Forever Kelley;s Mom”
• Susie Dugan, Drugwatch, Omaha, Nebraska

Pres Barak Obama – Petition for Demand Reduction

As a D.A.R.E. officer and a school resource officer in Reno County, Kansas, I am out every day in my community—particularly at schools—working to prevent substance abuse. When I heard about the Five Moms Campaign, I was inspired to raise awareness about this problem among teenagers. Cough medicine abuse is something people don’t really know about or ever think would be a problem, and I want parents to know that it can be just as dangerous and prominent as other drugs.
There was one other inspiration that made me decide to be a part of the Five Moms Campaign: my adopted son. My son is four, and has had a difficult life full of changes. He is a little behind in learning and is just starting to make progress. I will do everything in my power to make sure that as he grows older, he is able to catch up in school and graduate without any setbacks, especially something like cough medicine abuse.
As I watch my son grow, so do the dreams I have for him. And, those dreams don’t include doing drugs. To help build those dreams, I try to spend as much quality time with my son as possible. We enjoy swimming, camping, playing at the park, and taking walks in the summertime. And as he gets older, having conversations about the dangers of cough medicine abuse and other drug abuse will certainly be a part of our “fun” time together.
Working as a D.A.R.E officer, I have the opportunity to teach kids about the dangers of drugs. It’s a great feeling to know that at the end of the day, I might have convinced at least one kid that it’s not worth destroying his or her life with drugs. But my influence can only go so far. Parents have to do their part at home for the message to really get through.
This campaign is my opportunity to reach out to parents. You can make sure that what your child learns from D.A.R.E. and other programs doesn’t stay at school. And make sure that what you learn about cough medicine abuse doesn’t stay with you. Share it with your kids. There are many worries in today’s world that we can’t control. But this—cough medicine abuse—is something that you can help protect your children from. It’s something you can control.
Join the Conversation
The Five Moms Campaign has a community on www.Gather.com. It is a place for parents to communicate about cough medicine abuse. Your voice matters; come and talk with other moms.
Source: www.DARE.com 2009

More than 11,000 children under 16 years old were treated last year for addictions to alcohol and drugs, including heroin, according to new figures released this week.
The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse puts the total figure of children treated at 11,294. This includes 6,075 under-16s addicted to cannabis, of which 102 are under 12 years old.
More than 4,000 children received help for alcoholism, including 57 under-12s.
The children addicted to class A drugs included ten under-12s who were dependent on heroin, out of 93 under-16s. A further 323 children were treated for cocaine misuse, 165 for ecstasy, and 36 for crack.
Conservative Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the government is neglecting a ‘forgotten generation’ of children. “It’s a sad indictment of our broken society that so many are turning to things like drug and alcohol abuse at such a young age” he said.
The Department of Health said the high figures were due to an increase in spending on treatment, a rise of £10million, from £15million to £25million in the past five years,
Funding for the government’s national anti-drug campaign which is aimed at teenagers has been cut by 41 per cent from £9.05million in 2006-7 to £5.35million today.
Charity Drugscope offered an optimistic approach to the figures, saying the overall numbers of young people using illegal drugs has fallen in recent years, especially cannabis.
Source: www.askamum.co.uk 8th July 2009

The 2008-09 PRIDE Survey showed that middle and high school students whose parents set clear rules for them “a lot” or “often” were less likely to report using illicit drugs in the past year (12 percent and 21 percent, respectively). By contrast, 49 percent of students whose parents never set clear rules reported a 49 percent illicit drug use.

Similar results were found for having parents who punish them for breaking these rules. Previous studies have found that youths living in households where parents kept track of their whereabouts and set curfews were less likely to report heavy drinking (for more information see CESAR FAX, Volume 17, Issue 31, www.cesar.umd.edu/).

The 2009 Pride Survey National Summary is based on the responses of 122,243 students selected from 447,532 students from 25 states who completed the Pride Survey for Grades 6 to 12 during the school year from August 2008 to June 2009. These students, while not drawn through a formal probability sampling process, do represent a broad cross-section of American youth. Results from previous years’ national summaries have tracked closely with nationwide surveys such as Monitoring the Future.

Source:www.pridesurveys.com/customercenter/us08ns.pdf. October 2009

[This blog, first posted on 20th May, 2009 has had over 1100 visits]
We found my 20 year old brother dead of an overdose. He had just kicked the habit so tolerance was low. He started a job and the first payday was his last.
Mum wrote this after I got clean. Copy and use it anywhere it can be of use.
What is it like being the mother of an addict?
(Experiences of a mother of two young heroin addicts)
Sheer horror! I just could not exaggerate the chaos drugs cause in a family.
It sort of creeps up gradually, after the disbelief that it really can’t be happening to your boys. You think that it is something that only happens to other people’s kids. You know, the type that don’t have any parental control.
Well, all of a sudden, it’s your turn to be judged. You just know that everyone thinks that you must have been a bad parent. You even jump on the bandwagon yourself and keep asking yourself where you went wrong, with a long list of ‘if only’s’.
But the real hurt comes with watching the ones you love and have cherished turning into the low life everyone despises – even they themselves.
Your heart breaks as they become a physical wreck: thin, gaunt, grey, full of cigarette burns they didn’t feel, with only two things on their minds. Where to get the drugs, and how to pay for them?
The realisation doesn’t come all at once and it takes a while before the stealing from your purse begins. But it is inevitable – even though you’ve convinced yourself that they wouldn’t do that to you.
From then on, the inconvenience of having to hide every penny starts. Not just because you don’t want to lose your money, but because you don’t want to become part of the problem by financing their habit. You can’t even give Christmas presents in case they sell them to buy drugs (not that Christmas will ever be the same again).
There is so much lying, scheming and deceiving that it is impossible to know the truth or to believe anything. Obviously, you cannot allow drugs to be taken in your home; so with the threats of them being made homeless, come all the promises of giving up, and you just have to believe it, because what else can you do?
Giving up on them does not seem like an option.
Coming off heroin, they need a lot of help to have any chance of success, so they now become a full-time job. You feel yourself withdrawing from the outside world and dreading visitors calling, while they ‘cold turkey’ on your couch and leave the fires on all night, and burn holes in your furniture – surrounded by bottles of pills to get over the withdrawals, most of which are also subject to abuse.
Then of course there’s the naltrexone (which is your only weapon to stop them taking heroin) – but it’s not long before they develop several ingenious ways to hide it, spit it out, or some other way to look like they’ve taken it and put you off your guard. Always one step ahead!
You live in a constant state of stress, trying to catch them out, wondering which drugs they might be taking, always hoping your suspicions are wrong. But sooner or later the needles and paraphernalia start to appear and you know you’re going round the same old cycle again.
There’s something demonic about the whole thing; the thought of your son sticking a needle full of poison into himself is excruciatingly painful. You just wonder: what has happened to my family, my life?
You feel too ashamed to tell anyone and so you become very isolated, fearful and helpless. Then – just in case you had a little pride left – you (and probably all your friends) see your son begging in the street. Your child, begging? Can it get any worse? Unfortunately, yes.
The most horrific part of it all: the overdosing.
Now you watch your son on the point of death, wondering whether the ambulance will arrive in time, trying to keep him alive in the meantime, watching him turn blue, and the life trying hard to leave the worn out, abused body.
After regular arrivals of ambulances outside your house, you start to leave the house by the back door. And just when you are starting to get complacent about the whole thing, you are hit in the face by the reality of a dead son.
And while you grieve for your precious one who lost the battle before he’d barely got into it, the other son is stealing your money to buy more drugs. The dead brother, the near-death experiences of his own, seem to have no impact at all.
So afraid that he will die, too, we go looking for him, and find him, and drag him out of public toilets, but he goes off anyway. Maybe that’s the only way he can deal with the situation.
A few more overdoses down the line and I’m completely neurotic about leaving him in the house, for fear of coming home to a corpse: it’s been too close, too many times. I have to come in slowly, listening for a noise, or for evidence of signs of life – too scared to look properly.
Once I came home to find him tangled up in the telephone cord – followed shortly afterwards by an ambulance and the police, who had presumed he’d died while calling 999. Another time, while fighting for life, a loud, shrill, almost inhuman noise was coming from him although his mouth was clenched shut. That was the time the ambulance crashed on the road just before arriving. Of course, he was oblivious to all this trauma.
Every time he left the house it was a worry. It seemed a bit naïve to trust him even though I really wanted to. Always on your mind is – is he getting drugs? Where has he got the money? Will he overdose and die? Then the cycle starts again, the cold turkey, the getting better and then back to the drugs again.
We wanted to help him stop so badly, and in the early days we really thought that if we could keep him off the drugs for a couple of weeks the habit would be broken. We tried shutting him in but he escaped through a very small upper window (that’s how thin he’d become).
In desperation we’ve followed, chased, begged, threatened, bribed, but nothing ever seemed to make a difference for long. To us, he was a sick child, but really he was a grown-up with free will, so we were helpless. All we could really do was provide a safe environment for the times when he wanted to try and get better, and swallow our own heartbreak and anger.
Next came the hope of going to rehab. This created its own tensions with trying to get funding (we didn’t know there were any free rehabs then), getting a place in the detox at the right time to go on to a room in the rehab, and hoping that he would not go off the rails in the meantime.
When it finally all fell into place it was a relief beyond imagining – only to have our hopes dashed again when after months of waiting, he only stayed a few days.
Giving up still wasn’t an option, so after getting funding again and his returning for three months, things were at least improving for a while, and we were all getting a much-needed break.
He left early and relapsed, however, but had a few more attempts at rehab. Although he never completed much of the program there, they certainly seemed to help – even though (until the last time he went) he relapsed every time he left and usually overdosed before he got back home.
Thinking back, I know I underestimated the power of the drugs, how evil they are – the hold they have and how difficult it is to get off them. The personality change and the times he let us down, seemed almost out of his control.
A turning point came when he reached a new low while injecting crack cocaine. I had always thought my money was safe as long as it was on my person, and that he would never hurt me, however much he was under the control of the drugs – but things changed.
He prised my bag out of my hands while I was screaming and begging him to stop. I was hoping something would click in his mind and he would realise what he was doing, but he just had a blank look in his eyes. I was absolutely devastated.
For the first time, I felt frightened of him, and called the police, hoping they would find him before he got more drugs – knowing that that was where he was headed. But they didn’t know where to look as there were too many dealers in our small town.
I didn’t press charges just in case it was a one off, and thank God, it was. It was the turning point in his recovery and for us. I knew everything would have to change after that: a line had been crossed and everything would have to change one way or the other.
I think, looking back, it may have been the best thing that happened – his real recovery began here – but it didn’t seem like it at the time.
I’m so thankful we didn’t give up on him – but most of all I am so thankful he didn’t give up on himself.
(S. died of a heroin overdose in 1999, aged 20; T. has now been clean for nearly a year and is rebuilding his life)
PS. Where was God in all of this? I can’t write this story without mentioning the strength God gave me when I most needed it. It was the times when I really thought I couldn’t take anymore that He really helped me through, sometimes by using other kind, helpful people and their prayers.
One person in particular was like a gift from God. Also I believe it is only by a miracle that I still have one son alive. God kept on giving me hope in what seemed like a hopeless situation, but then that’s what God is like. I just can’t imagine how those without him cope.
“This beautifully written and moving piece of writing can also be found as a pdf. Mark has asked us to use it wherever it might be of use. So please copy and pass on to other people. It may help someone else.” DC
Source: Community Blog Wired in to Recovery. Nov.2009

By Ginger Katz

On September 10, 1996, I lost my 20-year-old son, Ian to a drug overdose just before he was going into a rehabilitation program the next day. Ian had used tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana in high school. At one point he was picked up by an officer at Cranbury Park in Norwalk, CT. He was scolded and told to go home. The officer said “If I ever find you in this town again with any drugs, I will arrest you, now go home.” I insisted that Ian go into counseling at that point. I had such high hopes for Ian; I thought we had caught the addiction early. I thought it all went away, until I received the phone call from his biological Dad stating he was snorting heroin in college. My breath was taken away. My life changed.

At first, I was ashamed of his problem. I didn’t want to tell anyone about his problem when he came home from college. He was going to a day treatment program and we thought his problem was being fixed. He didn’t want me to tell his friends in Norwalk who did not know. The ugly truth is, the problem wasn’t fixed. I found him in the morning just before I was going to meet my friend at six am for our morning run. Ian died in his sleep. Neighbors told me my cries for help to 911 that morning were heard two blocks away.

Addiction does not discriminate. It doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what race you are, how financially sound you are, if your homeless or if you have a family who loves you dearly. It can happen to anyone. Drug addiction not only destroys the person who is using; it also destroys the family. Addiction robs you of your money, it robs you of your spirit, and finally, when you have nothing else left to give…it robs you of your soul. My son Ian was a good kind person who suffered from a terrible disease and we miss him everyday of our lives………..
Please keep up the fight. You are all saving lives one child at a time.

Source: www.CouragetoSpeak.org

The scientists followed 1,222 youth from elementary school through young adulthood to determine if early parenting practices protect youth from early onset of marijuana use. The researchers measured three dimensions of parenting-parental monitoring, parental involvement/reinforcement, and coercive parental discipline parenting (attempts to correct child behavior by using serious threats such as physical and nonphysical punishment)-as well as opportunity to first try marijuana.

The scientists found that children with the lowest levels of parental monitoring and parental involvement/reinforcement were almost 30 percent more likely to try marijuana for the first time when compared with the most highly monitored children. Similarly, children with higher levels of coercive discipline were more likely to try the drug for the first time. Overall, the scientists observed a delay and reduction in the opportunity to first try marijuana among children with the highest levels of parental involvement/reinforcement, which lasted through early adulthood.

• WHAT IT MEANS: Numerous studies have documented associations between parenting practices and an array of health-compromising behaviors in adolescents. The results of this study expand upon existing evidence and suggest that parenting practices such as early increased monitoring and supervision may have lasting effects by reducing and delaying marijuana use through young adulthood. Additional research is needed to better understand the role of parental practices in preventing and delaying adolescent drug use.

Source: Pediatrics. June 2005 issue

Back | Top

News and Commentary by Sharon Secor September 2004

Big Pimpin’ For The Shorties

It’s probably not surprising, in a cultural climate in which porn inspired phrases as “the money shot” or drug-dealer slang as “re-up” have come to be used so commonly that they regularly show up in newspapers, to find the concept of the pimp becoming normalized, even venerated as a pop icon. But pimps for kids? That should more than surprise us. It should anger us.

“Pimp and ‘ho” Halloween costumes for children, sold online by Brands On Sale, a company out of California, recently made national news. In addition to being available online, according to a WashingtonPost.com article of August 28, 2004, some of the shopping mall chain stores are also carrying such items. Matching adult and child pimp suits are being sold at some Spencer Gifts. The costumes have sparked outrage throughout the country. This, however, is merely one of the most recent and more blatant examples of pimp culture for kids.

Pimp Juice, a noncarbonated energy drink that we can thank the rapper Nelly for, made more than one million sales in less than four months, according to a January 28, 2004, report on AllHipHopNews.com. Where is the outrage?

While there was a bit of protest when the beverage began to move from concept to product, it evidently faded fast. On July 12, 2004, NobodySmiling.com reported that Pimp Juice would move beyond its 60 distributors in 32 states and 81 markets to achieve full national distribution, as well as distribution to a variety of other countries, including Mexico, Japan, China, and Israel by fall of this year. 

Nelly says his product is for people from “ages 50 right down to 9″, though it seems difficult to imagine any mature adult stopping by the local beverage center to pick up a case of Pimp Juice. It is not at all hard to imagine, however, with the huge youth audience for hip-hop and rap music, teens and even preteens picking up a case.

Since 1992, Original Pimpgear has been selling clothes. In addition to their original line, they also sell Pimp, Pimpgirl and Big Pimp brands. Naturally, these are urban and hip-hop inspired designs. And, who are they popular with? Presumably, it’s not typically grown ups running around with the word ‘pimp’ scrawled across their chest.

The list goes on and on. Who watches MTV’s Pimp My Ride? Who plays urban set pimp video games? Pimpwar.com, a “free web browser based game,” combines—to use the new vernacular—pimped out, “hippity hoppity” low-rider prize cars (what today’s fashionable gangster-pimp drives) and a ghettoized setting in which a participant plays at being a “ruthless pimp” and tries to “master the art of pimping” what are referred to as “hoes.” 

In another free computer game, Pimp’s Quest, the player tries to “avoid getting shot” and “pimp out” the town. The only female character is described as follows: “Yolanda first got into stripping as a toddler. From there, she graduated to mutual masturbation at 12, outright whoring a 18, and at 21 holds the record for most guys at one time.” Supposed to be funny, I guess. This game comes with a companion craps game.

This pimpin’ is fun, pimpin’ is cool mentality comes directly from hip-hop culture, one of the most popular music genres among today’s youth. Many of the top rappers embrace the persona of the pimp, in addition to that of the pornographer, gangster, drug dealer, street thug and ex-con.

Yet, hip-hop is no longer confined to popular youth culture. Despite the fact that hip-hop royalty is made up of people who, according to public record, have been convicted of or are currently charged with murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, assault, perjury, robbery and drug trafficking—as well as of pornographers and self-admitted pimps—we even see them welcomed into our schools.

The poetry of Tupac Shakur, “the drug-dealing, baseball bat-wielding, cop-hating, Black Panthers-worshiping, convicted sexual abuser who made a fortune extolling the “thug life” before he was gunned down in Las Vegas eight years ago,” as described by Michelle Malkin in a June 30, 2004, column, was on this year’s summer reading list for public school children in Worcester, Massachusetts. According to Worcester public school officials, it will be indefinitely, as it’s “popular with the kids.” In Palm Beach, Florida, school board member Debra Robinson hopes to see Shakur’s work in their public school classrooms, as well.

The bottom line, however, is the parents. Even rapper Nelly doesn’t want his ‘shorties’—a 10-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son—watching some of his music videos, according to a September 11, 2004 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article. Yet, throughout the nation, parents finance and permit their children’s immersion in a poisonous culture. They buy the clothes, the music, keep the cable television, and don’t insist upon sanity in education. Why is there so little outrage?

“I know some people will make a big deal about it,” said one mother who purchased pimp costumes for her 10-year-old and 11-year-old sons, according to an August 29, 2004, New York Post article. “But come on, it’s Halloween. Let’s not take things too seriously. One son makes straight A’s, the other A’s and B’s. They’re good children who wanna get a laugh.” 

This parent, then, along with the many others who bought such costumes for their children—sizes began at 4, with infant’s sizes promised for next year—sees nothing wrong with kids playing at pimping. Finds it to be funny, in fact, a joke, something to be laughed at.

The teen girls pimped, forced into prostitution, probably aren’t laughing. On August 24, The New York Post reported on one of countless similar stories throughout the nation. A Long Island man is facing “charges that include kidnapping, promoting prostitution, assault, rape and performing a criminal sexual act” for his role in forcing girls who were 13 and 14 years of age at the beginning of their three year ordeal into prostitution. It is alleged that the man had his name tattooed on the older girl, marking his property, and it is also alleged that he—taking his pimping seriously—demanded that she perform $500 dollars worth of sex acts per night, beating her if she failed.

In a New York Times article published on September 15, 2004, Leslie Kaufman writes of the fate of a 12-year-old prostitute in juvenile court, who’d already been released once before on a prostitution charge when the pimp paid the fine. Citing the research of Margaret Loftus, doing work for the Juvenile Justice Project at the Correctional Association of New York, Kaufman points out that the new child prostitutes, in addition to those victimized by international trafficking, “seem to be coming from neighbourhoods where they have been recruited by expanding numbers of gangs.” Kaufman also reports that Loftus has found that “the pimps themselves are getting younger, drawn to some degree by the life sometimes glorified in rap culture.”

The child-sized pimp and ho costumes are indeed vulgar. But, the real outrage is that we have accepted, even welcomed, the cultural movements that have brought them into being. We permit pimps and thugs to be a part of our children’s formative years and public school experience. We’ve allowed ourselves—and our children—to be tricked out by pimp culture.

The night before Ginger Katz had to face the grim reality of burying her 20-year-old son, Ian, she had a vision. She saw herself setting out on a life-long mission to speak out against the lurking danger that took her son at such an early age – drug abuse and the code of silence that surrounds it.

Ian was a typical American teenager. Young, vibrant and full of life, he was well-liked among his many friends. He was an outgoing, popular student with a bright future. Ian was also very athletic, had a black belt in karate and was a star sports player. He was an integral part of a closeknit family that gave him love and support.

But none of it was enough to keep Ian safe from the lure of drugs. He first experimented in high school with alcohol and marijuana. By his sophomore year in college, his drug use had escalated and Ian was snorting heroin. Most attempts to get Ian into recovery for his heroin addiction ended in failure as Ian continued using drugs and deceiving his family. From stints in treatment centers, to family counseling, even to asking Ian to leave her home in an attempt to force him to save his own life, none of Ginger’s attempts kept her son from using drugs.

Finally realizing that his drug use was a grave mistake and that the responsibility for it was his, Ian came to Ginger in tears asking her for help. He desperately wanted to see a doctor the next morning to finally break free from the hold heroin had on his life. Ginger hoped that all of the time she spent educating herself about drug abuse in an effort to reach out to Ian would finally pay off. The next morning came and brought with it a parent’s worst nightmare:

Ginger found her son lying lifeless in his bed. Ian had died in his sleep just hours before he planned to enter a drug treatment facility. “Mom, I want to go see the doctor in the morning,” were her son’s poignant last words. Shortly after Ian’s funeral in September 1996, Ginger and her husband Larry, Ian’s stepfather, embarked on their newfound mission.

They established The Courage To Speak Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives by stressing the crucial importance of parent-child communication as a means to keep kids drug free. Through her presentations, Ginger reaches teens and their parents as few others can, touching them deeply with the compelling story of her family’s tragic loss into which she weaves up-to-date prevention information. Ginger first appeared before teens with her message in 1997 during an assembly at Ian’s former high school in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Since then, Ginger and her husband have given more than 400 presentations in schools, parent groups, churches and civic organizations across the country and to national conventions of major prevention organizations. “I pass around pictures of Ian and talk about his life,” said Ginger, “bringing them to the moment when I discovered that Ian had died in his sleep. Then, the silence in the room is deafening. After teens hear what it feels like to be a mother losing her child, they take it to heart.”

Ginger’s message to parents is to start talking to their children early and often about the difference between good medicines and harmful drugs before a drug dealer does. She emphasizes the importance of parents arming themselves with information about all the substances their children are exposed to and the challenges they face at school and in social circumstances. “The worst situation you can have,” Ginger said, “is an unsuspecting child and a naive parent who doesn’t think drug addiction will ever happen to their child.” She encourages parents and children to have the courage to speak to one another –about fears, drugs, or any other issue. When they do, they create an opportunity for honesty and healing.

By sharing with teens a very personal portrait of her son’s life, Ginger wants Ian’s story to illuminate their path when they are faced with the decision to use drugs. She wants them to remember the pain associated with drug abuse and how it took her son’s life because he did not understand what could really happen to him if he used drugs.

Today, Ginger continues sharing Ian’s story with those who need to hear it most – parents and teens. She has recently developed Courage To Speak Drug Prevention Curriculum for Middle Schools now being implemented in the seventh grade health classes of many local schools. The organization is adapting the program for elementary and high schools for implementation in the coming school year. In addition, Ginger’s organization provides a support group for parents who have lost children to drugs and receives calls from all over the country. The Courage To Speak also offers a service referral line and an informative Web site for parents and children. Ginger finds personal strength in her passions, such as writing in her journal. A lifelong athlete, she encourages children to find their own healthy passion as she participates and organizes local basketball and other sporting events in Connecticut. She says she never thought she would find the will to continue living after losing her beloved Ian, but she has found strength in these cherished passions in her life. She will continue to bring her “courage to speak” message to children and parents as long as they are willing to listen.

Ginger Katz will serve as a Partnership parent partner, reaching out to other parents through the Partnership’s Web site, along with a group of about a dozen other parents who have also lost children to substance abuse.To find out more about the Courage To Speak Foundation, contact Ginger Katz at www.couragetospeak.org or (877) 431-3295.

The article below comes from the USA – it is a shocking example of the way the ‘entertainment’ media is reaching children and young people.If you are a parent you should know that there is an increasing number of websites easily accessed by
young people which promote porn, glamourise drug dealing and have a subliminal influence on youth.Check out the British watchdog for such content on television by visiting www.mediawatchuk.org

Source: Partnership for a Drug-Free America www.drugfree.org

Parents – did you know that if you can encourage your children not to smoke you will be helping them to remain drug-free ?Research shows that only 2% of non-smokers use illegal drugs compared to 56% of smokers. Cigarette companies spend more than $11.2 billion annually on marketing in the United States, much of it that reaches and influences kids.The 1998 legal settlement between the states and the tobacco companies prohibited the tobacco companies from taking “any action, directly or indirectly, to target youth… in the advertising, promotion or marketing of tobacco products.” The settlement was supposed to restrict tobacco marketing. However, since the settlement, the tobacco companies have increased their marketing expenditures by 66 percent to a record $11.45 billion a year, or $31.4 million a day, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Much of this marketing is still targeted at kids.

One of the tobacco industry’s most outrageous new tactics is the introduction of candy-flavoured cigarettes and other sweet-flavoured tobacco products

R.J. Reynolds – the same company that once marketed cigarettes to kids with a cartoon character, Joe Camel – has launched a series of flavoured cigarettes, including a pineapple and coconut-flavored cigarette called “Kauai Kolada” and a citrus-flavored cigarette called “Twista Lime.”
Brown & Williamson has introduced flavoured versions of its Kool cigarettes with names like “Caribbean Chill,” “Midnight Berry,” “Mocha Taboo” and “Mintrigue.”
The U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company is marketing its products with flavours including berry blend, mint, wintergreen, apple blend, vanilla and cherry.
Brown & Williamson has also been promoting its Kool cigarettes with hip-hop music themes and images that have particular appeal to African-American youth.
There are several ongoing efforts to stop the tobacco companies from continuing to target our children. Several state attorneys general have sued tobacco companies for violating the state settlement’s prohibition on targeting kids. In addition, the federal government is pursuing a lawsuit against the tobacco companies that, among other things, seeks to stop tobacco marketing to kids, and Congress is considering legislation to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority over tobacco products, including the authority to ban flavoured cigarettes and crack down on other forms of tobacco marketing and sales to kids.

Source:tobaccofreekids.org(posted 17.09.04)

Back | Top

Author: Renee Besseling

In 1982, the grocery store on the corner of my street in Amsterdam was replaced by a “coffee shop’ For me, a mother of two young children, this was reason enough to delve into the matter of drugs Children, who earlier might get an apple from the store owner, were now suddenly greeted by a hemp leaf in the window. For them, in the beginning, this only meant that we had to go some- place else to get fruits and vegetables, but it also quietly introduced the drug-selling coffee shop into their world.

Yesterday’s child is grown up today, and will be tomorrows parent They are the ones who will not only have to support their elders, but look after the younger generation. They ensure society’s development and progression. Their development is important not only for their future, but for that of all of us. Drug use slows down this development – sometimes to a complete stop.

Why a book on drugs from a Dutch perspective?

The reputation of the Netherlands is based to a great extent on the image of liberal Dutch drug policies as portrayed in the American press and entertainment industry as well as in more scholarly books and articles that seek to undermine the war on drugs. Dutch drug policy essentially advertises a use of certain illicit drugs which have been deemed safe’ or “recreational”, inviting users from abroad to try the wide selection of drugs available in Amsterdam while exporting a tolerance detrimental to children and society everywhere.

Discussion in the United States is heating up. While the government actively wages the “war on drugs” in the United States and abroad, voter-supported initiatives on city and state levels seek to decriminalize the use of some drugs, especially marijuana, and install programs in inner cities distributing methadone and syringes. Some countries allow shooting galleries – even giving out heroin to dependent persons. Through the use of these and other “harm reduction” measures, health organizations are failing to combat the causes of drug dependence, leaving the dependent person to their own devices. Now, for the first time – from a parent’s perspective – the destructive liberal drug policies of the Dutch are exposed for the failure they are.

For whom is this book intended?

This book is meant for parents, educators and alarmed citizens to aid then in the debate on drugs. It aims at a better understanding of the mechanisms of dependence and the prevention of drug abuse, but it is also meant to strengthen the position of parents and educators who often find themselves ill-equipped in discussions with so-called experts.  Hopefully, this book will be useful as a second opinion for those who are responsible for creating national and local drug policies to counter the simplistic and irresponsible propaganda supporting drug tolerance and ‘harm reduction,”

The author Renee Besseling. is a mother of two children. For the last 20 years she has been involved in the struggle for a restrictive drug control policy in the Netherlands and Sweden. She is co-founder of Europe Against Drugs (EURAD), and currently the International Secretary of the organization. She is a local chapter chairperson of Swedish Immigrants Against Drugs (SIMON) and an international delegate to Drug Watch International (USA).

To order visit www. prponline. net and look under ‘Prevention Books.
(ISBN:O-944246-05-2, $19.95)
For more information, please contact George T. Watkins at 1-800-453-7733 or george@prponline.net

But times change. Even baby boys don’t wear short trousers anymore – they wear mini-jeans – preferably with a name ! Imagine – clothes with names – like Baby Gap …… And the little girls, as young as 5 or 6 wear crop tops often with pretend tattoos on their midriffs – and they can buy make up in a special range for children…. and gangs ? well they are pretty vicious these days – they have sometimes bullied other children so badly that their victims have committed suicide. These gangs have been known to terrorise older folk too so that they are frightened to leave their homes. Sex ? Well there are a lot more cases of sexually transmitted diseases in young teens, and far too many 16 or 17 year old girls become mothers and lose not only their innocence but their ambitions and their potential.

And drugs ? Lots of newspapers and magazines write stories about drugs. Pop stars record songs about drugs. Films star ‘heroes’ who use drugs. People say that drugs are no big deal. They say that its normal to do drugs. They say – let’s not make criminals out of people who break the law – and the real siren song is – why don’t we legalise all drugs ?

Well in many fairy stories there are mythical beasts – and in this story we have the Beast with Seven Eyes.

Back | Top

Research has shown that about 50% of young people have tried illegal drugs – but, less than 20% go on to use drugs more than once or twice. So 80% of our youth do not do drugs.

Parents remain the most important influence on their children – with peers, the media and school also having an effect. We believe parents should know at least as much as their children about drugs – and we believe that parents ‘can make a difference’.

How do I start Parenting for Prevention?

Choose ‘teachable moments’ to discuss drugs and alcohol – instigate a discussion (not a lecture) around a TV programme, news story or advertisement… talk about how the media portrays smokers and drinkers as smart, beautiful sophisticated and compare this to reality.

Ensure that your children realise that not ‘everybody’ is doing drugs and drinking. We know that if adolescents perceive drugs use to be more prevalent than it really is they are more likely to try drugs themselves – so set them right!

Improve your listening skills. Watch for body language, give non-verbal encouragement, use the right tone of voice to encourage children to share their worries, do not use sarcasm and do not humiliate the child.

When discipline is necessary remember to criticise the action, not the child. Try to make any punishment appropriate to the behaviour – for example coming home later than expected could mean the curfew being earlier the next week. Think carefully before declaring what any discipline is to be – and stick to it.

Build self-esteem – set realistic targets, give real responsibility, praise any achievements or improvements – especially if the child does not make the A grade!

How important is family policy?
Studies have shown that children want and need structure in their lives. They behave more responsibly when parents set reasonable limits. It is important to have boundaries and values – the phrase “that behaviour is totally unacceptable in this family” can be used from a very young age. Adolescents may kick against boundaries (“come on Dad, everyone else is going to the all-night party”, “oh Mum everyone else is wearing see-through blouses” etc.) – but parents need to be firm once boundaries have been established. It is perfectly acceptable to say that, for example, the time for coming home at night can be later by arrangement for special occasions and can be reviewed every six months.

A strong family value system can help a child refuse offers of drugs. “My Dad would go ape/kill me/ground me for a year if I did…” or “my Mum would be really upset – I just can’t”. Instilling a belief system and standards that the whole family live up to can be a potent protective force when the adolescent faces problems in the outside world.

Children need to know from an early age that there will be consequences if they infringe family rules. But remember – for every piece of criticism you should try to praise at least twice! Children thrive and blossom with praise and are never too old for plenty of hugs.

Back | Top

Make you children strong and resilient

Build self-esteem. The experience of being respected by others and having their feelings and needs taken seriously helps a child to accept themselves.

Dealing with conflicts. Teach that conflicts can be solved by negotiation. Teach how to resist peer pressure – and how to use peer pressure constructively.

Independence. Encourage children to be independent – to be competent in various actions. This could start by giving them a stool to reach the basin and letting them clean their teeth, to teaching them how to travel to school by bus instead of by car. Give them pocket money and let them spend it how they wish – but no topping up if they spend it all at in one day. Give them a small allowance when older and let them buy their own clothes. Youth hostelling week-ends with friends can be fun and help to foster independence.

Fulfilment. Encourage music, sports, collecting, hobbies, uniformed clubs, conservation work etc. Young people who are very involved in a social life through these activities are much less likely to drift into drug use through boredom or curiosity. A strong, self-reliant and confident child can say ‘no’ on their own accord.

Remember – Prevention Works!

What else do I need to know?
Educate yourself (and your children) on drugs and the harmfulness of drug use. (We can provide a book list if you write to us with an S.A.E. We also run 8-week video based Parenting for Prevention courses). Be alert to the signs and symptoms of drug use.

Keep communication lines open, talk with not at your child.

Know your child’s friends – and their parents. Phone the parents of your child’s friends if you are concerned about any behaviour – they may also be worried. Discuss action all families can take as a team. Be aware of the pro-drug culture.

Quick tips…

Set clear standards of behaviour. Be consistent. Hold your child responsible for their actions. Correct constructively if necessary. Affirm the good in them and praise often.

Be alert to the attitudes and interests of your child and of their friends.

Help to provide meaningful, thoughtful and unselfish activities. Young people are idealistic and like to feel needed and useful by taking part in service oriented projects.

Teach good communication and coping skills. Teach them to think before they act. Talk about your feelings and beliefs and encourage them to do the same.

Back | Top

10 Principles of parenting
1. Love abundantly and hug often.
2. Discipline constructively.
3. Spend time together as a family.
4. Teach right from wrong.
5. Listen wholeheartedly.
6. Foster independence.
7. Be realistic.
8. Praise at least twice as often as your criticise.
9. Offer guidance and share experiences.
10. Talk with rather than at your child.

Back | Top
What should I look for? – The signs and symptoms
Many parents are worried that their child may begin to use drugs. There are stories in the media which swing from shock, horror, addiction and death to so-called debates about the legalisation of cannabis – which is said by some to be harmless.

What are parents to believe? They are right to be concerned – drug use should be taken very seriously. This leaflet sets out to give some factual information for parents – about the signs and symptoms of use and also about prevention of drug use.

Sometimes parents will notice things which on their own mean nothing – but the following things have all been recognised by parents whose child has subsequently been found to be using drugs.

Phone Calls. Teenagers and the telephone usually mean long phone calls – does your child hang around’ the phone sometimes and pick it up as soon as it rings… replies very briefly and then leaves the house – returning after a short time. This can often be a dealer friend phoning to say that they are nearby with some drugs.

Bedrooms. Do you often find the windows open even on cold days ? Lots of air-freshener being used? This can be to disguise the smell of cannabis being smoked in the room.

Money. Does your child never seem to have money nowadays? Do you notice that valuable things seem to be missing – cameras, jewellery etc. Drug users often sell items to buy drugs – at first their own but later they may steal from the family.

Language. Users do not speak of “using drugs” – they will say someone “does drugs” – watch for words like gear, deals, straight, clean, munchies, clucking, – and slang terms for drugs.

If you are worried that your child may be involved with drugs it is important not to ignore matters. Of course it is better to try to prevent use – and research has shown the following:

Parents who are too strict or too easy-going are more likely to have children who use drugs. Firm, fair and age-appropriate discipline is best.

Families should eat together and have regular family meetings’ where things like holidays, pocket-money, chores, curfew times are discussed. Each family member should be allowed to contribute and should be listened to.

Any infringement of agreed rules (such as home by 11.00 p.m.) should be dealt with in a consequential way. Punishments should be made to fit the incident. From babyhood parents should agree together on standards of behaviour – if you say it you must mean it!

Celebrate and praise! Parents should have a simple rule of thumb – for each time you need to criticise you should subsequently praise at least twice for behaviour which you want repeated. Celebrate any small improvements and see the child blossom.

Is your child less responsible … comes home from school late, forgets family occasions, ignores requests to help with chores, uses bad language, becomes argumentative and tells parents “don’t hassle me” ?

Clothes, music, hair styles … do they now wear totally different clothes and hair styles …listen to different music, become less interested in academic work and demand permission to stay out later and to have more ‘privacy’?

Is communication more difficult… does your child refuse to talk about new friends, go ‘out’ without saying where they are going; tend to defend the ‘recreational’ use or legalisation of drugs when the topic is discussed on TV or radio; declares teachers are unfair; defends the ‘rights’ of children and talk about the ‘bad habits’ of adults who use alcohol or smoke cigarettes?

Physical changes … has your child lost weight, changed sleep patterns – cannot sleep till early hours of morning, cannot wake up in the morning, increased appetite for sweet snacks, very thirsty, becomes very forgetful and seems to have lost all motivation for exams,or future careers?

Back | Top

Some physical signs

The following brief physical symptoms may suggest the use of a variety of drugs. These symptoms may not effect everyone and are
dose and time dependant.

Hyper-activity and alertness amphetamine
Bloodshot eyes cannabis
Confusion, bizarre behaviour LSD
Compulsive behaviour amphetamine
Constipation heroin
Crawling sensations cocaine
Dreamy, introverted, head nodding heroin
Dreamy, spaced out, giggly, distorted perception of all senses especially time, hungry for sweet things, slow thinking cannabis
Depression amphetamine, LSD
Dilated pupils (sometimes) amphetamine, cocaine, LSD
Dry mouth, great thirst amphetamine, cannabis
Flushed (sometimes) amphetamine, heroin
Loss of co-ordination solvents, LSD, cannabis
Frequent urination amphetamine
Increased appetite cannabis
Loss of appetite amphetamine
Insomnia amphetamine
Nausea cannabis
Pin-prick pupils heroin
Paranoia amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine
Skin pallor solvents, cannabis
Restless/talkative amphetamine
Rapid, repetative speech amphetamine
Rhinitis (running nose) heroin
Sweating heroin, amphetamine
Shaking heroin, cocaine, LSD

Back | Top

Alternative signs of drug use
Parents of young drug users have told us that a combination of the following ‘alternative signs and symptoms’ may be very indicative of use:

Drug slogans on clothes (see related article “What does 420 mean?”)

Pro-drug posters on walls of bedroom.

Jokes and conversations about drugs.

Agrees with legalisation of drugs.

Uses ‘druggy’ words like stoned, gear, stash, high, hit, trip, fix, dry, busted, hooked, doing drugs, score, wrap, works.

Bedroom window often open even in chilly weather. Smell of air fresheners used to disguise the sickly sweet smell of cannabis.

Wears sunglasses a lot, uses eye drops and nasal sprays, loses weight, can’t sleep at night, oversleeps in the morning.

Oversize Rizla papers found in bedroom or clothing.

Friendship groups change – usually older. Parents are not introduced to new friends. Unknown people come to house but do not stay.
Child becomes secretive, often lies, moody and sullen.

Membership of sports clubs, uniformed groups etc. lapses. Wants to ‘party’ a lot and go to raves, clubs and pubs.

Stays out much later than requested, sometimes all night, tells parents ‘don’t hassle me’, behaves unreasonably.

Child becomes aggressive, quick temper. Demands privacy in bedroom – angry if room is tidied.

School/college grades drop noticeably. Homework/course work neglected, talk of leaving school/college to get a job.

Never has any money, borrows money, valuable personal possessions like rings, watch camera etc. disappear – “I’ve lent them to a friend”.
Money disappears from family members.

Relationships with family deteriorate. (Siblings often know of drug use but don’t tell).

Back | Top
Why drugs are wrong
The misuse of drugs, legal or illegal, affects not only the user but those around them. It is essential that one looks at more than physical harm – and takes into account the consequences for other people; it is not ‘a victimless crime’.

Take, as a starting point, the WHO definition of ‘Health’ which encompasses Physical, Mental, Intellectual, Social, Emotional, Spiritual and Environmental; then see how each of these components of total health is affected by drug misuse….

Social – The loss of a sense of commitment or responsibility, and the drift out of education or employment; perhaps into petty crime, is part of the life story of too many drug users.

Mental – The use of powerful psychoactive drugs, particularly cannabis which is fat-soluble, can affect cerebral blood flow and cause damage to the brain. Psychoses are not unknown and clinical depression often results. There is currently concern that the use of Ecstasy may result in long term depression or a type of Alzheimers when users reach old age. Other drugs impact mental health.

Intellectual Damage – from heavy use of alcohol is widely known; current research indicates cannabis has serious effects on memory – and also impacts ability to think, learn and decide; vital to students.

Emotional – The breakdown of family and other relationships, anger, guilt, conflict and stress are much more common in users and in their families.

Spiritual – Drug rehabilitation clinics often find that problem drug users have lost any sense of spirituality; in seeking for something to fill an inner void they turn to drugs as the answer.

Environmental – We are part of an ecosystem; we can either be ‘takers’ or ‘givers’ – drug users set themselves apart from the non-using majority and are chemically influenced to ‘look after No.1’ first.

Physical – This is by far the most documented area; more and more research is showing the possible harm from the use of drugs – icluding tobacco, alcohol and cannabis. Fresh evidence is being collected and it is quite clear that the more we learn about drugs the more we realise their damaging impact on the body. (For more information, see NDPA Research and Cannabis Info sections of this website).

Definitions (within this context)

Drug – Any substance misused for psychoactive purposes.

Drug Misuse – The use of any illegal drug and the inappropriate use of any legal drug.

Appropriate – As defined by age circumstances or purpose of use.

Weasel Words

The euphemistic terms often used to cloud the drugs issue.

Experimental use – There is nothing scientific or controlled about drug misuse.

Recreational use – This word means something healthy; misusing drugs isn’t.

Soft drugs – The scientific body now rejects this misleading term.

Informed choice – When it comes to an illegal act, choice is not appropriate anymore than it is for theft or violence. Moreover, who is doing the informing? This needs close scrutiny.

Drug education – Should discourage use. Some materials are indifferent or even encourage drug use. And vet them carefully

Back | Top

An article by Peter Stoker for Bella Magazine

Learning the symptoms of drug use is all very well, but let’s say you were instead concerned about promiscuity. Would it be OK to wait for a sure fire symptom like pregnancy before you acted? Or would this be a little late in the process ? So it is with drugs. An effective parent needs to look for the early signs, not just of behaviours that may possibly precede drug use but also look for signs of what may precede that behaviour. And that means Attitude.Each of us, parent or child, follows a logical process in embarking on an action. We mull over thoughts, issues, impulses (messages) from people, or print, or music or screens. We formulate and review possible options, weight up risks and benefits, then select our preferred line of action. All this is inside our heads: invisible to anyone out there, including our parents.

The first outward sign is the development of an attitude towards the matter. If our attitude favours it, and the situation is conducive, we’ll probably go for it.

Take an everyday example of attitude change, tobacco smoking. Young children will make vehement statements against this “horrible habit”, will try to stop mum and dad doing it, and yet five years later they may be puffing away. What happened? You can’t blame it on candy cigarettes any more. It is almost certainly fair to put a good chunk of the blame onto cigarette advertisements but what may have been missed is the gradual change of the child’s attitude from revulsion, to tolerance. To curiosity. To admiration and thence to indulgence. Experience shows that young people often buy into the drug culture long before they start to use drugs.

Some markers of attitude change

What they say – have they stopped slagging off drug users? Are they prepared to argue the principles? When did you last discuss these with them?
What they wear – have their fashions changed markedly? What is their fashion? – what does it stand for?
Where they live – check out their room ! Whose posters and postcards are on the wall now, since My Little Pony or Thunderbirds when into the bin
How they relax – What sort of music, magazines, TV, radio do they follow?
How they relate – Have they dropped one crowd of friends for another? Are the new friends older? Are you happy with the new crowd and why/why not?
OK, so now you know some of the things to look for, put it into practice; but be aware that just because some of their attitudes are changing this doesn’t automatically mean they are into drugs, alcohol, or indeed any other negative pastime. But if their attitude is changing this is the time to step in. A few minutes now may save you years of agony later. State where you stand and why. Set clear boundaries for behaviour and make plain what will be the consequences they will earn by crossing these boundaries. Do not waiver. Try to avoid punishment i.e. ‘getting even’ in the consequences you set. Ensure that your own use of legal drugs is consistent with your
message, reflect on why you do what you do and be prepared to explain it rationally. Stay close to your child, show an interest and concern in everything they do – and check that Attitude.
Find out for sure by talking, really talking with your children – not talking at them but with them – which includes listening. Researchers say we spend on average 15 minutes a day talking to our children, of which 13 minutes is spent complaining! Why not reverse that ratio? You might be pleasantly surprised.

And should you become concerned that your child may be moving towards the drug culture, don’t let yourself be talked out of your concern. You are right to be worried. Any drug use can be harmful, legal or illegal. So-called (and falsely called) ‘soft’ drugs can indeed lead to others; its not inevitable, but if they don’t start on ‘soft’ stuff they almost never use the ‘hard’. Don’t listen to libertarians telling you that it’s just a rite of passage, that most survive their ‘drug using career’ – tell that to the parents of dead children, and listen to their reaction. Drug abuse is still a minority indulgence, especially since many of those counted as users only use once or twice. None of us need Drugs of Abuse, and we are all better able to fulfil our potential without them. Be prepared to fight for your child’s total health. Stick up for what you feel to be right. After all,

“A Person who won’t stand for something will fall for anything.” Anon.

Back | Top

By Stephanie Dunnewind Seattle Times staff reporter

Parents really aren’t as dumb as many teens think, but it’s true adults may not realize how the adolescent years have changed since they were young.

So we checked books, Web sites and experts for things that most teens know — but many parents don’t.

April 20 is a pot-smokers’ holiday

“It’s the day that everyone smokes pot,” explained Sue Cutler, a chemical-dependency counselor with Bellevue-based Youth Eastside Services. “It is highly celebrated! Parents and adults don’t have a clue. Some kids even have it tattooed on their person. It’s a big day to watch your child.”

According to a 2002 article in the pro-marijuana magazine High Times, the editor believes 4/20 traces back to 1971, when a group of students in San Rafael, Calif., would meet after school at 4:20 p.m. The students started using 420 as a code for marijuana so they could talk about it without alerting parents and school staff. Since San Rafael was home to the Grateful Dead, 420 spread among the Deadhead community before being popularized by High Times.

Others link 420 to a police code for pot arrests or to Hitler’s birthday.

No one cards you on the Internet

Internet sites promoting alcohol warn potential users they must be 21 and require a birth date for access. But any teens able to do math can make up whatever birth dates they want. Even if they initially put their real age in, sites immediately allow users to re-enter an older date. For example, type in a birth date of 1990 and Mike’s Hard Lemonade site moans, “Oh, no, hit the pavement” — but still shows the date option. On the very same screen, change it to 1970: “Great, come on in,” it greets.

Why would teens want to, anyway? For kid-friendly features such as playing virtual air hockey (Mike’s Hard Lemonade); listening to free music (“mix, rate and send your favorite songs to a friend!” on Budweiser.com); answering sports trivia (“It’s Game Time so grab a cold, fresh Budweiser”); and creating custom videos out of audio and video clips of scantily clad dancers holding bottles of Smirnoff Ice.

Minors visited alcohol Web sites nearly 700,000 times in the last six months of 2003, according to comScore Media Metrix. On two sites — www.bacardi.com and www.skyy.com — underage visitors accounted for more than half of in-depth visits (viewing more than two screen pages), noted comScore, which provided its analysis to the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University.

Budweiser was the most popular, with some 90,000 visits each to www.budlight.com and www.budweiser.com.

“The alcohol industry’s Web presence remains largely a potential playground for underage youth with little if any adult supervision,” concluded the center’s 2004 report.

Judy Blume’s “Forever” is tame these days

Now books like the popular “Gossip Girl” series don’t bother with a moral at the end — or any morals, period. The back of one recent book quotes Teen People as saying the series is ” ‘Sex and the City’ for the younger set.”

It’s really more of an East Coast version of “The O.C.,” with wealthy high-schoolers — some as young as 14 — trading partners, cheating on friends, drinking liquor (both casually and to excess) and smoking cigarettes and pot. As one senior tells her boyfriend, “Just bring your toothbrush. I’ve got everything else covered. … Meaning the three Cs: champagne, caviar and condoms.”

The eighth book in the best-selling series by Cecily von Ziegesar, “Nothing Can Keep Us Together,” came out in October, followed by a spinoff, “The It Girl,” in November.

Most medicine cabinets are unlocked

In 2003, nearly one in 10 teens — a total of 2.3 million kids between ages 12 and 17 — said they had abused a prescription drug at least once in the previous year, according to a July 2005 report by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. That’s a 212 percent increase since 1992.

“The problem of abuse of controlled prescription drugs in America has grown under the counter and under the radar to the point where this abuse now eclipses abuse of all illicit drugs except marijuana,” the report noted.

Popular drugs include Vicodin, OxyContin, Ritalin and Adderall.

The percentage of teens who knew a friend or classmate who abused prescription drugs shot up 86 percent from 2004 to 2005, according to a CASA report released last summer.

Parents’ “easily accessible medicine cabinets containing these very drugs are an open invitation to children — fueling ‘pharming’ parties where teens bring drugs from home and trade or share for purposes of getting high,” wrote CASA Chairman Joseph A. Califano.

“Parental ignorance about the dangers of these drugs and failure to safeguard them (e.g., by locking their medicine cabinets) can yield inadvertent but devastating harm to their own children.”

Even “good” kids lie

Teens lie for three main reasons, explains Natalie Fuller, in “Promise You Won’t Freak Out: A Teenager Tells Her Mother the Truth about Boys, Booze, Body Piercing and Other Touchy Topics.” They want to do something they suspect parents would forbid; they’ve done something they’d get punished for; or “because we feel you are being so unreasonable that you don’t deserve the truth.”

The most common lies revolve around a teen’s plans: where, who and what they’re doing, Fuller writes. Another common deception is sneaking out of the house.

“Most of us aren’t evil, just practical: You have a rule that we want to break, and we don’t want you to know we’re breaking it,” she notes. “That’s why, if you care about your rules, it’s important to catch us.”

Parents matter

In survey after survey, parents rate peers as having the most sway on teens. But in survey after survey, teens themselves rank parents as their No. 1 influence.

In a 2004 National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy study, for example, less than a third of teens cited friends as having the most impact on their decisions about sex, compared to half of parents who thought that. Instead, nearly half of teens picked parents as most influential.

This crops up in other ways as well, as studies show teens strongly connected to their parents are less likely to abuse drugs and do better in school.

While parents often feel that teens dismiss anything they say, teens’ behavior indicates that they are often listening.

Teens who say their parents would only be “a little” or not upset at their use of marijuana are six times more likely to have tried pot than teens who believe their parents would be extremely upset, the 2005 CASA report found.

Teens who feel they can confide in their mother or both parents have the lowest risk for substance abuse, compared with teens who turn to other adults for serious problems.

Back To Parents | Home

BY CECILIA OLECK Detroit Free Press

TROY, Mich. – Looking to add Trippy Krispy Treats to your holiday hors d’oeuvres list?

Until this week, you could find a recipe for the marijuana-laced sweets in a cookbook sold at the newly opened Urban Outfitters at the Somerset Collection mall in Troy, Mich.

But the hip store – which caters to the trendy high school and college crowd with cool clothes, edgy books and games, and funky home decorations – pulled “The Marijuana Chef Cookbook” by S.T. Oner after a Troy group complained. Teenagers and other shoppers “didn’t go there specifically to be exposed to that,” said Ann Comiskey , executive director of the Troy Community Coalition for the Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Abuse , the group that raised concerns to Urban Outfitters’ local managers. “They went there to buy clothes or a handbag. They went to buy a T-shirt and, `Oh, by the way, here’s a book on marijuana.’ ”

Calls to the Troy store were referred to the company’s Philadelphia headquarters. A spokeswoman there declined to comment. She would not say whether the book had been pulled from other stores. The cookbook was still available Friday on the retailer’s Web site,

The Urban Outfitters store in Ann Arbor, Mich., never got the cookbook, but an employee who answered the phone Friday said the store does sell a board game called “Weed the Game.” It’s not the first time the chain has been criticized for its merchandise. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People opposed its “Ghettopoly” game and the Anti-Defamation League objected to a T-shirt that read, “New Mexico, Cleaner than Regular Mexico.”

The retailer also was criticized when it sold a T-shirt reading “Voting Is for Old People” and another emblazoned with shopping bags and money signs that read “Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl.”

Coalition members were pleased that Urban Outfitters removed the marijuana cookbooks, but some shoppers didn’t understand the controversy. “If you don’t like something they’re selling, don’t buy it,” said 15-year-old Jay Savage of Clinton Township, Mich., who visited Urban Outfitters for the first time Wednesday with his mom and 18-year-old sister Natalie.

Jay said he hadn’t noticed any of the store’s edgier items, including drinking and sex card games, but that it wouldn’t have stopped him from going there for the clothes. But Comiskey said Urban Outfitters was sending the wrong message . “Selling books on how to do something illegal – like how to pack a good joint – that’s a risk for our kids.”

Back To Parents | Home

Have You Done These With Your Teen Yet?

1.. Set Rules Have you set clear rules and let your teen know that marijuana use is unacceptable? Two-thirds of kids say that upsetting their parents or losing the respect of family and friends is one of the main reasons they don’t smoke marijuana or use other drugs. Set limits with clear consequences for breaking them. Praise and reward good behaviour.

2.. Understand and Communicate Have you talked to your teen in the past month about the harmful physical, mental and social effects of marijuana and other illicit drugs effects on young users? Young people who learn about the risks of drugs at home are up to 50 % less likely to try drugs than their peers who learn nothing from their parents. Look for teachable moments in everyday life to keep the conversation ongoing.

3. Monitor Your Teen’s Activities and Behaviours Have you checked to see where your teen is, who he is with, and what he is doing? Teens who are not regularly monitored by their parents are four times more likely to use drugs. Sometimes surprise your teen by checking up to make sure they are where they say they are.

4. Make Sure You Stay Involved in Your Teen’s Life Have you talked to your teen’s coach, employer and friends lately? Stay in touch with the adult supervisors of your child (camp counselors, coaches, employers) and have them inform you of any changes in your teen.

5. Engage Your Teen In Summer Activities Have you helped plan activities to keep your teen busy? Research shows that teens who are involved in constructive and adult-supervised activities are less likely to use drugs.

6.. Reserve Time For Family Have you planned a family activity with your teen in the corning weeks, such as going to movies together, taking a walk, or sharing a meal? Teens who spend time, talk and have a close relationship with their parents are much less likely to drink, take drugs or have sex.

Back To Parents | Home

Extract from Jeff Weise’s online Journal – “I’m a Stoner”

As authorities try to figure out what stoked Jeff Weise’s rage enough to drive him to kill nine people and then himself, perhaps the teen summed it up best himself. Yet another front page story of murder being committed by someone who, from his online journal, admits to being a regular user of cannabis

“I’m nothin’ but your average Native American stoner,” he wrote in his bio on the site. “I’m mellow half the time, mostly natural, but mostly drug induced as well. I’m not a junkie, or an alcoholic, MJ is my gal’ of choice. Enough about that though, I don’t know why you’re reading this anyway. I’m gonna roll this joint so I’ll c’ya later….”

Back To Parents | Home

ONDCP Alerts Parents: Marijuana Use Spikes When School’s Out.  More Teens Try Marijuana During the Summer Than Any Other Time of Year

(Washington, D.C.)—White House Drug Czar John P. Walters warned parents today that first-time marijuana use among teens increases dramatically during the summer. According to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), there is a 38 % increase in marijuana initiation during June, July and August, compared to the rest of the year. The survey’s data are taken from the most recent National Survey on Drug Youth and Health.

“It’s a fact that more teens try marijuana for the first time during the summer months. Parents need to be especially vigilant over the next few months and help keep their kids drug-free.” said John P. Walters, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. “Marijuana use is especially harmful for teens, because their bodies and brains are still developing.”

Having more unsupervised and unstructured time in the summer may trigger teens to take the risk of smoking marijuana. Research shows that unmonitored teens are four times more likely to use marijuana or engage in other risky behaviors. Teens who report they are “often bored” are 50% more likely to smoke, drink, get drunk, and use illegal drugs than teens who aren’t. Teens with summer jobs are also at risk for drug use because of increased disposable income and exposure to older co-workers.

“Parents play a crucial role in keeping their kids drug-free” said Phillippe Cunningham, Ph.D., family therapist at the University of South Carolina. “We know that teens of parents who keep a close eye on them and ask them where they are going, what they’re doing and when they’ll be home, are less likely to use marijuana. Even if your teen is busy with a summer job, keep close tabs on them. This is a risky time of year.”

Research shows that parents are the most powerful influence on their teen when it comes to drugs. In fact, two-thirds of youth ages 13–17 say fear of upsetting their parents or losing the respect of family and friends is one of the main reasons they don’t smoke marijuana or use other drugs.

More teens use marijuana than all other illicit drugs combined. Research shows that marijuana can be addictive and lead to a host of health, social, learning, and behavioral problems at a crucial time in young lives. Shortened attention spans, decreased energy and ambition, depression, suicidal thoughts, breathing problems and exposure to cancerous chemicals are just a few of them. Additionally, the marijuana that teens use today has more than twice the concentration of THC, the chemical that affects the brain, than the marijuana of 20 years ago.

On the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign’s Web site for parents, TheAntiDrug.com, adults can learn how to prevent their children from using marijuana. Pointers include setting clear “no-drug rules,” monitoring their teen’s behavior, reserving time for family and encouraging participation in summer activities.

Parents can access a Summer Plan Worksheet that will help them plan activities for the children over the summer, as well as finding a list of supervised summer programs. Parents can also take the “Does Your Summer Plan Stand Up to the Heat?” quiz.

In 1998, with the bipartisan support of Congress and the President, ONDCP created the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, an effort designed to educate and empower youth to reject illicit drugs. Counting on an unprecedented blend of public and private partnerships, non-profit community service organizations, volunteerism, and youth-to-youth communications, the Campaign is designed to reach Americans of diverse backgrounds with effective anti-drug messages.

For more information on the ONDCP National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, visit www.MediaCampaign.org

Back To Parents | Home

Parents, school administrators, and students are counted among the fans of substance-free dorms, which ban the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

The New York Times reported Nov. 6 that it is often parents who sign their kids up to live in a drug-free dorm. “If your parents are looking over your shoulders when you fill out the housing forms, you want to look good,” said George Awkward III, a senior at Washington and Lee University. “I thought I would see what it’s like, and my mom said, ‘You need it.’ We kind of made the decision together.”

Such dorms are now available at dozens of colleges nationally. Some see a disconnect between the concept and the fact that students under 21 are not legally allowed to drink, anyway. But the drinking law is widely flouted, and researchers say that students in drug-free dorms are less likely to binge drink than their peers, and less apt to suffer drinking-related problems like poor grades, encounters with police, or accepting rides with drunk drivers.

“The best bet for students who come into college and want to avoid the secondhand effects of drinking, like having their studying interrupted or having property vandalized, is to request substance-free residences,” said study author Henry Wechsler, director of the College Alcohol Studies project at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Even some students who drink like the idea of drug-free dorms. “Sometimes it’s parent driven, but a lot of times it’s students who drink socially but don’t want to live in a climate where there’s a lot of drunkenness around them,” said Alan Levy, director of housing public affairs at the University of Michigan.

Some schools have taken the concept a step further, offering “recovery” dorms for students previously treated for addiction. “I was in residential treatment for part of my time in high school,” said one junior at Earlham College. “When I got to college, I didn’t want to have to worry about having all that stuff in my face. I’ve been in wellness housing my whole time here. I could handle normal housing now, but I like the people I live with, and there’s a very good atmosphere.”

Freshmen tend to find drug-free dorms the most appealing. Schools like the dorms not only because of the message they send but because they suffer about half the property damage than “wet” dorms. 

Back To Parents | Home

Just as Teens Confront New Drug Threats and Changing Landscape, New Cohort of Parents Carry Lax Attitudes, Less Concern About Drug Risks Facing Kids, Talk Less With Teens About Drugs

New York, NY. /PRNewswire/ – When it comes to today’s parents and their views about drugs, it appears old attitudes are like old habits — they die hard, and sometimes, not at all.

In its 17th annual tracking study of parents’ attitudes toward drugs and teen drug use, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America today reports that the current generation of parents – the most drug-experienced group on record – sees less risk in a wide variety of illicit drugs, and are significantly less likely to be talking with their teens about drug abuse, when compared to moms and dads just a few years ago.

“While the vast majority of parents have left old habits behind, they’re carrying old attitudes and beliefs forward,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of the Partnership. “If old habits die hard, the data suggest that lax attitudes about drugs die even harder.”

Released today at a press briefing in New York, the 2004 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) surveyed 1,205 parents across the country (margin of error = +/- 2.8 %). Top-line findings of the nationally projectable study(1) show:

” Today’s parents see less risk in drugs like marijuana, cocaine and even inhalants, when compared to parents just a few years ago.

” The number of parents who report never talking with their child about drugs has doubled in the past six years, from 6% in 1998 to 12% in 2004.

” Just 51 % of today’s parents said they would be upset if their child experimented with marijuana.

” While most parents believe it’s important that parents discuss drugs with their children, fewer than one in three teens (roughly 30%) say they’ve learned a lot about the risks of drugs at home.

Many of today’s parents (those with pre-teens and teens) were high school students themselves during the late ’70s and early ’80s — a period when teen drug use reached its absolute high point.(2) In fact, when compared to high school seniors today, teen drug use rates were significantly higher in the late ’70s and early ’80s. “It’s not all that uncommon today to come across teenagers who’ve never use drugs who have parents who have,” Pasierb said.
% have tried marijuana at least once in their lives, according to the Partnership’s study. Significant %ages report trying other illicit substances as well.

Despite their first-hand knowledge about the issue, the Partnership’s study finds that today’s parents significantly underestimate the presence of drugs in their teens’ lives.

” Just one in five parents (21 %) believes their teenager has friends who use marijuana. Yet 62% of teens report having friends who use the drug.

” Fewer than one in five parents (18%) believe their teen has smoked marijuana, yet many more (39%)

” This perceptual disconnect is even more pronounced when it comes to drugs that weren’t around when today’s parents were teenagers. Only one in every 100 parents — 1% — believes their teen may have used MDMA, commonly referred to as Ecstasy. The reality is quite different: Some nine % of all teens — 2.1 million teens in America — used Ecstasy for the first time last year, down from a peak of 12% in 2001.

Pasierb noted that the drug scene in America is vastly different today than it was back in the late ’70s and ’80s. “Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine — parents know these drugs,” he said. “Today’s teens, however, are exposed to new drugs of abuse — Ecstasy, GHB, crystal meth and increasingly, a wide variety of prescription and over-the-counter medications. In total, parents are seeing less risk in a variety of drugs and fewer parents are talking with kids just when teens are facing new drugs and new drug threats. All of this adds up to a potentially dangerous convergence in the trends — one that we must interrupt.”

The Partnership’s tracking data underscore the powerful influence parents can have on teen decision-making about drugs. Teens who report learning a lot about the risks of drugs at home are up to half as likely to use drugs, according to the data.

“To be clear, parents don’t want their kids using drugs – any drugs,” Pasierb said. “But the data tell us today’s parents don’t regard drug use as seriously as past generations of parents. Our challenge is getting parents to look at this issue anew, and in ways that penetrate their current beliefs and attitudes.”

Back To Parents | Home

Prevention in the home works for children of tobacco users, new study shows.

Parents who can’t quit smoking can still take decisive action to prevent their kids from smoking, according to new research.

A three-year study found that kids whose parents smoke were half as likely to try cigarettes if their parents instituted a home-based anti-smoking program. The study of 776 children and their parents Parents’ smoking habits can greatly increase the risk of their children smoking. Research shows that if one or both parents smoke, children may have at least twice the risk of becoming habitual smokers by the time they graduate from high school.

“The fact that parents who smoke can exert a protective anti-smoking effect on their children might seem counter-intuitive,” said study author Christine Jackson, Ph.D., a senior research scientist at PIRE Chapel Hill Center. “Other research has already found that strong parental attitudes and actions against smoking reduce the odds of children using tobacco. Our study found that the same is true even when the parents themselves are smokers.”

Parents, not peers or siblings, are the primary socializing influences during the childhood years, particularly when it comes to personal activities such as diet, physical activity, media use, sexuality and substance abuse, including tobacco use.

But, socializing kids against smoking requires much more than just telling them not to do it. The anti-smoking program that was studied, Smoke-Free Kids, consists of six activity guides for parents and their children ages 8-10 that include games, contests and role-playing. The purpose is to increase effective communication about smoking between parents and kids, including an honest exchange about the parents’ smoking history and addiction and why that relates to expected abstinence among children.

Smoke-Free Kids was not designed to get parents to quit smoking, although 15 percent of the parents involved did quit by the end of the three-year study. However, whether or not a parent quit smoking did not have an impact on the program’s success in deterring kids from smoking.

“Parents who smoke feel guilty about being role models for smoking; they feel hypocritical about trying to prevent their children from smoking,” Jackson said. “For these reasons, it’s difficult to persuade parents who smoke to become anti-smoking advocates in the home.”

Still, most parents who smoke ardently hope that their children do not smoke, she said. “Public health educators and pediatricians should make a special effort to help parents who smoke take action, so that their children won’t face the same deadly health threat that they face,” Jackson said.

The study and the research evaluating it were funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Cancer Institute.

PIRE, or Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, is a national nonprofit public health research institute with centers in seven cities and funded primarily by federal grants and contracts.

Back To Parents | Home

NEW YORK (AP) — One of the hottest-selling T-shirts around the country shows a simply drawn snowman with a menacing expression.

It’s not Frosty’s evil twin. The image popularized by drug-dealer-turned-rapper Young Jeezy symbolizes those who sell a white substance known on the street as snow: cocaine.

Anti-drug campaigners and education officials are alarmed, saying the T-shirt and others like it are part of sophisticated marketing campaigns using coded symbols for drug culture that parents and teachers are not likely to understand. Some schools are banning kids from wearing the snowman images.

“The snowman is made of white, grainy stuff like sugar,” said 12-year-old seventh-grader Mailik Mason, standing next to his mother in a Manhattan store selling the snowman shirts. “It has to do with a certain drug, crack or coke.”

Young Jeezy’s hit debut album, “Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101,” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard album charts. On one of his songs he raps, “Get it? Jeezy the Snowman / I’m iced out, plus I got that snow, man.”

The shirt was first produced solely for Jeezy by Miskeen Originals, a hip-hop fashion firm in New Jersey, the company says. The owner, Yaniv Zaken, says his artists produced a handful for the rapper to wear on TV appearances.

They then sold a larger batch to retailers, but pulled them when Zaken discovered that his employees had not licensed the T-shirt from Jeezy.

“I wasn’t sure what the snowman meant until the artist explained to me that it was a drug dealer, the man delivering snow,” Zaken said. “Now everyone is selling the snowman — all unlicensed. It’s become a street-hood hit worldwide.”

A spokesman for Young Jeezy’s record label, Def Jam Records, confirmed that the rapper held the rights to the snowman image but declined to comment on complaints that it was sending children the wrong message.

“This is part of a phenomena in which parents have no idea what their children are exposed to. There is a code that children are aware of but not parents,” says Sue Rusche, president and CEO of the anti-drug group National Families In Action.

Rusche’s organization has tried to pressure companies that they believed were targeting children with drug messages, like fashion companies marketing “heroin chic” in the 1990s. She was unaware of the snowman T-shirt.

Mason says he’d like to have a snowman T-shirt — but that his school in Brooklyn has banned it. His mother, Autherine Mason, 34, said she had been unaware of the snowman’s meaning and wouldn’t buy it for her son now that she knows.

Dr. Gilbert Botvin, director of the Institute for Prevention Research at Cornell University Medical College, has been studying what influences children to use drugs and alcohol. He believes that pop culture does play a role.

“The research tells us that influences coming from the media can have a profound effect on kids and influence them to use drugs,” he says. “All of these things help to convey the impression that engaging in these behaviors using drugs is normal and that drugs might help you be successful or sexy or something.”

Botvin says parents need to educate themselves about the media their kids are consuming and pressure schools to monitor what messages they allow students to advertise.

But sometimes it’s hard to overcome the buzz on the street.

Ali Kourani, a Manhattan wholesale salesman, says the T-shirt is their top seller across the country.

“It’s big money,” Kourani said.

Comment:
This story replicates a similar situation in the UK several years ago.  Many youngsters were wearing clothing items (t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts) with a ‘Mr. Spliffy’ logo.  Most parents were unaware that this was a pro-drug message – a ‘spliff’ being a term for cannabis joint. Some younger children may not themselves have known that the items were promoting drug use – but many teens thought it fun to persuade parents to buy them items because they were ‘fashionable’ – knowing the parents would not have done so if they had known the truth. Though Mr.Spliffy has thankfully disappeared , most street markets and cheap clothing shops still sell posters, jewellery, ashtrays and clothing items covered in cannabis leaf logos or druggy slogans such as ‘No Hope Without Dope’ or similar.   All these items help to ‘normalise’ drug use.      NDPA

Back To Parents | Home

Some parents oppose school drug testing as an invasion of privacy and waste of resources. Others praise the idea. A new home-testing campaign initiated by TestMyTeen.com gives parents responsibility for safer schools along with administrators.

St. Louis, Mo. (PRWEB) January 10, 2006 — Random drug testing programs initiated by schools have turned some parents into adversaries instead of allies over privacy issues, depleted scarce resources, and been applied only to students in extracurricular activities. An alternative approach unveiled by TestMyTeen.com solves each of those problems by placing responsibility with parents rather than the school districts to which they belong.

In addition to reducing many of the problems related to substance abuse, this approach rewards participating schools by sharing revenue as well. Since school districts don’t administer or pay for drug testing, resources are preserved and liability is avoided.

According to Mason Duchatschek, the Executive Director of TestMyTeen.com, pressure often increases once kids say no to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. The words “My parents test me” stop pushy peers in their tracks and give every teen the “socially acceptable” excuse they need. To ensure accuracy, home-based testing kits utilize the same technologies found in labs and medical clinics across the country.

Financial and moral decisions regarding drug testing are placed in the hands of parents to protect their children’s privacy. Privately, parents can detect their children’s usage before law enforcement officers, school officials, or potential employers do and—most importantly—before addictions set in.

Additional resources for parents and school officials regarding this program are available for free at www.TestMyTeen.com.

At a time schools across the country are doing everything they can to fight drugs in schools, in Knoxville, Tennessee, one school has found a way. Scott County has taken a STAND against drugs.

Sarah Byrd is a senior at Scott High School. She and most students here have been randomly tested for drugs since they started high school. “I really like it because they test each and every student that signs the papers, and it lets people know who is on drugs and who is not. It makes me feel better when I know who is safe and who is not,” said Sarah Byrd.

The program is called STAND, Schools Together Allowing No Drugs. Scott County and Oneida city schools were the first in the state to start a drug testing program. “We think it’s very effective. It has actually become a routine part of our instructional program here,” said Scott High School principal Sharon Wilson.

Students are randomly tested if they have any privileges, like playing sports or even parking in the school parking lot. If their parents will not give consent for testing, students are not allowed to participate in extra curricular activities.

“It’s done discreetly. It’s not meant to embarrass or stigmatize children, it’s an avenue to get them some help, it’s an early intervention program,” said Wilson.

If students test positive, they are not punished, they get counseling.

“The reaction that we have found has been one of support and enthusiasm, especially by the parents,” said Wilson. Judge Jamie Cotton started the program in 2001.

“We’re seeing a steep decline in the number of recidivism, the repeat offenders, and in the number of positive tests overall,” said Judge Cotton.

Some were hesitant at first, but with education, more parents and students like STAND.

“If you want privileges from the school, you need to abide by their rules,” said Sarah.

Officials say it has improved students’ behavior and decreased the drug problem.

Judge cotton says many other counties in East Tennessee and other states are interested in the program.