KSFY (Sioux Falls, SD) June 29:
"Coricidin is a brand of cough syrup that helps suppress the common cold. If taken correctly it calms a cough. 'When abused it has a similar effect to alcohol, it tends to cause loss of motor skills and ability to perceive the world around them,' says Brad Patterson who is a drug counselor at Keystone Treatment Centers. He says many cough syrup abusers experience nausea. 'They have to take large quantities to get the effect, a by-product is initially getting sick.' Patterson says new research shows 10 % of high school students are getting high from cough syrup because it's a legal drug. In fact cough syrup falls right behind marijuana and alcohol regarding the drugs most teens abuse. 'The reality is it's only legal when taken as prescribed, if it's abused it can be very dangerous and cause negative effects,' says Patterson..."
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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Student billboard designs on display in Times Square
Market Watch (New York, NY) June 29:
"Six students from New York City's High School of Art and Design are being given an opportunity that many designers only dream of -- their designs will be featured on Clear Channel's 'Spectacolor HD' digital billboard in Times Square. The billboards were created as part of Create! Don't Hate., a Design Ignites Change mentoring initiative. Professional designers from the New York chapter of AIGA mentored students from the High School of Art and Design to create billboard designs addressing the theme of tolerance. The final student designs address a wide variety of issues such as gay rights, racism and body image. Over the course of two months, the mentors led students through the design process -- from brainstorming and sketching to producing the final designs on the computer. Twenty-two students participated, with six of the designs ultimately chosen for display in Times Square on prime advertising space donated by Clear Channel Spectacolor. "
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"Six students from New York City's High School of Art and Design are being given an opportunity that many designers only dream of -- their designs will be featured on Clear Channel's 'Spectacolor HD' digital billboard in Times Square. The billboards were created as part of Create! Don't Hate., a Design Ignites Change mentoring initiative. Professional designers from the New York chapter of AIGA mentored students from the High School of Art and Design to create billboard designs addressing the theme of tolerance. The final student designs address a wide variety of issues such as gay rights, racism and body image. Over the course of two months, the mentors led students through the design process -- from brainstorming and sketching to producing the final designs on the computer. Twenty-two students participated, with six of the designs ultimately chosen for display in Times Square on prime advertising space donated by Clear Channel Spectacolor. "
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Study: More teen girls getting high to cope at home
The New Britain Herald (New Britain, CT) June 29:
"New survey data released today not only shows increases in alcohol and drug consumption among teenagers, notably girls, but provides information as to why they drink and do drugs. The results, a press release said, heavily suggest that teenagers - specifically teen girls - are drinking and getting high to deal with problems at home, academic pressure and general stress. According to a new research analysis of the 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) from the Partnership for a Drug Free America sponsored by MetLife Foundation, teen girls are more likely to associate 'self-medicating' benefits with drinking and getting high. More than two-thirds of teen girls responded positively to the question 'using drugs helps kids deal with problems at home' (an 11 percent increase, up from 61 percent in 2008 to 68 percent in 2009) and more than half reported that drugs help teens forget their troubles (a 10 percent increase, up from 48 percent in 2008 to 53 percent in 2009). Stress has been identified as a key factor leading to drinking, smoking and drug use among girls, and more than three times as many young girls as boys reported having symptoms of depression in 2008. 'Parents of teen girls have to be especially attentive to their daughters' moods and mental health needs, which can have a direct effect on their decisions regarding getting high and drinking,' said Jill K. Spineti, President and CEO of The Governor's Prevention Partnership... 'Parents can help prevent alcohol and drug abuse by recognizing and addressing their daughters' worries and stresses, by supporting their positive decisions and by taking immediate action if they suspect or know they have been experimenting with drugs and alcohol."
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"New survey data released today not only shows increases in alcohol and drug consumption among teenagers, notably girls, but provides information as to why they drink and do drugs. The results, a press release said, heavily suggest that teenagers - specifically teen girls - are drinking and getting high to deal with problems at home, academic pressure and general stress. According to a new research analysis of the 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) from the Partnership for a Drug Free America sponsored by MetLife Foundation, teen girls are more likely to associate 'self-medicating' benefits with drinking and getting high. More than two-thirds of teen girls responded positively to the question 'using drugs helps kids deal with problems at home' (an 11 percent increase, up from 61 percent in 2008 to 68 percent in 2009) and more than half reported that drugs help teens forget their troubles (a 10 percent increase, up from 48 percent in 2008 to 53 percent in 2009). Stress has been identified as a key factor leading to drinking, smoking and drug use among girls, and more than three times as many young girls as boys reported having symptoms of depression in 2008. 'Parents of teen girls have to be especially attentive to their daughters' moods and mental health needs, which can have a direct effect on their decisions regarding getting high and drinking,' said Jill K. Spineti, President and CEO of The Governor's Prevention Partnership... 'Parents can help prevent alcohol and drug abuse by recognizing and addressing their daughters' worries and stresses, by supporting their positive decisions and by taking immediate action if they suspect or know they have been experimenting with drugs and alcohol."
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Monday, June 28, 2010
Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray
The New York Times (New York, NY) June 27:
"Schools these days are confronted with complex questions on whether and how to deal with cyberbullying, an imprecise label for online activities ranging from barrages of teasing texts to sexually harassing group sites. The extent of the phenomenon is hard to quantify. But one 2010 study by the Cyberbullying Research Center, an organization founded by two criminologists who defined bullying as "willful and repeated harm” inflicted through phones and computers, said one in five middle-school students had been affected. Affronted by cyberspace’s escalation of adolescent viciousness, many parents are looking to schools for justice, protection, even revenge. But many educators feel unprepared or unwilling to be prosecutors and judges. Often, school district discipline codes say little about educators’ authority over student cellphones, home computers and off-campus speech. Reluctant to assert an authority they are not sure they have, educators can appear indifferent to parents frantic with worry, alarmed by recent adolescent suicides linked to bullying..."
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"Schools these days are confronted with complex questions on whether and how to deal with cyberbullying, an imprecise label for online activities ranging from barrages of teasing texts to sexually harassing group sites. The extent of the phenomenon is hard to quantify. But one 2010 study by the Cyberbullying Research Center, an organization founded by two criminologists who defined bullying as "willful and repeated harm” inflicted through phones and computers, said one in five middle-school students had been affected. Affronted by cyberspace’s escalation of adolescent viciousness, many parents are looking to schools for justice, protection, even revenge. But many educators feel unprepared or unwilling to be prosecutors and judges. Often, school district discipline codes say little about educators’ authority over student cellphones, home computers and off-campus speech. Reluctant to assert an authority they are not sure they have, educators can appear indifferent to parents frantic with worry, alarmed by recent adolescent suicides linked to bullying..."
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Chicago leads in heroin-related ER visits: A growing teen epidemic
The Examiner (New York, NY) June 28:
"Chicago leads the nation with heroin-related emergency room visits, just one of several troubling indicators of the growing heroin crisis in the Chicago metropolitan area since the late 90's. In a report released on Monday, researchers from Roosevelt University cited the escalating amount of overdose death in the collar counties, a significant proportion of Cook County jail inmates testing positive for heroin, and the trending amount of users that inject the drug. The new users of heroin: affluent suburban teens and young adults who snort or sniff the highly addictive drug. Once stigmatized because of its junkie connotation, many believe it has proliferated because it no longer needs to be injected. Users eventually may turn to injection as their tolerance level increases their need. Heroin is easily obtained in the Chicago area and is trafficked through gangs using open air drug markets. Suburban kids with access to cars and cash frequent gang-controlled trafficking areas on the West side of Chicago, where they are welcomed and protected customers..."
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"Chicago leads the nation with heroin-related emergency room visits, just one of several troubling indicators of the growing heroin crisis in the Chicago metropolitan area since the late 90's. In a report released on Monday, researchers from Roosevelt University cited the escalating amount of overdose death in the collar counties, a significant proportion of Cook County jail inmates testing positive for heroin, and the trending amount of users that inject the drug. The new users of heroin: affluent suburban teens and young adults who snort or sniff the highly addictive drug. Once stigmatized because of its junkie connotation, many believe it has proliferated because it no longer needs to be injected. Users eventually may turn to injection as their tolerance level increases their need. Heroin is easily obtained in the Chicago area and is trafficked through gangs using open air drug markets. Suburban kids with access to cars and cash frequent gang-controlled trafficking areas on the West side of Chicago, where they are welcomed and protected customers..."
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Friday, June 25, 2010
Parenting style influences teen drinking patterns, researchers say
Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA) June 24:
"Some parents assume that teenagers will drink alcohol and there is little they can do to prevent it. Research does indicate that parenting has little effect on whether kids decide to try alcohol. But parenting attitudes and actions can make a big difference in how much and how often a teenager drinks. Researchers at Brigham Young University surveyed 5,000 adolescents about their drinking habits and their relationship with their parents. They found the kids least prone to heavy drinking had parents who scored high on accountability (knowing where their kids were and with whom) and warmth. Having so-called 'indulgent' parents, who were low on accountability and high on warmth, nearly tripled the risk of the teen participating in heavy drinking. The study also found that 'strict' parents -- high on accountability and low on warmth -- more than doubled their teen's risk of heavy drinking. These results were apparent even when researchers controlled for other influences, such as peer pressure, religious and economic background..."
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"Some parents assume that teenagers will drink alcohol and there is little they can do to prevent it. Research does indicate that parenting has little effect on whether kids decide to try alcohol. But parenting attitudes and actions can make a big difference in how much and how often a teenager drinks. Researchers at Brigham Young University surveyed 5,000 adolescents about their drinking habits and their relationship with their parents. They found the kids least prone to heavy drinking had parents who scored high on accountability (knowing where their kids were and with whom) and warmth. Having so-called 'indulgent' parents, who were low on accountability and high on warmth, nearly tripled the risk of the teen participating in heavy drinking. The study also found that 'strict' parents -- high on accountability and low on warmth -- more than doubled their teen's risk of heavy drinking. These results were apparent even when researchers controlled for other influences, such as peer pressure, religious and economic background..."
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Governor Signs Tighter Cyber Bullying Law
Ozarks First (Springfield, MO) June 25:
"Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has signed House Bill 1543, which calls for several reforms to public education. One of them will add 'cyberbullying' to all schools' anti-bullying policies. Now students who use texting, social media or other electronic means to harass another student will face disciplinary action. Lawmakers say cyberbullying has been a growing problem for several years, as more students have access to cell phones and the internet."
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"Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has signed House Bill 1543, which calls for several reforms to public education. One of them will add 'cyberbullying' to all schools' anti-bullying policies. Now students who use texting, social media or other electronic means to harass another student will face disciplinary action. Lawmakers say cyberbullying has been a growing problem for several years, as more students have access to cell phones and the internet."
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