Monitoring the Future 2017 Survey Results
<span data-mce-type=”bookmark” style=”display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;” class=”mce_SELRES_start”></span>
Cleveland County’s Law Enforcement Renews Commitment
Local law enforcement is renews it commitment with Cleveland County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition to help prevent underage drinking in the county. On Feb. 28, leaders of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Shelby Police Department, Boiling Springs Police Department and N.C. Highway Patrol, came together to renew their commitment to working to prevent underage drinking in Cleveland County with a signing of a memorandum of understanding in partnership with the coalition. The action plan strategies target two main ways young people often access alcohol according to youth surveys and focus group discussions; adults buying and supplying alcohol for underage…
2015 NC YRBS High School Results Are Available
The 2015 North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results have been released. You can find summary graphs and trends on the North Carolina Healthy Schools website.
Teenage Behavior Influenced by Video Games?
Experts from the UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies at The University of Nottingham have carried out the first ever analysis of best-selling video games to find out the extent to which the games include this content and to assess the link between playing the games and drinking and smoking behavior. They found that teenagers who play video games featuring alcohol and tobacco references appeared to be directly influenced because they were twice as likely to have tried smoking or drinking themselves. Click here for more in this research study
Resource on How to Talk to Teen About Marijuana
Partnership for Drug-Free Kids developed a guide for parents on how to have a difficult, but important conversation about marijuana.
Palcohol Gets the Green Light
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved a new product Wednesday called Palcohol. It’s a dried form of alcohol that can be mixed with water to create liquid alcohol. Concerns over safety have already led several states, including South Carolina, Louisiana and Vermont, to ban powdered alcohol and other states are considering legislation, KPNX-TV in Phoenix reported. Some critics are concerned people may try to snort the powder or mix it with alcohol to make it even stronger or spike a drink. Click HERE for more on this story.
Early Cannabis Use Connected to Adult Memory Problems
Young adults who abused cannabis as teens performed about 18 percent worse on long-term memory tests than young adults who never abused cannabis. “The memory processes that appear to be affected by cannabis are ones that we use every day to solve common problems and to sustain our relationships with friends and family,” said senior author Dr. John Csernansky, the Lizzie Gilman professor and chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The brain abnormalities and memory problems were observed during the individuals’ early twenties, two years after they stopped smoking…
SAMHSA Defends Keeping Drinking Age at 21
An opinion piece in the NY Times argued for the US to “Return the Drinking Age to 18, and Enforce It” SAMHA’s Pamela S. Hyde responded with the reasons why “maintaining the current minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21 is critical to the health and safety of our nation’s individuals, families, and communities: Studies have found that people who begin drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence during their lifetime than are people who begin drinking at age 21. Research has also shown a clear link between age 21 MLDA laws and a…
Prescription Drug Abuse Resource
Protect Your Kids provides helpful information about prescription drug abuse, prevention and intervention.
Skittles, Triple-C, Robotripping and Dex?
An old trend among teens and college students has resurfaced: using cough syrup to get high. In addition to Skittles or Triple-C, teenagers are calling the drug Tussin, Robotripping, and Dex. But essentially, it is simply over-the-counter cough syrup, often mixed with soda or other drugs such as marijuana. Abusers are after the active ingredient in regular over-the-counter cough syrup, dextromethorphan, or DXM. DXM is a dissociative anesthetic, meaning it can cause “out-of-body” side effects that include hallucinations. Taking a high dose of DXM can produce similar effects as the drug PCP. Local drug programs are starting to focus on cough…