By editor
21 May, 2013
Uncategorized
abuse, Adderall, addiction, ADHd, college students, drug prevention, high school kids, NJ Heroin addiction, opiate, opiate addiction, overdose, prescription drug abuse, prescription drug awareness, prescription drugs, Ritalin
Parents still don’t get it. Kids will use these drugs to keep them up to study and get through finals. I remember back in the day, they used caffeine pills. Adderall and Ritalin are not caffeine pills. They are more dangerous and addicting when not used properly!!
Not MyKid: Most Parents Unaware Teen Using Study Drugs
Rachael Rettner, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 20 May 2013 Time: 12:41 PM ET
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 Credit: Dreamstime
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Many parents are not aware that their teenage children abuse “study
drugs,” a new poll suggests.
In the poll, just 1 percent of parents said their teenage children had taken drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin without a prescription.
That is much lower than the percentage of teens that surveys suggest are using the drugs. For example, a 2012 study of high schoolers found that about 10 percent of sophomores and 12 percent of seniors said they had used the drugs without a prescription.
The new finding highlights the growing issue of stimulant drug abuse, or when teens take stimulant medication (or “study drugs”) to help them study for a test or stay awake to do homework. Such medications are prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Teens without the condition may fake symptoms in order to get a prescription, or obtain the drugs from friends.
The new findings, from the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health
, examined parents’ awareness of the issue, surveying parents of U.S. children ages 13 to 17. About 11 percent of parents said their teens had been prescribed stimulant medication for ADHD.
Among parents of children who were not prescribed ADHD medications, 1 percent said their teens had used these drugs for study purposes. About 4 percent said they didn’t know if their teen had abused these drugs, and 95 percent said their teens had never abused the drugs.
This disconnect between teen drug abuse and parents’ awareness of drug abuse may be in part due to the fact that study drugs have more subtle effects than drugs such as heroin and cocaine, allowing teens to more easily hide their drug use, the researchers said.
About half of parents polled said they were very concerned about teens in their communities abusing study drugs. And more than three-quarters supported school policies aimed at stopping this type of drug abuse, such as rules that would require children with prescription ADHD medications to keep the pills in a secure place like the school nurse’s office.
The findings “underscore the need for greater communication among public health officials, schools, parents, and teens regarding this issue,” the researchers said.
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By editor
20 May, 2013
Uncategorized
abuse, addiction, awareness, deaths, drug prevention, NJ Heroin addiction, opiate, opiate addiction, overdose, prescription drug abuse, prescription drug awareness, prescription drugs
For those who have lost due to addiction, this is the real story..Our story, the one that needs to be spoken of so we can find ways of prevention, awareness, recovery and stigma.
Ending the Secrecy of a Child’s Addiction
By BILL WILLIAMS
Almost two years ago my wife and I became aware that our 22-year-old son, William, was using heroin. At the time he was already seeing a psychotherapist. Over the next two years we added an addiction psychiatrist, out-patient treatment, treatment with Suboxone, in-patient detox, in-patient treatment, out-patient treatment, out-patient detox, treatment with Vivitrol, more out-patient treatment, another in-patient treatment, more out-patient treatment, a revolving door of well over a dozen trips to and from the emergency rooms of at least four different hospitals, an attempt to work with another addiction psychiatrist, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and a home life fraught with tension, despair, sometimes hopeful during intermittent periods of sobriety, and always filled with the apprehension of misfortune.
That apprehension became fact when William accidentally overdosed shortly before his 24th birthday. Six weeks of comatose and/or heavily medicated hospitalization followed before the ultimate realization that William was consigned to a persistent vegetative state.
As family members, we struggled from the beginning to find both our own support system and ways to engage and encourage William in recovery. In the beginning we kept William’s and our battle to ourselves, in the interest of protecting his privacy and ours. He still had career goals and ambitions that could be thwarted with heroin use on his “résumé.” While it’s harder to admit, we also kept quiet out of some sense of embarrassment or shame. How could we possibly explain the corrosion in the midst of our well-reared, respectable family?
Over the course of time, with the help of addiction counselors, and sharing our circumstance at Al-Anon in particular, we came to understand that we were not alone. There were, in fact, many families like us, negotiating their response to addiction: discovering what they were powerless over, battling for the courage to confront what they could control. And, at least in our case, fighting desperately to distinguish between the two. There was and is relief in knowing that others suffer the same struggle, zigzagging along a tortuous path, enduring dead ends in hope of a solution, bravely putting in the work to realize a more promising and serene future. And yet, their stories and ours remained anonymous, pit stops at an emotional leper colony, quite separate from a world racing on.
Bit by bit, perhaps because we had to explain to neighbors why EMS was arriving at our door with some regularity, or why we suddenly had to cancel plans, or as we sought solace in narrating our sad situation to trusted friends, we began to experience a recurring phenomenon. People would recount their own harrowing tales of a family member, a dear friend, or even their personal contest with addiction.
Out of choice and necessity, as we surrendered to his lot and ours, when we chose to remove William from life support, we offered his story to virtually everyone we knew in the days just prior to his death and in the interim before his memorial service. In return, more and more people surrendered their personal horrors to us. From even the most reserved and private came narratives of heroin overdoses, cocaine abuse, weeks and months in rehab, alcohol relapse, addiction to pills.
Addiction is, as we have learned, a family disease. The number of stories we’ve heard of wives, daughters, fathers, sons, nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters – not in counseling or therapy scenarios, but from people who recognize our pain and somehow want to comfort us, or to comfort themselves through us, is staggering.
We were heartened at William’s memorial service by an overwhelming turnout to honor a beautiful young man and to console his family. I knew when I gave a eulogy for William that there were addicts in varying stages of recovery among us. Fellow sufferers there to pay tribute. Perhaps hearing about William’s struggle and our ordeal was useful to them. I hope so. What I do not know, and can only wonder about, is how many more stories remain untold. They need to be told. Secrecy and anonymity are part of the disease, for addict and family alike.
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By editor
20 May, 2013
Uncategorized
abuse, addiction, awareness, deaths, drug prevention, heroin, NJ Heroin addiction, opiate, overdose, prescription drug abuse, prescription drug awareness, prescription drugs
The real stories need to be heard throughout our counties and states. In order for this epidemic to start, we must begin in our own backyards. We must share our true stories on who this is effecting and what we can do to help protect our kids. If we all just do a little with awareness, prevention, safeguarding, we can and will make a difference!!
No Sugar-Coating the Devastation of Illicit Drugs
Posted on May 15, 2013 at 11:34 am
Heroin Task Force presents first public forum on prescription drug abuse
The heart-wrenching story of a school principal who lost his son to drugs and the first-person story of a woman’s heroin addiction gripped the attention of parents attending the first Community Forum on Prescription Drug Abuse presented by the Delaware County Heroin Task Force.
About 50 people attended the forum, presented May 9 at the Upper Darby Performing Arts Center at Upper Darby High School. Headed by Delaware County Council and District Attorney Jack Whelan, the Heroin Task Force was formed in September, 2012, to raise awareness about the prescription drug and heroin epidemic impacting the nation and the county.
“This can happen to any good child and any A-plus student who has a great group of friends and comes from a great family,” cautioned Dr. Richard Dunlap, whose son, Tim, lost his battle with addition in 2009. “Tim was a good kid, who made poor decisions.”
The forum was offered by the Heroin Task Force to educate the public on this growing epidemic. Members of the panel included District Attorney Whelan, Dr. Dunlap, Delaware County Council members Mario J. Civera Jr. and Dave White, Executive Director Marianne Grace, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Mike Chitwood and Upper Darby Assistant Superintendent Daniel McGarry.
Panelists said it is becoming all too common that students, beginning in middle school, are using drugs. The problem often begins when a child or teen finds prescription drugs in their home which are no longer being used by a parent, sibling or relative. These prescription drugs are often pain killers such as Percocet and Vicodin.
Last year in Delaware County, there were 50 heroin-related deaths and a total of 119 drug-related deaths.
“This is a story we hear all too often in the District Attorney’s office,” said District Attorney Whelan. “It is also a story heard all too often in the Medical Examiner’s office as well.”
The forum started with a video detailing “Angela’s Story,” the harrowing true story of a young Delaware County woman who overcame her addiction to prescription drugs and heroin.
In a videotaped interview with a representative from the District Attorney’s office, “Angela” tells how her prescription drug addiction led to heroin use. She explained the effects prescription drugs had on her, how powerful her addiction was, the problems she faced, and the family she had lost at the time.
She explained how when she could no longer afford her prescription drug habit, she turned to heroin because it was cheaper, more effective and a quicker high.
Audience members were visibly moved by “Angela’s Story.” The woman finally sought help. She is now clean, sober and has her life back. Her simple words to people are: “Just don’t do drugs.”
Residents also heard from Dr. Dunlap, a father and principal at West Chester East High School, who detailed the impact on his family of losing their son, Tim, drugs.
As Dr. Dunlap spoke, Tim’s story was demonstrated to the audience with photographs of Tim at different stages of his life. Tim’s drug use started in sixth grade and escalated from there. When Tim graduated from high School, he attended West Chester University and “things only went downhill from there,” his father said.
Dr. Dunlap said there were increasing signs of drug use such as weight loss, slurred speech and a change in sleeping habits. The most defining incident was when Tim didn’t try out for the West Chester University football team when football was one of the reasons he attended the university. He later failed out of his freshman year of college.
Dr.Dunlap said his family tried to deal with this together, helping Tim through treatment and taking care of him every step of the way.
“My family’s lives were changed the day Tim died from his addiction. The year Tim died, 12 of his 13 closest friends put themselves in rehab for prescription drug use,” the father said.
Shortly after his son’s death, Dunlap began to speak to audiences, especially in schools, about his son’s addiction and how his family overcame their loss.
“This is not just an epidemic, this is a pandemic,” Dunlap said. “This is not just in the Upper Darby School District (where the forum was held), it’s everywhere and it’s your good kids, making poor decisions.”
The public forum is just one aspect of the education and awareness activities of the Delaware County Heroin Task Force. The Task Force offers the program, “Realities of Prescription Drugs and Heroin Abuse,” to all school communities. To schedule a presentation, school officials can contact the District Attorney’s office at 610-891-4163.
There is also an informational brochure, available from the Task Force or it can be downloaded from the Delaware County website at www.co.delaware.pa.us.
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The best way to dispose of your old medications. As you will read
371 Tons of Rx Medicine Collected from DEA Take-Back Event on April 27
More than 742,000 pounds –371 tons – of prescription (Rx) medications were collected from members of the public at more than 5,800 locations throughout the country for the sixth Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)-facilitated National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 27. To date, all six DEA Take-Back events have generated the collection of more than 2.8 million pounds (1,409 tons) of Rx medicines, safely removing them from circulation.
According to recently released data from the 2012 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), one in four teens (24 percent) reports having misused or abused an Rx drug at least once in their lifetime (up from 18 percent in 2008 to 24 percent in 2012), which translates to about 5 million teens. In addition, more than half of teens (56 percent) indicated that it’s easy to get Rx drugs from their parent’s medicine cabinet, and about half of parents (49 percent) say anyone can access their medicine cabinet.
Last Saturday’s drug collection initiative was a collaboration between the DEA and state and local law enforcement. Americans were urged to empty their medicine cabinets, kitchen drawers and bedside tables of Rx drugs that were expired or no longer needed, and bring them to one of thousands of designated disposal sites around the nation to help prevent the abuse and misuse of medicine. Saturday’s event collected 50 percent more pills than the previous one, demonstrating the need for a safe place where Americans can discard unwanted, unused or expired prescription drugs from their homes.
Visit The Medicine Abuse Project online to learn more about how to safely store, safeguard and properly dispose of medicines in your home.
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http://www.liveinthenow.com/article/guess-what-kills-one-person-every-19-minutes
Guess What Kills One Person Every 19 Minutes?
Posted by Joshua Corn
Drugs Kill When it comes “how you’re going to die,” many people fear things like airplane crashes or shark attacks, even though statistics show that deaths from these events are very rare. Conversely, far too many people mistakenly believe that certain common aspects of everyday life are extremely safe — when, in reality, this is often far from the truth.
Once such daily ritual that is far more dangerous than many people believe is taking properly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs. Popping pills on a daily basis to “improve health” has become far too common for many Americans. In fact, according to the CDC, approximately 50% of all Americans take a pharmaceutical drug daily. When you isolate senior citizens, the number shoots up to an astonishing 90%. And perhaps even more troubling, 20% of children take a pharmaceutical drug.
At the same time, statistics are showing that deaths from pharmaceutical drugs are rising at an alarming rate. But don’t take my word for it. Just google the term “pharmaceutical drugs kill” and you’ll see headlines from major news organizations such as Fox and CNN that read:
“Prescription drugs 62,000 times more likely to kill …
“Prescription drugs kill 6200% more Americans …”
“Prescription Drugs Kill 300 Percent More Americans than Illegal Drugs…”
“Prescription drugs are now killing more people than traffic accidents…”
“Prescription Drug Deaths Skyrocket…”
“Prescription drugs kill one person every 19 minutes…”
“Prescription Drugs Now Kill More People Than Heroin And Cocaine Combined…”
Sadly, most people don’t know that properly prescribed prescription drugs kill over 100,000 Americans each year. (This excludes prescription drug abuse, which causes this number to skyrocket even higher.) This is more than or equal to the number of people who die from accidents, Alzheimer’s, influenza and diabetes!
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CHMI Works with Partners to Address the Prevalence of Prescription Drug Misuse
Posted on May 06, 2013 by Clinton Foundation | Tags: Clinton Health Matters Initiative, CHMI, Prescription Drug Abuse and Misuse Strategy, NYPD, NYU
Today, President Clinton joined NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, New York University President John Sexton, and National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow for a panel discussion moderated by Wall Street Journal’s health reporter Melinda Beck on prescription drug abuse. Throughout the discussion, panelists brought to light the number of individuals affected by prescription drug misuse each year and how the issue is the nation’s fastest growing drug problem. In the United States, one person dies every 19 minutes from a drug overdose, a tragedy driven largely by the misuse of prescription painkillers. And, in the last 20 years, the consumption of prescription stimulants increased from 5 million to 45 million.
Throughout the discussion, each panelist highlighted how they are working to address this issue and discussed the many reasons for why prescription drug misuse and abuse is widespread, while also bringing attention to multi-pronged solutions for the issue. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly highlighted how through their Clinton Health Matters Initiative pledge to action, the NYPD will address the problem of drug abuse from the position of enforcement, deterrence, and education. Commissioner Kelly announced that the NYPD will begin reaching out to all colleges and universities across New York City to work with them to increase awareness about prescription drug abuse during freshman orientation. New York University (NYU) President John Sexton highlighted that more than 7 percent of college students across the country in 2012 reported misuse of pain medication, and discussed NYU’s commitment to student health and wellness through the university’s Wellness Exchange program. The program provides a service 7 days a week, 24 hours a day for students to receive advice and support on a range of issues – whether they have anxiety over exams to problems with prescription drugs to thoughts of suicide. Additionally, Dr. Volkow discussed how it is often the lack of knowledge about how prescription drugs – especially when mixed with other drugs from stimulants to depressants – is what jeopardizes people.
During the panel, President Clinton discussed how the Clinton Health Matters Initiative (CHMI) will work to address the prevalence of prescription drug misuse on university and college campuses as well as emphasize how to reduce the prevalence of this issue in other environments such as demanding workplace settings. President Clinton noted that in just this decade alone, we have the potential to save 10,000 lives.
Over the next 5 years, the Clinton Foundation will work with partners including the NYPD to implement a number of initiatives designed to address the growing health and safety problem of prescription drug abuse. CHMI will also work to help universities foster safer, healthier environments by asking universities across the country to invest in best practices against the abuse and misuse of prescription drugs. CHMI will aim to cut in half the number of young people from 18 to 26-years-old misusing prescription drugs for the first time. Specifically, CHMI will recruit colleges and universities to join a Prescription Safe Campus Initiative (PSCI). Through PSCI, CHMI will build the capacity of student and campus leaders to implement best practice strategies to reduce prescription drug misuse and abuse in areas such as residence halls, campus health centers, campus security and police, employee wellness, student orientation, and athletics programs. Specific strategies will include prevention education programming, student-led awareness campaigns and increased substance abuse and mental health services on participating campuses.
In addition to working with colleges and universities, CHMI will build strategic partnerships with the corporate, non-governmental, philanthropic, and public sectors to address the following priority challenges to ending prescription drug misuse and abuse:
- Engage businesses that host physically demanding professions, such as energy, health care, the military, and transportation to integrate prescription drug abuse prevention and treatment support into workplace wellness efforts.
- Work with the pharmaceutical industry and others to improve supply and affordability of Naloxone/narcan, a drug used to counter the effects of opiate overdose.
- Engage medical associations, physician groups, retail pharmacy chains and others to expand the reach and improve the effectiveness of prescription drug monitoring programs that help detect and prevent the diversion and abuse of prescription drugs.
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