Meth Facts for Teens

Posted on April 24, 2009 by admin

Methamphetamine affects your brain in many ways. In the short term, meth causes emotional changes such as anxiety, euphoria, and depression. Long-term effects include chronic fatigue, paranoid or delusional thinking, and permanent psychological damage.

Methamphetamine affects your body by creating a false sense of energy. The drug pushes the body faster and further than it’s meant to go and increases heart rate, blood pressure, and risk of stroke.
Methamphetamine affects your self-control. Meth is a powerfully addictive drug that can cause aggression and violent or psychotic behavior. An overdose of meth can result in heart failure. Long-term physical effects such as liver, kidney, and lung damage can also kill you.

Methamphetamine is illegal in all states and highly dangerous; get the facts. For example, the toxic nature of the chemicals used to produce meth can cause fires, produce toxic vapors, and damage the environment. Another fact is that in 2001, meth use sent more people to the emergency room than use of any other club drug. Over half of these cases involved meth in combination with another drug, such as alcohol, heroin, or cocaine.

There are a lot of risks associated with using methamphetamine, including irreversible damage to blood vessels in the brain and the risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS for Meth users who inject the drug and share needles.

How can you tell if a friend is using meth? It may not be easy to tell. But there are signs you can look for. Symptoms of methamphetamine use may include:
Inability to sleep
Nervous physical activity, like scratching
Irritability, dizziness, or confusion
Tremors or even convulsions
Inhaling paraphernalia, such as razor blades, mirrors, and straws
Injecting paraphernalia, such as syringes, heated spoons, or surgical tubing

Other street names for methamphetamine, include: Crystal, Crank, Tweak, Go-fast, Glass, Black Beauties

Word about Dangerous, Still-Legal Drug Spreading to Youths via Net

Posted on April 23, 2009 by admin

For many including myself, the name Salvia means nothing. However, an article recently published at WCCO.com, a Minnesota-based news source, is educating people on the harmful affects of the still-legal herb and the dangers of its glorification spreading like wild fire these days on Youtube.

It turns out that the potent-hallucinogenic herb, Salvia divinorum, is still not illegal in Minnesota, and the article called on parents to be cautious of its existence because so many videos are spreading around the net about its status. The article went on to share the opinion of drug experts in the state that feel Salvia divinorum should be made illegal.

To date, only a dozen or so states have totally outlawed Salvia including, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Virginia. These states categorize the status of the drug as a schedule I substance, the most dangerous ranking, while the US government has yet to put it on a schedule.

Still, there is much debate over the severity of Salvia divinorum. In poll taken by the Miami Herald in March of 2008, when the question was posed: “Should Florida lawmakers place restrictions on salvia?,” of 670 respondents 79% were opposed, while only 21% favored regulation.

Nonetheless, studies have shown that when considered by mass alone, the herbs active chemical, Salvinorin A, is the most potent naturally occurring psychoactive compound known. The proof is in the more than 4,000 Youtube videos that show people taking one single puff and seconds later losing all control of motor skills.

At this point, I would advocate for the restriction of Salvia divinorum. The reality of the situation is that the drug’s use is spreading rampantly, and even more dangerously, to youths. Finally, more research must be done to take Salvia divinorum serious and find out its full extent: addictiveness, health risks, potential effects on the community, etc.

New Trend: Recovery High Schools and Sobriety High Schools

Posted on April 21, 2009 by admin

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), more than a quarter of a million youths in the US are admitted to rehab treatment centers annually. To put it in other terms, that’s 1 out of every 70 youths (Middle school to High school aged). Thankfully, some US organizations, like the Association of Recovery Schools, have taken progressive action to curb youth addiction and substance abuse. Currently, there are more than 20 “Recovery High Schools” across nine US states. But what exactly is a Recovery High school?

Most of these innovative High schools are usually funded by a mix of support from statewide Department’s of Public Health and local school districts. Their aim is to provide students more intimate drug-free environments (smaller class sizes, typically, 50 students), where they can focus on their studies. In addition, the majority offer group sessions, 12 step programs as part of the curriculum, as well as random, weekly urine tests. Upon completion, students are awarded a state-certified diploma authenticating their accomplishment of the program.

Although some of the schools that form the Recovery High schools, haven’t been around very long, others like Sobriety High first opened 1987 outside Minneapolis. Since the first Sobriety High school’s opening, three more of its kind have sprouted in the surrounding area. For a nationwide index of currently active Recovery High schools, click this link: http://www.recoveryschools.org/schools_highschool.html

Included on the list is Northshore Recovery High School, which has been around three years and was recently featured in CNN’s new documentary, Addiction – Life on the Edge. One student interviewed by host Sanjay Gupta, Lucy Gross, said that Northshore Recovery High School, “helps me so much,” adding, “I can’t imagine staying clean without it.”

Study of Seattle’s Public Treatment Clinics Show More Must be Done

Posted on April 20, 2009 by admin

The University of Washington recently published a study in the mental health journal, Psychiatric Services, to determine the efficiency of Seattle’s mental health services and whether the majority of addicts or people with psychiatric disorders seeking treatment were deterred based on social stigmas.

The study was conducted in conjunction with the Center for Healthcare Improvement for Addictions, Mental Illness and Medically Vulnerable Populations, or CHAMMP. CHAMMP and the University of Washington’s psychology Department, the Harborview Medical Center, worked together to interview the staff of fifteen local community health care clinics. The interviews were 90 minutes long and asked staff members to relate their personal experiences of addicts and mentally ill individuals’ treatment at the clinics.

The results of the study showed that current approaches to psychotherapy and addiction recovery treatments in Seattle needed to embrace more positive practices and had to be more readily available throughout the community, especially when it came to the handling of individuals with disadvantaged status who sought treatment.

Based on the findings, the researches suggested that many Seattle residents living with mental health disorders and chemical dependence issues were reluctant to seek professional help due to the lack of available services, and even more so, in impoverished portions of the city. As it stands, the problems of low funding for clinics, poor organization and a more beneficial attitude toward the person seeking treatment must be improved to ensure better results.

Methadone Tax creating mixed opinions in WV drug rehabilitation community

Posted on March 31, 2009 by admin

A newly proposed tax bill in West Virginia that would tax a dollar to treatment centers for every dose of methadone distributed to recovering addicts is being met with mixed emotions by the drug rehabilitation community for various reasons. Recovering addicts are skeptical about the newly proposed bill because they feel that the tax will be passed on to them by the treatment centers. Additionally, recovering addicts are arguing that the bill is discriminating against them because it does not tax non-addicts who are taking methadone for pain treatment.

On the other hand, the bill is designed to collect 1.5 million dollars to be used mainly for heroine prevention programs state wide and general drug intervention and recovery programs for addicts. The legislators who created the bill argue that there are plenty of methadone treatment clinics for recovering addicts but not enough long-term, in-patient recovery programs. This is much due to funding issues in the state’s budget.

As of now, there are seven major methadone clinics in West Virginia that are owned by the CRC Health Group, a California-based company. The CRC owned clinics have also met the bill with opposition, arguing that they spend millions of dollars a year for community prevention and recovery programs and that the tax would only affect them negatively. Nonetheless, state-law-makers argue that there just isn’t enough aid available to recovering addicts and more must be done to try and solve the state’s epidemic of opiate addictions.