Drugs

CARSA

Posted December 15, 2011

Well, what the heck is that? CARSA stands for Community Action to Reduce Substance Abuse. Basically, it’s a bunch of important community members who come together twice or three times a year who are working to reduce substance abuse in Oregon. One of the most important people who spoke today was Dwight Holton, the former US Attorney for Oregon. He was the man behind the Prescription Drug (Rx) Summits in Oregon (the link to the summit’s page is at the bottom of the page). The Rx Summits had one goal: To reduce prescription drug abuse among teens. Rx drugs are one of the most widely used drugs, and are also a gateway drug to more “serious” drugs such as heroine and meth. Oxycodone, Adderall, and Vicodin may seem harmless, but they can quickly become addictive. Cheery, right?

Anyways, I was one of the youth representatives who went with Kovi to help her talk about our Rx Campaign. YAC created several PSA’s and posters to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse, and we were asked to share them at CARSA. We also got to hear about a huge grant that the tri-county area (Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas) received to help reduce substance abuse. Finally, Mike Boyer, a police department representative, talked about the latest liquor control laws that are being passed to help limit public intoxication in downtown.

All and all, CARSA was a great experience that gave me a ton of ideas to apply to my school, my life, and other projects I’d like to see happen here at OP. Mr. Howser gave me some great advice I thought I’d share with you (paraphrased, of course): The way to make things happen and to get stuff done is through connections. The more people you know and the more people you have on your side, the easier it is to accomplish the seemingly impossible. Everything is a group effort.

Resources:
The Rx Summit:
http://oregonrxsummit.org/
The YAC Rx Media Campaign:
http://oregonrxsummit.org/media/
A video of some YAC-ers speaking at one of the Rx Summits:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9WZ_zx8Mic&feature=autoshare

Happy Holidays!
A. Youth-Liner

P.S. Please subscribe to the Oregon Partnership Youthlink’s YouTube Channel! keep up to date with our projects with cool videos! Subscribe button is at the top of the page on the video above. Thanks!

Adderall: A Miracle Drug for Studying?

Posted December 14, 2011

Practically everyone has heard of the drug Adderall and knows that it is used to treat individuals who have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). This is a completely safe drug to take if you are someone who has been diagnosed with ADHD and have been prescribed the medicine. But, what about teenagers who take the drug even though they don’t have ADHD? Is this bad? More and more teenagers are taking this drug without the supervision of a doctor which can be extremely dangerous.

Why teenagers who do not have ADHD take Adderall:

1: In order to get high –> Adderall is a stimulant which increases alertness, attention and energy.

2: For weight loss reasons –> Weight loss is a common side effect from taking Adderall.

3: School Performance –> Some teenagers wrongly believe that Adderall will help them to do better in school.

Adderall has been found to not be addictive for individuals who have ADHD, but is addictive for those who do not have ADHD.

Possible Consequences of Taking Adderall Recreationally:

Irregular Heartbeat
Dangerously High Body Temperatures
Heart Failure
Seizures
Dangerous when mixed with alcohol or other medication

For some individuals, taking a stimulant for only a short period of time can cause anger and paranoia.

The bottom line:

Taking Adderall for any other reason besides to treat ADHD is very unsafe, ineffective and not worth it. There is no research to confirm that Adderall actually helps students to study better and receive better grades in school. Not only does Adderall have dangerous side effects and long-term consequences, if you do not have ADHD, it will be effective for nothing more than keeping you wired and awake all night. Even though you are “awake” for longer, you will not be retaining information which means you will not do any better on an exam. You are better off studying the old fashioned way (textbook and coffee in hand) and getting some extra sleep! If you want to avoid pulling an all-nighter and resorting to taking dangerous pills, try starting your studying early in the day and then studying all throughout the day for short increments of time, rather than cramming all at once.

There will be a blog soon on ideas for effective and healthy studying techniques. Feel free to leave comments!

http://adhd.emedtv.com/adderall/adderall-abuse-p3.html

http://www.elementsbehavioralhealth.com/drug-abuse-addiction/student-adderall-abuse/

Spice: Legal, Synthetic Form of Marijuana??

Posted December 8, 2011

Many people are being misinformed on what exactly K2 (Spice) is and the severe and sometimes deadly consequences that can come from smoking it.

“There’s a drug popular with teens in the U.S. that many parents may never have heard of, but worst of all – it is legal. This drug, called “Spice” or “K2” is said to give the user a marijuana-like high. Sold in shops and online as incense, it is being smoked as a legal alternative to marijuana. But this drug appears to have far more dangerous side-effects and without the necessary regulation, consumers have no idea what they’re really getting.” http://melissamcclain.hubpages.com/hub/Spice-A-Dangerous-New-Drug

“It was extremely scary,” Huberty recalled. “I reached over to touch his arm, and he was just cold and clammy. I didn’t know if he was going to die.” After spending five hours with Sam in the emergency room, the distraught mom spoke to a police officer who was in the hospital’s hallway. Hoping to hold someone accountable for giving her teenager this harmful substance to smoke, Huberty asked the officer what he knew about synthetic marijuana. The officer’s response “floored” her. “There is nothing that can be done,” she says he told her, “it’s not an illegal substance to have” and “no charges could be filed.” Read the rest of this article here

Trouble at Home

Posted October 20, 2011

I have a boyfriend that is 16 years old. he lives with his
mom. He has been to foster care because his mother chose meth over him but she
got him back and has had him for a few years. for the past 6 months his mother
has been acting wierd and crazy as if using again. I am also friends with her so
i get both sides of the story. they fight alot and she takes things out of
control. she doesnt hit him, its more mental abuse. Right now the current
situation as of tonight is he wouldnt get on a carousel with her so she made him
wlk home (a good 5 or 6 miles) and took his little brother out to eat without
him then grounded him for a month. She expects to keep him in a room were there
cat uses the bathrrom for a month and to clean up all day. he has thought about
calling the police but it would be his word against hers and he is on probation
so that looks even worse. I am trying to get him help and advice on what to do
but i have nothing so im asking for your advice. If he leaves to get out of the
house she reports him as a runaway and he does jail time but if he stays he is
more her slave than son. My parents said he can stay at my place for a few days
til things with his mom calm down. He doesnt want to go to foster care because
some thing happened last time that affected him but he wont go into detail.
sorry this is so long i just know of no one esle to ask for help. thank you.

Dear Mickey

Thank you for reaching out to us. It takes a lot of courage to
ask for help, and it must be stressful for you to see your boyfriend going
through this hard time. I can see that you really care about him and want to
support him in any way you can. At YouthLine, we have the ability to help you
file an abuse report claim, but we would have to speak to your boyfriend over
the phone first. The Youthline number is 1-877-968-8491, and we are available at
any time. Does your boyfriend have a case worker or a probation officer? He
could file a report with either of those people and it might make it easier
because they already know him. Running away from home probably is not a good
idea because he is on probation, and unfortunately it might not be a good idea
for him to hide out at your parent’s house either because of legal problems that
it could open your family up to. It seems totally understandable for your
boyfriend to have bad feelings towards foster care if he had a bad experience in
the past, but I would imagine that his case worker would have a good idea of
what might be the best situation for him.

The other side of the issue is his mother’s possible relapse.
If you believe that his mom is struggling with meth use again then a good option
could be to call the YouthLine, and together we can try to find possible and
affordable treatment options for her in your area. If your boyfriend does not
want to move out, then perhaps the best thing to do is ensure that his home
situation is a safe one.

I hope that this is helpful for you and your boyfriend. As we
said before our number is 1-877-968-8491 and we also have live
chat available at www.theyouthline.org, so if you would like to discuss your
situation with us a little bit more we are always available. Keep in mind our
phone line and chat are completely confidential, and we would be more than happy
to continue to help.

Best,

YouthLine

Great website for teen girls!

Posted May 25, 2011

Check out this website to find a ton of information on many issues that you could be facing as you grow up. This site targets girls between the ages of 10 to 16, but contains information that could be useful for girls of any age! Some of the information you will find on this site is information on changes that could be happening with your body and questions you may have, information on fitness and nutrition, illness and disability, drugs and alcohol, relationships, bullying, healthy ways to handle stress and anxiety, and much much more! Does anyone have any healthy coping mechanisms that you have found to work well when under a lot of stress? (such as reading a book or going for a walk) Please share! =)

Bullying/Cutting

Posted April 14, 2011

Dear youthline,

-I’ve been feeling so depressed lately. I have no social life at all. My parents are just making it worst by yelling at me. To top it I’m stressed out about maybe getting into a fight I’ll never win and then getting introuble with my parents. I just don’t know what to do. What should I do about this?

-I’ve been dealing with a lot of stuff. Recently I started cutting myself. I was under a lot of stress and I wanted to know if it actully worked. I considered drugs but I didnt feel that I had a lot of openings to drugs so i went to cutting. Now, everytime I feel uncomfortable I go into a bathroom and use something sharp and start cutting. I told one of my best-friends about it and she told me to stop. But I doubt she has any idea of what I’m going through or feeling. So why should I take her advice? What do I do at this point?

Dear Victoria,

I am sorry to hear that you have been struggling lately, but am very glad that you reached out to the YouthLine. We would love to talk to you on the phone any day at any time to better help you and talk with you about the hard times you are going through. Please feel free to call whenever you would like. Teens are available to answer the phone Mondays-Thursday from 4-9 pm. The number is 1-877-968-8491.

Your safety comes first and is very important, so if you are still having concerns about becoming involved in a fight, I ecourage you to confide in a trusted teacher at school or a counselor. Have you considered talking to your parents about this fight that you are worried about, or anything else going on in your life right now that is making you feel depressed? If you are uncomfortable discussing these things with your parents, I would again encourage that you do talk with someone. As long as the person is someone you tust, it can be a great relief to have someone to confide in and listen to you.

With how hard things have been in your life lately, you show great strength in making the choice to not do drugs. By making this decision, it sounds like you do care about and respect your body and health, but are just having trouble relieving the stress and depression in a healthy and effective way. Although your friend may not be going through the same thing as you, it sounds like she is very concerned for your safety and only wants the best for you. Have you tried opening up to your friend about what is going on so that she can understand the stress and emotions you are experiencing? We are concerned for your safety, so if you ever have thoughts of suicide please call the YouthLine and know that there are people who care about you!

1-877-968-8491

We wish you the best Victoria,

-YouthLine