this is your brain on drugs

WHAT IS IT?

Ecstasy’s medical name is MDMA (methylenedioxy-methamphetamine). It is a synthetic, mind-altering drug that acts both as a stimulant and a hallucinogenic. Research shows that many Ecstasy tablets contain a number of other drugs that can be dangerous when combined, including methamphetamine, ketamine, cocaine, DXM and the diet drug ephedrine.

THE RISKS

Shortly after taking Ecstasy, you may feel confusion, depression and severe anxiety—but these effects can also show up days or weeks after taking the drug. Like any other stimulant, it will increase your heart rate and blood pressure. Physical effects of Ecstasy include tremors, teeth clenching, muscle cramps, nausea, faintness, chills, sweating and blurred vision.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS

Ecstasy directly affects the brain chemical serotonin, and how your brain cells communicate with each other. Clinical studies show that Ecstasy can be harmful to your brain and can increase the risk of permanent problems with memory and learning.20 Also, taking too much Ecstasy can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate its temperature. This can cause hyperthermia and can lead to liver, kidney and cardiovascular failure.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The word is that Ecstasy lets you get in touch with all your senses. But what you might really “get in touch with” is the sensation of shaking, cramps, nausea, sweating and blurred vision-now, that doesn’t really sound like fun. Also not fun, is the life-long damage Ecstasy can do to your brain.

see www.abovetheinfluence.com

The amount of drugs Vermont State Police say they found on Alex Boulet is substantial. But where they allegedly found the enormous quantity of cocaine, pills and pot makes the story of Boulet’s arrest truly jaw-dropping.

In a press release, Senior Trooper Michael Studin says he found 84 bags of crack cocaine, 218 Oxycodone pills and approximately 11 grams of marijuana hidden inside Boulet’s rectum.

Studin, a resident of Staten Island, N.Y., was pulled over for an unspecified traffic violation on May 4 in Rockingham, Vt.

“During a search of Boulet, I felt a foreign object in the groin area of his pants,” Studin says in the release.

The Smoking Gun reports that troopers then obtained a search warrant to take an X-ray, which allegedly revealed that there were indeed foreign objects inside Boulet.

After that, it was just a matter of making Boulet take a laxative and waiting for the drugs to reveal themselves, according to TSG.

The press release says Studin tried to escape police custody and also used his cousin’s name and driver’s license when questioned by police.

He’s being held on $50,000 bail.

see www.huffingtonpost.com

Historically speaking, the biggest single cause of drug epidemics among US children has been anti-drug campaigns.

The first example was the huge teen drinking epidemic during alcohol prohibition. Prohibition was passed with a campaign of “Save the Children from Alcohol”. Within five years, teen admissions to hospitals for alcohol problems had skyrocketed. Schools had to cancel dances because so many kids would show up with hip flasks full of whiskey. Children became involved in the bootlegging trade. The average age at which people started drinking dropped dramatically. Some early supporters of prohibition turned against it because they said that prohibition made it easier than ever for their children to get alcohol. Alcohol prohibition was repealed with a campaign of “Save the Children From Prohibition.”

Another example was the rise of glue sniffing (inhalant abuse). Glue sniffing was essentially unknown as a recreational activity in the US until 1959. Then, by 1960, kids were being arrested by the thousands for sniffing glue — even though there were no laws against sniffing glue. What happened in 1959? A series of dire-sounding media stories inspired US children who heard the message of danger as a lure to try it.

Likewise, the speed epidemic and the rise of LSD use in the 1960s were both preceded by major publicity campaigns about the dangers of these drugs. As one major study of the subject concluded, “the warning (against drugs) functions as a lure”.

The first drug education class I attended in school was a perfect example. We heard an hour about the horrors of drugs, really terrible stuff. As we left the class, a friend turned to me and said, “Wow! If drugs are that bad and people still take them, they must REALLY feel great!”

It struck me at the time that his logic was perfect, but exactly the opposite of what the instructors had intended. He promptly went out looking for illegal drugs, and found them.

A new warning for parents of young drivers: teens are far more likely to die behind the wheel when they have other teens in the car.

That’s the finding of a new study released today by AAA.

The auto club’s report found a 16 or 17 year old driver was 44% more likely to die in a crash, per mile driven, with one passenger under 21 years old in the car. As compared to when they’re driving alone.

The risk of a fatal wreck doubles with two or more passengers under 21, and no older adults present.

And the study found risk of a deadly crash tripled with three or more young passengers in a teen driver’s car.

But if an adult is in the passenger seat, things change, researchers say having at least one person 35 or older in the car cuts a teen driver’s rish of death by more than 60%!

Drug addiction is a brain disease. Although initial drug use might be voluntary, drugs of abuse have been shown to alter gene expression and brain circuitry, which in turn affect human behavior. Once addiction develops, these brain changes interfere with an individual’s ability to make voluntary decisions, leading to compulsive drug craving, seeking and use.

The impact of addiction can be far reaching. Cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and lung disease can all be affected by drug abuse. Some of these effects occur when drugs are used at high doses or after prolonged use, however, some may occur after just one use.

Drug abuse not only weakens the immune system but is also linked to risky behaviors like needle sharing and unsafe sex. The combination greatly increases the likelihood of acquiring HIV-AIDS, hepatitis and many other infectious diseases.

See NIDA.gov

This is one of the most common questions I’m asked when I speak to students. Below is the best answer I’ve been able to find..

In June 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court broadened the authority of public schools to test students for illegal drugs. Voting 5 to 4 in Pottawatomie County v. Earls, the court ruled to allow random drug tests for all middle and high school students participating in competitive extracurricular activities. The ruling greatly expanded the scope of school drug testing, which previously had been allowed only for student athletes.

Next question: Just because the U.S. Supreme Court said student drug testing for adolescents in competitive extracurricular activities is constitutional, does that mean it is legal in my city or state?

Answer – A school or school district that is interested in adopting a student drug testing program should seek legal expertise so that it complies with all federal, state, and local laws. Individual state constitutions may dictate different legal thresholds for allowing student drug testing. Communities interested in starting student drug testing programs should become familiar with the law in their respective states to ensure proper compliance.

WASHINGTON – (AP) — More teens are smoking dope, with nearly 1 in 10 lighting up at least 20 or more times a month, according to a new survey of young people.

The report by The Partnership at Drugfree.org, being released Wednesday, also said abuse of prescription medicine may be easing a bit among young people in grades 9 through 12, but still remains high.

Partnership President Steve Pasierb says the mindset among parents is that it’s just a little weed or a few pills — no biggie.

“Parents are talking about cocaine and heroin, things that scare them,” said Pasierb. “Parents are not talking about prescription drugs and marijuana. They can’t wink and nod. They need to be stressing the message that this behavior is unhealthy.”

Use of harder drugs — cocaine and methamphetamine — has stabilized in recent years, the group’s survey showed.

But past-month usage of marijuana grew from 19 percent in 2008 to 27 percent last year. Also alarming, says Pasierb, is the percentage of teens smoking pot 20 or more times a month. That rate went from 5 percent in 2008 to 9 percent last year, or about 1.5 million teens toking up that frequently.

Alex, 17, in Houston, says he started smoking pot at age 13, mostly on the weekends with friends.

“I just liked being high,” said Alex, who is in a recovery program and asked that his last name not be used. “I always felt happier. Everything was funnier and my life was just brighter.”

Alex then started abusing prescription drugs at 14. He blacked out one day at school, got arrested and ended up in rehab. After being sober for two years, Alex slipped and smoked pot last month. Still, he says he hopes to work toward a more sober life.

The findings on marijuana track closely with those in a recent University of Michigan study sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. That study also found marijuana use rising among teens the past few years, reversing a long decline in the previous decade.

The partnership study suggests a link between teens who smoke pot more regularly and the use of other drugs.

Teens who smoked 20 times or more a month were almost twice as likely as kids who smoked pot less frequently to use ecstasy, cocaine or crack.

Other findings:

–One in 10 teens reports using prescription pain medication — Vicodin or OxyContin — in the past year. That’s down from a peak of 15 percent in 2009 and 14 percent in 2010.

–Just over half of Hispanic teens say they have used an illicit drug, such as Ecstasy or cocaine, in the past year. That compares to 39 percent for Caucasian teens and 42 percent for African American teens.

The Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates legalization, says making pot legal for adults might help cut teen usage.

“We definitely don’t think that minors should be using marijuana any more than they should be drinking or using tobacco, but arresting people for doing that never stops minors,” said Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the group. “If we remove marijuana from the criminal market and have the market run by responsible business people that have an incentive to check IDs and not sell to minors, then we might see those rates drop again.”

The Partnership’s study was sponsored by the MetLife Foundation. Researchers surveyed 3,322 teens in grades 9-12 with anonymous questionnaires that the youngsters filled out at school from March to June 2011. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Based in New York, The Partnership at Drugfree.org is formerly The Partnership for a Drug-Free America — perhaps best known for the “this is your brain on drugs” ads of the 1980s and 1990s. The nonprofit group launched its new name in 2010 to position itself as more of a resource to parents and to avoid the misperception the partnership is a government organization.

NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) — A dangerous new threat has emerged in the suburbs. Experts recently told CBS 2 that Mexican drug cartels have targeted the New York area with one of the most destructive and addicting drugs around.

Methamphetamine is a toxic cocktail of everyday ingredients that most people would never think of mixing, like cold medicine and break fluid. Experts say that it can be found in almost any school district and that some users are as young as 12 years old.

Dr. Stephen Dewey told CBS 2′s Maurice DuBois that the drug can have lethal effects.

“I absolutely think kids will die from methamphetamine,” Dr. Dewey said.

One former meth addict spoke to CBS 2 on a condition of anonymity. He explained the fast, downward spiral that the drug can cause.

“It is so addictive, I did it one time and whoosh, I was in pain, I was dying. I was allowing myself to kill myself,” he said.

Since 2005, an estimated 10 million people have tried meth at least once. Use of the drug has spread throughout the United States and ravaged rural and urban areas.

Now, experts say that meth is being cooked in “super labs” in Mexico, to be imported to the New York area.

A large bust in the summer of 2011 shut down one cartel, and authorities told CBS 2 that the quantity of meth that was found was shocking. But New York City Special Prosecutor Bridget Brennan says that there will be more.

“Hopefully we shut down the piece of it that was transporting up to our area, but unfortunately it’s not the only one,” she said.

Former users told CBS 2 that the best option for kids is to ‘just say no’.

“I never want to repeat it ever again, I never want to go there ever again,” said one former user.

Amplifying the concern over meth is the amount of violence committed by users, who are likely to hurt themselves or others, according to officials.

A USA Today story published last week, detailing data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health highlighted that more than two-thirds of those who said they had gotten high on painkillers for the first time in the past year received the pills from family or friends.

The survey also estimated that 2.4 million Americans start abusing prescription drugs annually. About one-third of new users are adolescents, and almost 6% of young adults ages 18 to 25, and 3% of teenagers, say they regularly get high on prescription drugs.

Two-thirds of people who used painkillers to get high less than once a week got their pills for free, or stole them from a relative or friend. Among regular users, 28% said they bought the pills from a relative, friend, drug dealer or online. Twenty-six percent had prescriptions from at least one doctor.

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Knoxville, Tennessee (CNN) — Heart-wrenching cries echo through the halls of the neonatal intensive care unit at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. Nearly half of the newborn babies in the hospital’s NICU are suffering from prescription drug withdrawal.

For over a year, the Knoxville hospital has been dealing with a dramatic increase in the number of newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS, which is the withdrawal process a newborn baby goes through after in utero exposure to certain medications.

“When I first got into neonatology the most common problem — and still the most common problem — that we take care of is premature babies or babies with respiratory distress,” said neonatology director Dr. John Buchheit, a 17-year veteran at Children’s. “But I had no idea that we would be seeing this issue, to this degree.”

Narcotics used during pregnancy pass through the placenta to the baby. Once the baby is born, he or she no longer has access to the drugs and will likely go through withdrawal. According to Buchheit, opioids — like oxycodone — are the worst offenders for the babies suffering from NAS at his hospital.

Between 55% and 94% of babies exposed to opioids prior to birth exhibit signs of withdrawal, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The babies are easily agitated and cry constantly, and many cannot be near sound and light. Other symptoms can include a distinct, high-pitched cry, tightening of the muscles and seizures.

While prescription drug abuse is a problem in nearly every neighborhood in America, it is particularly epidemic in Tennessee, which ranks among the top states in the overuse of prescription pain medications.

A recent Tennessee health department survey found that about a third of pregnant women in state treatment programs are addicted to prescription pain meds. As a result, the number of babies born with NAS at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital doubled from 2010 to 2011.

This epidemic is tearing apart families in eastern Tennessee, according to Department of Children’s Services Attorney Susan Kovac.

“In Knox County, we’re drowning,” she said. “We’ve seen the number of children in foster care increase by almost 50% over the last few years, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg because we’re trying to keep the children out of foster care. We’ve got lots and lots of relatives who are raising drug-exposed infants.”

State caseworkers are called in to handle the worst cases of babies suffering from NAS.

“We come and talk to the mom and try to find out, what’s the level of her abuse, what’s the level of her addiction, what can we do to get her clean so that she can be in a position to take care of her baby,” Kovac explained.

Since the epidemic is relatively new, there is no national protocol on how to treat NAS. East Tennessee Children’s Hospital focuses its treatment on two areas: environmental and medicinal. Last year, the hospital created a wing of private rooms that is quieter, darker and easier to control for the massive influx of babies suffering from drug withdrawal.

The hospital also trains volunteers, called cuddlers, to hold and comfort the babies.

Bob Woodruff, a retired marketing professor and grandfather, spends six hours a week giving these babies a little extra love.
“It’s tremendously rewarding to take a stressed baby and work with that baby until that baby is feeling better or sleeping,” Woodruff said. “It also makes the job of the nurses a lot easier. It’s a lot easier for them to come into a room and deal with a calm baby, rather than a crying baby. So I feel like I’m really helping the nurses, as well as helping the babies.”

In addition to improving their environment, the hospital has also developed a successful drug treatment program for these babies, according to pharmacist Terry King.

“When I first arrived, we were treating the babies and stabilizing them on methadone and then discharging them to have outpatient treatment,” he said. “Then we decided that probably wasn’t the safest and most effective way to treat them. So we decided to switch to the morphine.”

Treatments are individualized based on the severity of withdrawal and babies are given small doses of morphine every three hours with feedings.

Over the following weeks, doses are gradually decreased to wean babies off the drugs. Since adopting the morphine protocol, the average hospital stay for these infants has decreased by several days, now averaging 24 days.

As East Tennessee Children’s Hospital continues to treat these defenseless drug-dependent babies and chip away at the underlying causes of drug abuse through education and proper medical care, Buchheit admits that the future for these newborns with NAS is uncertain.

“There is no doubt that they are at an increased risk for problems with their learning and development throughout their childhood, and problems with behavior once they reach school age,” he said.

In the meantime, the hospital has become a pioneer in the treatment of babies with NAS. Other states are turning to them for guidance.

“This problem is faced all over the country … and people are interested in what we’re doing because we know it’s a safe, successful plan to administer,” King said. “The process is complex to wean these babies and we think that what we’ve developed has helped make the complex, simpler.”

see www.cnn.com