Our family lives on a picturesque island off the coast of Maine. Yet, painkillers prescribed by physicians resulting in opioid addiction and the ready availability of heroin have damaged the lives of many families in our extended social network – children of our friends, friends of our friends, work colleagues of our friends, families of our children’s friends, and acquaintances in our community.
Topics: Substance Abuse
Imagine an 18-year-old former high-school football star, now a shell of his previous self. His decline started when a knee injury left him in a lot of pain. No one knew it, but he became addicted to the pills that were prescribed by his doctor to help him recover. He says he later started using heroin because it is cheaper and easier to get on his college campus than painkillers.
Or consider the young teen who was suspended from school because she was found "under the influence of something." Later, her parents found out their daughter bought pills from one of her classmates who took the pills from his mother’s medicine cabinet.
Topics: Substance Abuse
There has been some good news and statistics in the juvenile-justice world recently. One is that juvenile-drug arrests fell to about 52% since 2010. However, examining this data more closely finds something disturbing: girls now account for a larger percentage of drug charges, ranging from simple possession to manufacturing and sales, than their male counterparts. Also worrisome is, writes Jeffrey A. Butts of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in a recent brief, “the growing proportion of females among juvenile drug arrests was seen among arrests for drug manufacturing and sales as well as arrests for simple drug possession.”
Topics: Substance Abuse
Grace is a 15-year-old who was referred to Multisystemic Therapy (MST) after her truancy led to a Family With Service Needs (FWSN) petition. An FWSN petition allows the state of Connecticut to address the needs of children younger than 16 who have committed what’s considered unlawful behavior. MST was the program of choice because of its proven effectiveness with teen drug abuse and delinquent youth.
Topics: Substance Abuse
Do you know what the “Put ’Em in a Coffin” challenge is? Ever heard of flakka? Chances are the teens in your life know about these and more or are about to find out. While parents, caregivers, therapists, and school staff catch up on each other’s milestones on Facebook, the current social media and drug trends are passing by well-intentioned adults. In the meantime, our youth are at risk.
Topics: Substance Abuse
Teenagers. Even ones who don’t get into trouble can raise their parents’ blood pressure to the level of an ER visit. But what about the ones who are skirting the line, maybe taking illegal drugs, in danger of getting in trouble with the law? What's a parent to do?
For those who think their children are abusing drugs, there is the option of readily available in-home drug screens. They have become much less expensive in recent years. A marijuana screen may cost as little as $1. There is a lot of controversy over resorting to drug screening. But having worked for nearly 11 years in Multisystemic Therapy (MST), I see drug tests as a huge parenting “win.” Knowledge is power. If you believe there is a problem, you can act.
Topics: Substance Abuse
It used to be when you talked about illegal drug use in the United Kingdom, you were talking about weed, cannabis, hashish, coke, snow, whiz, amphetamines, speed, and heroin. The risk, dangers, and effects of these substances were widely known.
However, in recent years, we are seeing the increased use of what is called “legal highs.” It is not against the law to buy these substances in head shops or at festivals. They are often sold as “not for human consumption,” which means they are not yet controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Research is ongoing, and decisions are being made on whether they should be made illegal with some already classified A, B, based on their potential harm.
Topics: Substance Abuse
