Great Links for Parents when it Comes to ESDs (Electronic Smoking Devices)

  Instead of making a variety of posts on our Counseling Facebook page, I figured it would be easier to put all the links in one blog post. Thank you to ISTEP (Iowa Students for Tobacco Education and Prevention) for all of these links and more in their recent newsletter. Electronic Smoking Devices (ESDs) such as Vapes and JUULs have exploded in use in middle and high schools across the country including our own schools. Some kids don't think it is that big of a deal. But it is. For teens and adolescents, these are not "Smoking Cessation" devices, these devices are designed to encourage students to smoke more and more and even take up smoking cigarettes. The information is there, the research is there, but our kids aren't seeing it, hearing it, and/or believing it. As parents and adults, educating ourselves so we can educate our children is key. With that being said, please take some time to click on these links and review the information.

Infographic on what Juuls are and how they hurt our young people

4 things Parents need to know about Juuls

Another Infographic from the CDC on ESDs such as Juuls

Smoking E-cigarettes Increases Likelihood Adolescents Will Smoke Cigarettes

Why Knowing More About Human Trafficking is Important to Us.....in the Carlisle Community

   Kim Flagor and I attended a workshop on Human Trafficking at our annual counseling conference back in November. We were really moved by the terrible and sad information we learned. It stuck with us. Just this week, I had the chance to go to another presentation on Human Trafficking by a local group that works to help young women get their lives back after being rescued from trafficking. Again....I was deeply moved. Soon, our counseling staff will hear from a third group, this time a group that helps get the message out to our teens and students as to what Human Trafficking is and why it matters to them. In other words, Human Trafficking is a big deal. But why? And why in little ol' Carlisle? Well, here are a few main reasons (in no particular order...they are all important!)



First of all, what is Human Trafficking?
 Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. It also happens to be the 2nd most profitable crime in the world, only trailing drug trafficking (although it could someday overtake that based on the rate it is growing)

 So, now that we know what it is, why does it matter to us?

 1. Iowa has the 5th highest rate of human trafficking in the country. That means only 4 states have a larger trafficking issue than us. This is likely due to the intersection of I35 and I80...too interstate systems that criss-cross the entire country. Our mental health facilities (or lack of) is another key reason. And a final reason is drug trafficking in our state which typically goes hand in hand with human trafficking. Dorothy's House presentation noted that heroin is on a major rise in our state because it is cheap and addictive and this is one of the drugs key to the trafficking issue.

 2. But we are not just talking about our young girls (and often boys as well) being stolen or abducted and taken out of state. Up to 80% of human trafficking is "Familial Trafficking". This means a majority of trafficking of our young people is done by their own family. Their mothers, fathers, step-parents, foster parents, older siblings, etc. They are selling their own child's body multiple times a day for money to pay rent or for a drug habit.

 3. According to Dorothy's House, guess who is the most popular victim to traffic? A 12-14 year old girl that is tall, skinny, and blond and right from the Des Moines area. We aren't talking 18 year olds and 20 year olds. We aren't talking kids from Chicago or LA. We are talking our kids. Our pre-teens and teenagers. As a father of 5....that matters to me!

 4. 1 in 3 teens on the street will be lured by a trafficker within 48 hours. We have runaways in our school district from time to time. It is scary to think of several of these students being approached by a trafficker. Many of these young people who are approached will accept the "help" they get and soon be into a trafficking situation they cannot escape from.

 5. The average age of a child victim in human trafficking and prostitution is 13-14 years old. In our district, we have roughly 300 students at that age level.

 6. Speaking of the average victim....the average victim may be forced to have sex up to 20-48 times a day. Young girls and women who happen to survive and make it out of these situations many times need reconstructive surgery, immediate and long-term mental health therapy, and addiction treatment. Even if everything works extremely well, it is tough for these girls and boys to live a normal life due to the intense and long-term trauma they were surviving through.

 7. Most common way a girl gets into trafficking? They are "boyfriended" in. In other words, a "nice" boy slowly gets to know a girl in that age 11-15 range (sometimes older) and grooms the girl. This is many times done online. The girl thinks the boy is her age or thinks he is really wanting to be a boyfriend. Many times the boy is much older, usually a man well past his teenage years. They arrange a meeting and the rest is a very sad, sad situation. The girls typically never see it coming......

 .....But her friends do. Her family does. Her teachers do. Her neighbors do. If.....if they are involved in her life and being supportive and caring and not letting her get down this path. This is why it matters to us here in little ol' Carlisle. We have a chance to not let our girls and boys be a part of these sick statistics. We have a chance to save the lives of some of our young people. But we must be willing to ask questions and not accept "fine" or "okay" for an answer. We must be on social media and checking on our kids. We must know our kids' friends and who our kids think are their friends. We must get in their business....because their business matters to us because we love them. And we must educate ourselves on this issue which has been around forever, but is rapidly increasing due to social media making it easier to "buy and sell" young people, our transportation system making it easier to traffic young people quickly and easily, and our drug and mental health issues on the rise making young girls and boys more vulnerable to being lured into the world of trafficking. We cannot look the other way because this topic is too gruesome, too ugly, too tough to read and hear about. We must turn towards it and towards the solutions because of these things.


 Please click on some of the links below to learn more. I did not know much about this issue 6-12 months ago, but I am glad I am learning now. As a counselor, I have dealt with many students "talking" to a stranger online and many times the conversations have stopped before it got too far. My worry is what if it didn't. What would happen. I want to educate myself and others so we can all help each other and all watch over each other

The Polaris Project

Recognize the Signs

Iowa Networkd Against Human Trafficking

Great Links from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America

Well, summer is here and I finally have time to catch up on my blog reading and blog writing. After skim reading about 100 blog posts from the Partnership fro a Drug-Free America, here are some of the articles and links that I thought were the best and the most important for parents and teens in our community. Take a moment today or this week and read these articles. Great information for parents and our teens. Thanks!

 Kids at Risk of Overdose due to Parent Medications
---Very important read for all of us. I take 2 medications daily and try my best to keep these away from my own little 4 children. But as they get older, I need to protect this medication even more to keep them away from possible danger.

Social Hosting Laws:
  ---Although Iowa apparently has no statewide Social Hosting laws according to this interactive website, it reminds you that local communities may. Not to mention the emotional damage that can occur if you were to allow underage teens to drink at your house, especially if they drive after that drinking.

Smoking continues to decline among teens, but drinking and binge drinking gets worse
---Good news on smoking, but bad news on drinking and binge drinking.

Myths BUSTED when it comes to parents who think letting their kids drink at home is safe and OK!
---This is a great article that shows all the myths of letting your kids drink at home as a safe way for them to learn about alcohol.

Did you know teens are using ADHD drugs to study? Most parents don't.
---10% of high school kids are doing this, but only 1% of parents think it is their child. Interesting....

Starting to drink at young age makes for heavy drinking later.
--Last article, but it is an important one.

Have a great summer and check back here often for many other updates I find as I read up on my blogs and studies on the Internet.

Mixing Alcohol and Energy Drinks Equals Danger!

I likely blogged about this last year, but it is an important reminder for both teenagers and adults. Mixing alcohol and energy drinks (or any caffeine really) can be even more dangerous. For a person drinking drink after drink that contains alcohol, the body is negatively affected as alcohol is basically a poison. At some point, the body will say it has had enough and shut down.....by passing out. However, if that same person is drinking alcohol mixed with energy drinks (Red Bull and vodka for example), the caffeine tricks the body into thinking it is not drunk enough to pass out and not tired enough to pass out. This keeps the person awake and the person likely continues to drink. This gets them even more drunk and could cause them to have complications due to alcohol poisoning, and in some cases cause death. Pretty scary stuff that some of our kids think is just a natural way to drink alcohol. The worst part is that our teens are smaller and more negatively affected by alcohol so mixing of these two types of drinks can have even more damaging or deadly effects. To read more, click on this blog post from DrugFree.org

Two New Sites, Both Great for Local Teens and Their Parents

  A couple of new sites popped up towards the end of 2012 and both are really, really good for our teens in our school district AND their parents. Check them out!

Warren County Standing Together on Prevention (WC STOP): This local group made of educators, law enforcement, leaders, parents, and community members has been working very hard for a couple years now to get drugs and alcohol out of our young peoples hands and bodies so that they can be successful, healthy, and make positive choices as they go through each and every day. They do this and so much more. And the best part is that anyone can be a part of their group, all you need is a passion to educate people in our county and beyond about the dangers affecting our young people. Check out their website and the many resources located across the top of their page. Upcoming meeting date/times are also located near the bottom of their page.

I AM in Control Website for Teens: This website is not just for teens by the way, I think parents and educators can benefit from the information posted as well. Basically a collection of blogs written by teens and adults with advice for teens, this website updates multiple times each week with information and advice for teens. Some of the content is great for teens to read on their own and some would be better for an adult to read and discuss with them. But all of the information is very current and relevant to our teens' lives. As a bonus feature, teens can online chat or call counselors located at Iowa State University and know they are getting professional advice and help on the other side of the line when they connect with them and want to discuss an issue they are struggling with. Great website!

Dangers of Synthetic Marijuana and What Parents Can Do About It.

Found this recent report about the dangers of Synthetic Marijuana. The number is staggering and hard to believe, but it really shows you how dangerous synthetic marijuana can truly be. Take a look at the link below and discuss the information with your own kids. Hard to imagine that their is a more dangerous form of marijuana, but it looks like synthetic marijuana is that form.

 11,000 go the hospital for synthetic marijuana click here



Now that you have read up on the dangers of synthetic marijuana, now take a look at this recent study/article that shows that parents actually have more influence than schools' own drug education. Seems like a no-brainer, but I am glad to see a research study show that parents can actually steer their own children towards a drug-free life. But the key is open communication. Take a look at the article to learn more.

Parents have Biggest Effect on Kid's Drug Use click here

New Marijuana Laws a Concern

   I have attached a couple articles from the Partnership for a Drug Free America in regards to concerns about two states that legalized recreational use of marijuana. Federal law still keeps marijuana illegal to sell or consume, but these states have made more and more people think that maybe marijuana is not harmful, including some of our students. But that is simply not the case. Marijuana is extremely harmful and has many negative effects and can cause many negative problems, both immediately and long term. The biggest concern I have heard locally is the belief that marijuana does not impair driving like alcohol does. And this is simply not true! But if students believe that and they smoke marijuana and then operate a vehicle, they are in control of a dangerous weapon, or sadly, not in control of it. More education will be needed on this topic with both teens and adults in our community and across the country. Please read the articles below as they have some great information about the dangers of marijuana usage, especially when paired with driving a vehicle.


Marijuana-related Car Crashes click here

DUI More Likely to Involve Drugs than Alcohol

Power of Drug Addiction is Tough to Overcome

Another KCCI story from today about a former Des Moines police officer whose life is very different today than it was just a year or two ago. All because of a drug addiction to marijuana and methamphetamine. Even after given a generous 2nd chance, the power of addiction was too much. Unfortunately, his life is going to change even more, but hopefully this change will help him finally beat this addiction. But for any teens thinking trying drugs "just once' is okay, for Mr. Singleton, "just once' was one time too many.

Click to watch video

Energy Drinks Now Being Investigated by FDA

 

     Students were very interesting in talking about Energy Drinks and their possible negative effects during Red Ribbon Week. When we noted that caffeine is a drug, a legal drug, but a drug nonetheless, students were interested in how large amounts of caffeine in energy drinks could affect a young person. Some people even brought up a story that I had also recently heard on the radio. The story of a 14-year old who died of cardiac arrest after consuming 2 full 24-oz. cans of Monster Energy Drink. That is A LOT OF CAFFEINE! But is a deadly amount? That is what the FDA is investigating as this is the 5th death that has come immediately after consuming an energy drink or large amounts of energy drinks. I told the students that we would have to wait and see what the investigation shows, but I have always believed that caffeine should be limited, especially in young people. I noted that pregnant women are not supposed to consume any caffeine as it can have negative effects on the growing baby. This means no chocolate, tea, pop, or coffee. Some women still do, but it is important to note that caffeine has proved to have negative effects. And once upon a time, young children/teens were not supposed to consume caffeine either or have very little due to possible negative effects. Now, it is not uncommon to see kids finishing their first or second cup of coffee or first bottle of pop as they walk into school....in the morning! I have a feeling that caffeine has had more of an effect than we may ever really know, but what long-term effects it truly has may be tough to prove. Either way, this is a good reminder that caffeine is an addicting drug and does have some negative effects and should truly be limited, especially in young people. Here are two of the more recent studies and articles about this topic from the Partnership for a Drug Free America.

Some Energy Drinks Mislabeling Their Caffeine Amounts click here

FDA Investigating Energy Drinks and Possible Deaths Due to Energy Drinks click here!

More Recent Updates from Partnership for a Drug Free America

  As I do every once in awhile, I have posted some of the more interesting and important blog posts from the last few weeks at the Partnership for a Drug Free America website/blog. Please take a look at the summaries below and click on the article link to learn more. Most articles are very short but contain some really good information that may be helpful to parents and students in our community. Thanks for reading!

Amount of Sleep Affects Sports Injuries click here! At Carlisle, we have a lot of students involved in sports and many spend several hours a day doing their sporting activity. This new study evaluated all sorts of factors and how they may affect injury rates and one of only the few factors that showed they may cause more injuries was lack of sleep. And in talking with many middle school students, I realize that several middle schoolers get less sleep than recommended for their age (8-9 hours a night). After reading this, I encourage you to talk more with your own children, maybe do more research, and make sure they have undistracted sleep (get those electronics out of their room!!)

California Suicide Prevention Websites Helps Everyone click here!  Great site with lots of information about suicide and suicide prevention. It will be a nice resource for me, but a great resource for any family or student who feels they may be at risk of suicide or having suicidal thoughts.

Bath Salts Causing Maine Parents to Give Up Their Children click here!  We see more and more news stories about these synthetic drugs and their effects. This effect, the effect of foster families increasing because parents are getting addicted to bath salts and not caring for their kids anymore, is maybe one of the saddest effects I have seen. Shows you the true damage to person, family, and society these "supposedly harmless" synthetic drugs are actually causing.

Prescription Drug Abuse on the Rise and Teens/Young Adults Causing It click here!  Prescription drug abuse continues to be the fastest rising drug abuse in our country. Easy to get for both adults and teens and found in almost every home. And it is being abused more and more everyday. This article shows a study that shows teens/adults from age 15-27 is the biggest population driving this phenomenon. Protect your medications and pay attention to how many you have and where they are!

Red Ribbon Week Next Week, But Wear Red This Friday!

Although Red Ribbon Week starts next week, at Carlisle we like to "kick" it off a little early. Red Ribbon Week has a tradition of wearing red on Friday, but we do not have school next Friday. So we are asking our students, faculty, parents, and community to wear red THIS Friday, October 19th to get us off to a good start. Since we are playing our rival Norwalk in the regular season football finale, this is another great reason to wear red on Friday. If you are wondering what Red Ribbon Week is, here is a little blurb we put in the Wildcat Weekly this week:




KICKOFF RED RIBBON WEEK
Red Ribbon Week is being celebrated October 23rd– October 31st. As a kickoff to Red Ribbon Week we would like all students, teachers, and community members to WEAR RED on Friday, October 19th. The Carlisle High School Students Taking Action Not Drugs (STAND) group will be conducting activities throughout the week to spread awareness about the harmful effects of substance use to students in the district. This year’s theme is “PAWS-itively Drug Free.”



Red Ribbon Week was originally created to honor the memory of U.S. Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who gave his life in the fight against drugs. He was killed after discovering a multibillion dollar drug ring in Mexico that slipped drugs over the border and had a history of violent encounters. The week has since evolved into a country-wide week dedicated to preventing drug use and showing the pledge that many 
students have taken to stay drug free. 


Red Ribbon Week Website for more information

6th, 8th, and 11th Graders to Take Iowa Youth Survey

Students in grades 6, 8, and 11 will be taking the Iowa Youth Survey over the next week or so. This survey is taken by all Iowa 6th, 8th, and 11th graders every two years. It is a comprehensive survey that anonymously gathers data on the current beliefs, values, and attitudes of our students. It will question students on their experiences with alcohol, drugs, aggression, school, etc. as well as their thoughts on these topics. The data takes about 6-9 months to tabulate and send out to the school districts. Sometime during the summer, we get the information back and we can start looking at the data and making decisions about how we can use the data to better our school, community, and county. Everyone from our counselors to our police department to Warren County health services use this data every two years to drive our decisions. Students can opt out of the survey, but the more students that take the survey, the more accurate picture we get. And the more accurate the picture, the better we can serve our students and community. If you have questions or concerns about this survey, please contact a counselor in either our middle school or our high school.

Drug Known as "Smiles" Being Linked to Hollywood Death

Michael Wenger, a Prevention Specialist here in Warren County and an active leader and member of Warren County's STOP group sends out great information to those on his email list throughout the year. I just received the 2nd or 3rd email in the past week talking about the dangers of a new synthetic drug and this time the damage is making national news due to its role in a celebrity death and possible murder. Please see the article below to hear about the real dangers of this "nice" sounding synthetic drug.

'Smiles': New street drug tied to 'Sons of Anarchy' death

Matt Carr / Getty Images file

Actor Johnny Lewis, 28, who starred in the series "Sons of Anarchy."

By Brian Alexander, NBC News Contributor

Johnny Lewis, an actor in the popular “Sons of Anarchy” motorcycle-gang cable drama, died early Wednesday in Los Angeles, suspected of killing his 81-year-old former landlord, Catherine Davis, and possibly himself.

Police think the 28-year-old rising star, who played Kip 'Half-sack' Epps on the FX show, may have been under the influence of a drug few have heard of, a substance known informally as “Smiles.”

It’s part of a new wave of synthetic drugs finding their way onto America’s streets and into its clubs. With the chemical name 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine, it is known by drug agents and chemists as 2C-I, part of a closely-related family of “2C” drugs.

While Smiles may seem obscure, it’s already done damage, and not just in drug-hip Hollywood.

When 18-year-old Adam Budge of East Grand Forks, Minn., gave a derivative of the Smiles drug to his buddy, 17-year-old Elijah Stai, of nearby Park Rapids this year, Stai wound up dead. The drug was supposed to be a cheap, harmless high. But within an hour of mixing the powder into some chocolate and eating it, Stai was convulsing, hallucinating, and eventually stopped breathing. Now Budge faces charges that could put him in prison for many years.

But what is Smiles?

Like all the 2C drugs, it’s a psychoactive, hallucinogenic chemical that alter the brain’s balance of dopamine and serotonin. Smiles is particularly powerful, binding to serotonin receptors in the brain at 20 times the rate of another drug used in schizophrenia research, according to an experiment performed by Purdue University chemists.

The effects of 2C-I, like those of LSD, can last up to eight hours. But because the effects can take time to appear, users may think they haven’t taken enough to get the desired high, and so take more, risking overdose.

The drug can be taken as small tablets, on pieces of blotter paper like LSD, or in powder form, often mixed with something else, like chocolate.

In June, as part of a Substances Control Act overhaul, Congress made 2C-I a schedule I drug -- highly restricted, like methamphetamine. But, explained Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson Rusty Payne, trying to get government arms around these new drugs is “like playing whack-a-mole. There are just so many emerging chemicals.”

Labs, often located in Europe or Asia, can use legal, common chemicals to produce huge batches of the drugs. Once one formulation is discovered, and banned, all the chemists have to do is slightly alter the structure of the molecules to create another, potentially legal, substitute until that one is banned.

There is no known geographic hot spot for the 2C drugs, unlike, say, methamphetamine, which became known as a rural, small-town problem. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration believes that most, if not all, the 2C drugs are being imported to the country, not made domestically.

Often, Payne said, teens rationalize the use of the drugs because they think, or are told, that it’s legal and if it’s legal, it’s safe. Another problem is that users often think they’re taking something else.

“We are getting so many calls because people are dying abusing chemicals that nobody ever heard of,” Payne said. “They’re told it’s harmless. If you can just go buy it somewhere, or on the internet, then it must be safe, but nothing could be further from the truth.”

Users aren’t the only ones who are often in the dark. According to Payne, even the DEA’s own agents are behind the curve when it comes to designer synthetics.

“It’s tough for our agents to stay up to date,” he explained. “Chemicals that used to take years to synthesize now take months. And many chemicals are diverted” from legal uses to illicit ones.

Chemical and pharmacologic research appears in journals, is posted online, and becomes easily available to all. That is often a good thing, but it also allows rogue chemists to use the science to create new analogs of drugs like 2C-I.

The drug “Spice,” for example, which made headlines over the past two years as a marijuana substitute, began as a research project by a Clemson chemist named John W. Huffman. He was doing the research under the auspices of the National Institute for Drug Abuse.

“This synthetic stuff is the new frontier of drugs,” Payne said.

Brian Alexander (www.BrianRAlexander.com) is co-author, with Larry Young Ph.D., of "The Chemistry Between Us: Love, Sex and the Science of Attraction," (www.TheChemistryBetweenUs.com), now on sale.

Two Pieces of Good News About the Fight Against Smoking!

Two recent "good news" pieces came across my desk via the Partnership for a Drug Free America blog. We have been seeing data similar to this with our Iowa Youth Survey that we take every 2 years. Every time we take it, the amount of students trying cigarettes, smoking cigarettes monthly, and/or smoking daily goes down. This is great news. Now, we get some bad news in that report too, but the cigarette/tobacco news has been good. These two new articles below are even more good news. The next step is to keep adults from giving minors cigarettes and to make sure adults are keeping their cigarettes in their possession at all times. Even better....to stop smoking altogether and set a good example for teens! Please take a moment to click and read the short articles below.

Graphic Anti-Smoking Ads Working click here!

Sales of Cigarettes to Minors at All Time Low click here!

New Studies About ADHD Medicine Use and Abuse

   Getting caught up on some of my blogs this summer and came across several articles and studies about the amazing increase of students with ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions and the many other students using the drugs to give them an edge in school despite not even having the diagnosis. I was alerted to these studies through the Partnership for a DrugFree America blog. I like that the one study mentions the increase in students and adults with ADHD is not necessarily a bad thing as some of the increase is simply due to more information being learned by the doctors and parents about this disorder. In the past, parents may have thought they were bad parents or possibly even abused their child to correct their behavior. Now, parents are more likely to understand that their child may have an ADHD disorder that could be treated with medicine and different parenting and teaching strategies. And the social stigma against these kids by other kids, parents, and teachers is also disappearing. But these articles also show that with the increase of these drugs in the school every day, they are getting abused by both the kids with the disorder and by kids without the disorder. Please click on the links below to read the short article about these studies and this new information. Kind of an eye-opener....

Use of ADHD Drugs Increase this last decade click here

More HS students using ADHD drugs for better grades click here

Long article from NY Times, but LOTS of great information and actual interviews from kids and parents click here

New National Study on Teen Drug Use

The following link shows some alarming and depressing news about teen drug use, specifically marijuana. We take the Iowa Youth Survey every 2 years, a very similar test I assume. Our data also shows marijuana use increasing, especially at the high school level. We will take the survey this fall, but won't get results until the following summer. Either way, this data is from a national survey and is more recent. The article is kind of long, but most of the key data is bullet-pointed.

Summary of Teen Drug Use Survey

Carlisle High School Does Amazing "Every 15 Minutes" 2-Day Event!

  I cannot begin to explain how amazing and how affecting Carlisle's recent "Every 15 Minute" 2-day event was. Congrats and thank you to our 2 high school counselors, the STAND (Students Taking Action, Not Drugs) group, local law enforcement, and the community for putting this event on for our students to see. And with Simpson students filming and documenting the whole event and creating the video you see below, even more will see the powerful message: Drinking and driving kills people, kills students, alters lives, and changes the course of a student's life forever. I could go on and on about the many pieces that made these 2 days so realistic and so important, but I think I will just let you watch the video. As you watch the video, please remember that everyone in the video is just acting, but they acted so well, it feels real. Even the parents got into their parts. Many of the participants said they didn't have to act as the emotion of the situation made their emotions really occur. Also, when you see students with painted white faces, those are students the Grim Reeper found during the day every 15 minutes and painted their faces. At that point, they were "dead" and could no longer speak to anyone...not even by text or cell phone! This was to represent the life of a person lost every 15 minutes due to drinking and/or texting while driving. To learn more about this campaign, click on this link: Every 15 minutes

**The video is make-believe, but is graphic at time. I would preview video before deciding to use it with young kids if you are wanting to educate them on the dangers of drinking/texting while driving.**

New Study Shows Middle School Teachers Could be Key in Helping Students Avoid Alcohol

    This information might be just as good for our middle school staff as it is for our parents. I found it pretty interesting and uplifting anyway. A new study just released shows that if students feel emotionally connected or supported with middle school teachers, the length of time until they take their first drink is extended. This means 6th, 7th, and 8th graders start drinking later in life if they feel they have a middle school teacher they can talk to or go to if they need help. There is more information in this article showing that kids who have a higher separation anxiety from their parents also wait longer before trying their first drink. Click and read the article to read about the study and information more.

Partnership for a Drug-Free America article click here

Parenting Practices and Tips to Help Your Child Avoid Drugs and Alcohol

One final resource tonight, but a good one. If you get a moment to read about some ways you can help your child avoid drugs and alcohol as they grow, please do so. A little bit of a long read, but some really good stuff. You might even just print it off and read it when you get some downtime and keep it for later to review or even discuss it with your child. Lots of good, basic parenting tips in there that many parents are already doing, but good to hear you are doing the right thing and likely still a tip or two that we can all learn from. Take a look!


Click here for 6 Parenting Practices to help reduce the chances your child will develop a drug or alcohol problem

Quick Q&A on K2 and Bath Salts

  Ran across these Q&A blog posts from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America blog. Good, quick information. Please visit their blog (Click here!) or follow their blog to stay up to date on the latest information and battles to keep our teens and even adults drug-free!

K2 – Spice

What are the street names/slang terms?

The most common names for synthetic marijuana are K2 and Spice, but it is also sold as Bliss, Black Mamba, Bombay Blue, Blaze, Genie, Spice, Zohai, JWH -018, -073, -250, Yucatan Fire, Skunk and Moon Rocks.

What is synthetic marijuana?

K2 or Spice is a mixture of herbs, spices or shredded plant material that is typically sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

What does it look like?

K2 is typically sold in small, silvery plastic bags of dried leaves and marketed as incense that can be smoked. It is said to resemble potpourri.

How is it used?

K2 products are usually smoked in joints or pipes, but some users make it into a tea.

What are its short term effects?

Short term effects include loss of control, lack of pain response, increased agitation, pale skin, seizures, vomiting, profuse sweating, uncontrolled / spastic body movements, elevated blood pressure, heart rate and palpitations. The onset of this drug is 3-5 minutes, and the duration of the high is 1-8 hours.
In addition to physical signs of use, users may experience: dysphoria, severe paranoia, delusions, hallucinations and increased agitation.

What are its long term effects?

Unknown

What is its federal classification?

On March 1, 2011, DEA published a final order in the Federal Register temporarily placing five synthetic cannabinoids into Schedule I of the CSA. As a result of this order, the full effect of the CSA and its implementing regulations including criminal, civil and administrative penalties, sanctions, and regulatory controls of Schedule I substances will be imposed on the manufacture, distribution, possession, importation and exportation of these synthetic cannabinoids.

Source: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), National Institute on Drug Abuse, American Association of Poison Control Centers

Bath Salts

What are the street names/slang terms?

Bath Salts are sold under a number of different “brand” names, and as different products, such as plant feeder or insect repellent. Brand names include: Bliss, Blue Silk, Cloud Nine, Drone, Energy-1, Ivory Wave, Lunar Wave, Meow Meow, Ocean Burst, Pure Ivory, Purple Wave, Red Dove, Snow Leopard, Stardust, Vanilla Sky, White Dove, White Knight, and White Lightning.

What arebath salts?

Bath Salts are substituted cathinones, which are synthetic, concentrated versions of the stimulant chemical in Khat. Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), mephedrone and methylone are the chemicals most often found in Bath Salts.

What does it look like?

Bath Salt products are sold in powder form in small plastic or foil packages of 200 and 500 milligrams under various brand names. Mephedrone is a fine white, off-white or slightly yellow-colored powder. It can also be found in tablet and capsule form. MDPV is a fine white or off-white powder.

K2 is typically sold in small, silvery plastic bags of dried leaves and marketed as incense that can be smoked. It is said to resemble potpourri.

How is it used?

Bath Salts are usually ingested by sniffing/snorting. They can also be taken orally, smoked, or put into a solution and injected into veins.

What are its short term effects?

Short-term effects include very severe paranoia that can sometimes cause users to harm themselves or others. Effects reported to Poison Control Centers include suicidal thoughts, agitation, combative/violent behavior, confusion, hallucinations/psychosis, increased heart rate, hypertension, chest pain, death or serious injury. The speed of onset is 15 minutes, while the length of the high from these drugs is 4-6 hours.

What are its long term effects?

Unknown

What is its federal classification?

On October 21, 2011, DEA published a final order in the Federal Register exercising its emergency scheduling authority to control three of the synthetic stimulants that are used to make bath salts. As a result of this order, these synthetic stimulants are designated as Schedule I substances under the Controlled Substances Act.

Source: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), American Association of Poison Control Centers