NC ABC Preparing Campaign Against Underage Drinking
According to an ABC survey, up to 40 percent of children in North Carolina have consumed alcohol before they get to the ninth grade. ABC Chairman Jim Gardner says part of the motivation behind the campaign is another, more stark, statistic. “I was staggered when I heard the figure that we lose a child per week,” Gardner said in an interview. “And I have to always stop and think: per week, not per month, in North Carolina, to underage drinking accidents.” Gardner says he expects the campaign to last several years. It will seek to motivate parents to speak with…
Consequences of Teen Alcohol, Marijuana Use Studied
Now a new study asked high school seniors to indicate whether they experienced various adverse psychosocial outcomes resulting from use of each substance. The most alarming finding was that alcohol use was highly associated with unsafe driving, especially among frequent drinkers,” said Dr. Palamar, , PhD, MPH, a CDUHR affiliated researcher and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC). “Compared to non-drinkers, frequent drinkers were over 13 times more likely to report that their alcohol use has led to unsafe driving. Marijuana users, compared to non-users, were three times more likely to report unsafe driving as…
Cannabis Withdrawal Symptoms in Teens
Although cannabis — commonly known as marijuana — is broadly believed to be nonaddictive, a study has found that 40% of cannabis-using adolescents receiving outpatient treatment for substance use disorder reported experiencing symptoms of withdrawal, which are considered a hallmark of drug dependence. The current study enrolled 127 adolescents between ages 14 and 19 being treated at an outpatient substance use disorder clinic, 90 of whom indicated that cannabis was the substance they used most frequently. The commonly reported cannabis withdrawal symptoms reported were: anxiety, irritability, depression and difficulty sleeping. Of the 90 cannabis-using participants, 84% met criteria for cannabis…
Greenville Considers Alcohol Policy in Parks
With the exception of the Bradford Creek golf course, alcohol is prohibited at parks across Greenville, NC. A potential policy change, brought up at the City Council’s August meeting, would allow people to sell and drink alcohol in designated locations. And only for specific events. So far the Greenville City Council unanimously approved postponing a decision on whether to allow alcohol in five parks. The councilmembers wanted to give people enough time to better understand the proposal which allows alcohol under heavy restrictions at Town Common, River North Nature Center, Magnolia Arts Center, the area of Eppes Recreation Center leased…
‘Big Marijuana’ is like ‘Big Tobacco’
The National Conference on Addiction Disorders (August 25, 2014) was a natural venue for a forthright discussion about the impact of marijuana use in the two states that have legalized it (Colorado and Washington). Legalization, which was the result of a sophisticated strategy by companies with deep pockets, has taken the form of normalization of marijuana use. ‘Big Marijuana’ is like ‘Big Tobacco.’ They’re using the same strategies and tools that have been seen in activities by Big Tobacco. “The strategy,” says Andrea Grubb Barthwell, Medical Director, Encounter Medical Group, Director of the Two Dreams Facilities, Chicago, “is to normalize…
Burlington Working on Prescription Drugs Abuse
As prescription drug abuse continues to grow in North Carolina and across the country, one local police department is opening permanent drop boxes to help people get rid of unwanted medicine. Jennifer Kaffenberger has made it her mission to educate people about the dangers of taking other peoples’ medicine. In 2011, her son, Harry Cohen, was the star quarterback at Burlington’s Williams High School. Cohen accidentally overdosed and died after taking his grandmother’s methadone pain medication. “When people think of overdose, they think ‘Oh, he took the whole bottle’ or ‘He took it because he wanted to get high,’” Kaffenberger…
Chapel Hill Bars Working to Improve Alcohol Law Compliance
The North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, a branch of the State Bureau of Investigation, will hold a Be A Responsible Seller, or BARS, training event for local Alcoholic Beverage Control-licensed businesses August 28th, 2014. The event will be hosted by the Chapel Hill Police Department. The program is free for ABC-licensed businesses. Law enforcement officers will educate bar staff on alcohol regulations. The Chapel Hill class typically focuses on dealing with fake identifications, selling to already intoxicated customers, general laws and regulations and the sale of alcohol to underage bargoers. Click HERE for more information on this story. …
DEA Placement of Tramadol Into Schedule IV
Tramadol is an opioid analgesic and is most commonly abused by those addicted to narcotics, chronic pain patients, and health professionals. Tramadol was approved for marketing in the United States as a noncontrolled analgesic in 1995 under the trade name of Ultram®. Until recently, it had remained an uncontrolled substance. Starting August 18, 2014, tramadol is now a schedule IV controlled substance, and will be regulated as such moving forward. Supporters of this ruling have been concerned about the abuse potential and have referred to tramadol as a ” ‘loop hole’ drug which is addictive, abused and diverted, but which…
CADCA Launches Prevent Rx Abuse Online Toolkit
CADCA’s Online Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit contains facts, strategies and tools to prevent and reduce teen Rx medicine abuse in your community. This newly revised toolkit is based on CADCA’s Seven Strategies for Effective Community Change. Incorporating these strategies will help you formulate, modify and implement your prevention and intervention strategies. Click on the image to check it out!
NC Communities Discussing Rx Drug Abuse
Representatives from the Lee County Department of Social Services, Central Carolina Hospital and Emergency Medical Services, a number of treatment and medical centers and various faith and community organizations came together to discuss the problems of overdose and prescription pill abuse facing Lee County. This meeting included a presentation about the different populations affected by prescription drug abuse and overdose and stressed that a combined effort across all spheres of a community was necessary to prevent accidental overdose death. Click HERE for more information.