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Ecstasy Use Increases Among American Youth

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

According to the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), illicit drug use remained fairly steady for youth ages 12 to 17 in America, with the exception of hallucinogens such as ecstasy.

While statistically it was a minor ecstasy increase, the rise from 2007 to 2008 came after a holding pattern that had followed a sharp decline over the past several years. About 900,000 people over the age of 12 used ecstasy for the first time in 2008, the highest level since 2002.

In 2003, the National Center for Education Statistics wrote that 29 percent of all students in grades 9-12 reported that someone had offered, sold, or given them an illegal drug on school property in the past year.

Narconon® fully recognizes that the availability of drugs at schools continues to be a growing problem. Recently a concerned grandfather wrote to Narconon International regarding drugs at his granddaughter’s school saying, “Because of the seriousness of this problem, I wrote to the governor…explaining the problem and asking for his help. When that letter fell silent with no response or reply, I then knew the problem of ‘NO ONE CARES’ had reached the highest levels.

“Can you help? Can you provide some direction or assistance in stopping the constant daily influence of illegal drugs and substances at public schools on kids that elect to get a good education and remain drug free?”

Yes, Narconon can and is helping. To help combat student use of ecstasy and other drugs, the Narconon drug prevention program offers educational videos for classrooms as well as proven effective live presentations. Narconon drug education presenters reach more than half a million kids around the world face-to-face, live, each year and the videos are used in approximately 7,000 schools throughout the United States.

The full eight-module Narconon drug education curriculum was studied and the results published in the peer-reviewed journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy in 2008. According to the study, youth who received the Narconon drug education curriculum showed reduced drug use compared with controls across all drug categories tested at the six-month follow-up period. The program also produced changes in knowledge, attitudes and perception of risk.

For more information about Narconon drug education and prevention visit www.narconon.org today or call 323-962-2404.

More news and Narconon info:
New club drug article: mephedrone drug

Tags: drug education, Drug Prevention, drug use, ecstasy, narconon
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Narconon International drug education seminar for beleaguered Mexico City parents

Thursday, February 18th, 2010

Narconon International president Clark Carr gave a three and a half hour drug education seminar to 100 parents and college age youth in Mexico City on February 10th, offering key data to explain why youth turn to drugs and also how to combat this perennial risk to youthful wellbeing. A recent national Mexican study of alcohol and other drug use indicated that alcohol is the worst problem, that 27,000,000 Mexicans between 12 and 65 drink, a quarter of those drinking heavily. Marijuana follows as the other gateway drug with abuse of pharmaceuticals from the house and internet also growing alarmingly, paralleling U.S. drug use.

Some parents said that there has been an increase in bullying and other youthful violence mirroring the increase in binge drinking by Mexico City youth.

But the explosion of youthful use of the internet is probably what is driving up the sale and use of pharmaceuticals, just as it is in the U.S. Carr told the parents that before they are going to talk to their children about drugs, they have to be willing to be honest about their own use, not just of the medicine cabinet but of alcohol.

There was lots of back and forth on how to recognize symptoms and the toxic effects of drugs, with the greater concentration on how talk to young people about drugs.

“More important than knowing about each separate drug,” Carr said, “is to know that drugs, including alcohol, are basically toxic and that it’s really the quantity of a drug used that creates its different effects.” Alcohol in moderation is a stimulant, and this is its popular, desirable effect. But the same alcohol used in excess begins to sedate, slow the person down both physically and mentally, and finally too much, too fast can put one into an alcohol coma or kill him. The conversation turned quite lively over whether or not “cerveza” (beer) is toxic. “It’s not that one beer is toxic,” said Carr, “but how much beer, how fast, for how long. Ethyl alcohol is toxic, yes. But the liver can detoxify alcohol when consumed in moderation.

The parents asked Narconon International for further training and drug education sessions in the future. For further information on Narconon drug education visit www.narconon.org.

Tags: alcohol, drug education, drug use, drugs, mexico, narconon, pharmaceutical
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High Youth Drug Use Statistics Emphasize the Necessity for Effective Drug Education

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

The latest report on teen drug use has just been released. It provides clear evidence that more kids need to be reached with effective drug education. The University of Michigan carries out yearly an updated “Monitoring the Future” survey of 50,.000 middle and high school youth nationwide and then prints a report on drug use by America’s young people. The behavior and attitudes represented in this survey provide advance notice of adult drug use and addiction a few years down the road. Changes in trends over the years also let us know if we are doing better or worse in getting the message of drugs’ dangers to our children.

In the latest report, released in December 2009, overall drug use statistics have risen slightly, largely because of a rise in marijuana use. Perhaps more dangerous, due to their rapid addictiveness is the stably high rate of prescription drug abuse among students in their senior year of high school.

The rate of “Narcotic Use, other than Heroin” has more than doubled since 1992. Out of every hundred students, thirteen of them have abused a drug such as OxyContin, Vicodin, Lortab or methadone. These drugs are renowned for their ability to send people into drug rehabilitation facilities for treatment. Concerning Vicodin, 8th, 9th and 10th graders stated that their use rates were three percent, eight percent and ten percent respectively. OxyContin use did not increase in the last year, but remains at five percent of 12th graders.

Other prescription drugs being abused far too often are amphetamines, sedatives and tranquilizers. Trends within each category of drug also shifted, with Adderall, the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Drug, starting to replace Ritalin as a drug of abuse.

What is really startling is that it doesn’t take a drug dealer for most of these kids to get the prescription drugs they are abusing. Better than half the children got the drug for free from a friend or relative. Another third bought it from the friend or relative. About 20 percent took it without asking, mostly from relatives. That means when they go to Aunt Jane’s house and use the bathroom, they might be looking for a few pills they can lift without being obvious, or they might check the purse or the bedside table when no one is looking.

An essential component in the fight to save our children from drugs is effective drug education. The Narconon drug prevention curriculum is being used around the world to educate young people so they understand for themselves why they should say “No.” Avoiding unworkable scare tactics and applying effective education that consults student understanding concering the lasting damage done by drugs, Narconon drug educators have reached more than three million school children with their message.

One way Narconon drug education effectiveness is monitored is by surveying student ‘change in opinion about using drugs’ and also checking for lowered drug use after receiving the curriculum. Consistently, our surveys have demonstrated our approach produces results. Drug use falls. Students tell us they have thrown away drugs or told other students to stop using them. There is also a peer-reviewed formal study of the Narconon high school drug education curriculum published online (www.substanceabusepolicy.com/content/3/1/8).

Informing the minds of our youth so they can reason more clearly on the subject of alcohol and other drugs is a vitally important way to curtail addiction down the road. Children who never start abusing drugs will never become addicts in need of drug recovery.

Tags: drug education, drug use, drugs, narconon
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Who’s a drug addict?

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

Drug addicts are sometimes thought to be unemployed, poor and from the inner city and an addict only if they need to use drugs everyday or if they have withdrawal symptoms from quitting drugs.

Misconceptions like these can lead more people into trying and using drugs or people assuming that there is no way their loved one can be an addict.

The real deal is that there are a lot of drug addicts who appear to be functioning normal and are employed and may not use drugs everyday and so they don’t experience physical withdrawal when they stop using drugs.

If you look around, you can spot the obvious drug addicts in the streets, but if you look even closer in the work place, homes and schools you can probably spot drug addicts here and there if you know the signs and symptoms of drug use.

Below are a few signs of drug use, but shouldn’t always be assumed that someone is using drugs because of these symptoms, but can be further looked into to make the decision. Once you’re sure the person is using drugs, you can make the right approach to help them get off drugs. If you still don’t know if the person is using drugs, but have a feeling, then you should ask them out of love and they may tell you. If the answer is no, then you may want to see if there are some other problems that need to be addressed which lead you to think that they’re using drugs.

Some Signs and Symptoms of Drug Use

Cannot look at you comfortably in the eyes when speaking, being spoken to or approached. This can be a sign of shyness or lack of communication skills
Not dependable. Late to work/school all the time with no progress in showing up on time.
“Not caring” attitude, sad or grumpy. A person could just be like this, but it can also be a hint that there is a prolonged drug use problem.
Doesn’t listen well and has a short attention span. People can have this problem. Kids can be going through a growing phase. You can observe though to determine if there is drug use involved.

There are other signs and symptoms of drug use and they can even be narrowed down to determine which drug is being used. There is a little booklet called Drug Facts that covers these signs and symptoms for alcohol, marijuana, heroin, crack and cocaine, lsd, pcp, crystal meth, oxycontin, inhalants, steroids and ecstasy and it even covers some of the drugs nicknames. It’s packed with useful information and is very inexpensive.

The important thing here is to be alert and aware of sudden changes in behavior patterns and to get that person some help to get off drugs. Drugs can lead to prison or death and a lot of unnecessary heartache.

If you want to get someone off drugs, there is the First Step Program book which has proven itself to be effective in helping people withdrawal from drugs and even alcohol.

Lets hope that you don’t need to withdrawal anyone from drugs. If you don’t need to withdrawal anyone from drugs, then you should look at how to prevent drug use so that you won’t ever have to go through the tragedies that drug use can bring about on a family. There are successful ways to prevent drug use and would be worth looking into.

Drug prevention starts with drug education, so the key is to educate the dangers of drug use and to expose the false information about drugs that society is working hard to promote. Drug education videos are an easy way to educate kids and others about the dangers of drug use.

Give it a try. You have nothing to loose and a chance to prevent drug use and help the world become that much more drug-free!

The only way we’ll achieve a drug-free world is to help get the ones that are on drugs off and to educate others about drugs so that they’ll never use drugs.

Drug addicts need someone to reach out and help them get off drugs and kids need people to give them the truth about drugs to help prevent them from trying drugs.

That means it’s up to the people who care and who can do something about it!

More drug information

Tags: drug addict, drug use, signs and symptoms, withdrawal
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