National Inhalant Prevention Coalition: Stop Encouraging Kids to Huff Helium

By Join Together Staff | March 16, 2012 | 1 Comment | Filed in Advocacy,Parenting, Prevention & Youth


Huffing helium is not safe, and adults must stop encouraging children to do it, according to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition (NIPC), a group that promotes awareness and recognition of inhalant use.

“Unknowing adults demonstrate and often provide helium to kids at parties, or science teachers use it in classes to demonstrate the effects of a gas on vocal cords,” Harvey Weiss, Executive Director of NIPC, said in a news release. “For years I have heard ‘everybody does it,’ and sure enough parents do it as well as Scout leaders, science teachers and even youth pastors. This normalizing of huffing needs to stop and all of us can play a role in that. We must be advocates for children.”

Weiss spoke about the dangers of helium at a press conference in advance of the 20th Annual National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week, which runs March 18-24, 2012.

Helium can displace the oxygen in the lungs, leading to oxygen deprivation, according to The Washington Times. This can cause symptoms that range from dizziness to blacking out to cardiac arrest.

Weiss said retailers can reduce helium abuse by placing tanks of the gas higher up on shelves, so they are out of the reach of children. He also called on adults to be more aware of the dangers of huffing helium.

Brian Dyak, President of Entertainment Industries Council Inc., which encourages the media to address social and health issues, called on the entertainment and news industries to educate people about inhalant abuse. The group says inhalant abuse should not be portrayed as glamorous or socially acceptable.

Driving Loaded? There’s an App for That

Senators were shocked to learn that dozens of applications allow the intoxicated smartphone owner to avoid user-reported speed traps and radar-equipped patrol cars.
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Think what Hunter Thompson could have done with one of these babies. There’s an app for mixing cocktails, and an app for finding bars on the road, so it’s not surprising to discover there’s an app for intoxicated drivers. Four U.S. Senators--Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles Schumer (D-NY),Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Tom Udall [D-NM--have all expressed concern over smartphone applications that allow drivers to avoid DUI checkpoints, and have called for their removal from app stores. The indignant senators sent letters to the head of Apple's iPhone software group, Scott Forstall; Google's CEO Eric Schmidt; and Research in Motion's (RIM) co-CEOs, James Balsillie and Michael Lazaridis, Computerworld reports. The senators identified only one application by name—PhantomALERT--butComputerworld says there are dozens of apps designed to warn drivers of user-reported speed traps, roving radar-equipped patrol cars, and accidents. Many integrate the smartphone's integrated GPS feature to display police and accident locations. "Giving drunk drivers a free tool to evade checkpoints, putting innocent families and children at risk, is a matter of public concern," the senators said in a letter to the executives. "We hope that you will give our request to remove these applications from your store immediate consideration." In 2010 alone, 10,839 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, and over a quarter of a million people are injured in drunk-driving accidents each year.

Caron Werner Pennsylvania!

Caron Pennsylvania 3 stars
Caron's hilltop HQ treats teens and adults in a New England boarding school atmosphere—discipline included. But if evangelical rallying cries and impromptu stage shows prove too much, a free cocktail is just a stroll away.
Caron Treatment Center Pennsylvania

For those wanting a traditional 12-step approach to recovery in a strictly controlled environment,Caron Pennsylvania, a venerable 110-acre institution that’s been around for over 60 years, provides a firm but caring framework for recovery. The stately old Keystone State campus—where the ambiance is decidedly “New England boarding school”—occupies an historic resort in the rolling hills of rural Wernersville, and the architecture is symbolic of the center’s time-tested approach to recovery. (Caron’s young adult program serves 18-to-25-year-olds who, says one grad, “in spite of their trust funds, all seem to want to be rappers.”)

The Caron rehab facilityenforces a rigid separation of genders, and insists on a no-nonsense treatment regimen. Caffeine and non-recovery related books are banned as well, and smokers can puff only at designated times. Caron’s time-tested treatment plan generally eschews trendy fads like yoga, art, and equine therapy that pervade more recent rehabs. Clients cough up cell phones and MP3 players immediately upon check-in, and use of the landline requires a “phone pass” reluctantly doled out by a counselor.

Life at Caron starts early and is highly structured—clients are up by 6 am and engaged in treatmentprograms until 10 pm—and there’s little autonomy (everyone must traverse the campus in groups of threes). The stiff institutional atmosphere makes the Caron rehab facility feel “like a cross between a dormitory and a hospital,” says one grad. “They want you to feel like you're in treatment—not at a luxury resort.” While some alumni rave about the staff, others complain. “It doesn’t seem like they get rock star techs and doctors,” notes one grad. “It’s a lot of church lady women that have been there for 30 years.”

The Caron treatment center facility is clean and attractive, but not overly grand. Residents are required to do their own laundry and make their beds every morning, which might not exactly come as second nature to the majority of the clientele—largely white, upper-middle and upper class patients that include hedge-funders, politicians, and occasional celebs (Liza Minnelli and Steven Tyler among them).

Adults dig into a buffet offering standard fare—meat and potatoes, a vegetable, and a salad bar. The on-site adolescent unit—catering to youngsters aged 13–19, complete with its own grownup-free group meetings —serves clients in a separate dining facility with a more restricted (i.e., sugar-free) menu.

During their limited free time, clients have the option to pump iron at the gym, shoot hoops, or run on the treadmill. Less athletic sorts can stroll around the scenic campus or make jewelry. Those in the adolescent unit take retreats off campus, go camping, and watch a steady stream of PG movies.

A mandatory campus ritual is the Sunday morning “chapel” meeting led by a quirky Catholic priest and former army chaplain named Father Bill Hultberg, who serves as Caron's in-house "spiritual advisor." “Father Bill does this same schpiel week after week,” says one alum. “It’s kind of like an evangelical rally—he preaches passionately about God and recovery. Then he plays rap music and Britney Spears.” At the conclusion of every performance, Father Bill invites select clients to join him on stage before the 400-person campus and perform a song, play the guitar or express their gratitude to the Caron staff. Most are happy to indulge him—including Tyler and Minnelli, who reportedly entertained their peers with a few tunes.

But Caron offers far more than just music and the facility’s rigid structure often serves as an effective antidote to the freewheeling lifestyle many of its clients indulge in until they arrive. “They really helped me pull myself together," says one enthusiastic alum. "I needed the discipline and their firm hand. I would definitely go back if I relapsed.” The Caron rehab center actually boasts a specialized relapse program where people that have already endured the initial 28-day program—and memorized all the talking points on addiction and recovery—can pick up where they left off; an in-depth exploration of the mechanisms of relapse is an integral (read: mandatory) aspect of the relapse program.

And the special few who can't make it through the program receive a kind of booby prize upon their departure: a bar at the base of the mountain-top drug rehab facility in Pennsylvania offers relapsing clients a free cocktail in exchange for their Caron sobriety chip.


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Commentary: Breaking the Cycle of Drugs, Alcohol and Crime

By Susan Richardson | May 4, 2012 | 4 Comments | Filed in Community Related,Drugs, Legal, Recovery, Treatment & Youth


Almost two million American youth need treatment for alcohol and other drug use or abuse. But only 1 in 20 will receive treatment.

Research shows that teens with substance abuse problems are more likely to break the law, behave violently or drop out of school. In fact, 4 out of 5 young people in the juvenile justice system commit crimes while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Young people need to be held accountable when they break the law. Unless they receive treatment for a substance abuse problem that helped them get in trouble in the first place, they will often find themselves back in juvenile court again and again.

That’s where Reclaiming Futures comes in. By connecting juvenile courts with treatment providers and community members, we help teens overcome drugs, alcohol and crime.

We accomplish this by creating teams of juvenile court judges, probation officers, substance abuse treatment professionals and community members. Using an evidence-based six-step model, the team works together to ensure that teens get the treatment and services they need, while tracking their progress and identifying service gaps.

So how does the model work?

Step 1: Initial Screening: As soon as possible after being referred to the juvenile justice system, youth are screened for possible substance abuse problems.

Step 2: Initial Assessment: Teens with possible substance abuse problems are assessed using a reputable tool to measure their use of alcohol and other drugs, individual and family risks, needs and strengths. This allows the team to measure the severity of the problem, which informs the treatment plan.

Step 3: Service Coordination: The team designs and coordinates an intervention plan that is family driven, spans agency boundaries and draws upon community-based resources.

Step 4: Initiation: Treatment begins.

Step 5: Engagement: The team engages both the teens and their families and follows up with them during treatment.

Step 6: Transition: Teens transition out of agency-based treatment services. The team makes sure that kids and their families have community resources and support in place, in order to lower the risk of relapse and recidivism.

It’s essential for the family and community to be involved throughout the process because almost every young person who appears in juvenile court eventually returns home. In order to stay drug and crime free, teens need positive mentors and caring adults in their lives. They also need help with completing school and finding a job, which is why Step 6 is so important – troubled young people need help transitioning from the juvenile system to a happy and productive adult life.

We’re not the only ones who understand the importance of connecting teens with quality treatment and care. The ObamaAdministration’s 2012 National Drug Control Strategy prioritizes treatment and coordinated care to people struggling with addiction. As part of the Strategy, we are working with the Administration to spread our model throughout the United States to improve treatment for youth involved with the juvenile justice system. We believe we are a solution for the entire nation.

To learn more about Reclaiming Futures, please visitwww.reclaimingfutures.org.

Susan Richardson, National Executive Director for Reclaiming Futures

Beware of Drunk Drivers on Memorial Day Weekend

By Join Together Staff | May 24, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed in Alcohol &Prevention


Drunk drivers are a threat on the road during Memorial Day weekend, warns Fox Business. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 397 people died over the three-day weekend in 2010, the latest year for which data is available. Of those crashes, 40 percent were alcohol-related.

In 2010, more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes—one every 51 minutes, notes the NHTSA. The agency has found fatal crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver are more likely on weekends and at night, the article notes.

Alcohol interferes with a person’s coordination, driving skills and judgment. Drinking can cause people to lose control and become aggressive, which can in turn affect driving skills.

Drinking can affect the brain for hours, and may even influence a person’s driving the next morning, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Caffeine won’t help to reduce the effects of alcohol on the body.

The NIAAA pamphlet, “Rethinking Holiday Drinking,” recommends that people who do decide to drink should not have more than one drink per hour. Make every other drink a nonalcoholic one, and pick a designated driver to get you home safely. A designated driver should be someone who has not had anything to drink, not just the person in your group who had the least to drink.

U.S. Looks to Other Nations for Addiction Treatment Ideas: Kerlikowske

By Join Together Staff | May 23, 2012 | 5 Comments | Filed in Addiction,Drugs, Government & Treatment


The United States is looking to other nations for ideas on how to treat addiction as a disease, the U.S. Director of National Drug Control Policy said Tuesday. Gil Kerlikowske, who spoke during a visit to London, said the Obama Administration wants to speak to drug addiction experts in other countries to learn whether elements of their programs could work in the United States, according toReuters.

Kerlikowske has visited Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Colombia and other South American countries to see different types of drug treatment programs, the article notes. He said the approach to drug addiction in Portugal was somewhat successful. Since 2001, authorities in that country have focused their efforts on prevention messages and treatment, and stopped arrests, trials and imprisonment of people who carry a personal supply of drugs.

He said the U.S. is taking a more balanced approach to substance use, with an emphasis on treatment instead of law enforcement. He urged the international community to work together on substance abuse prevention and treatment programs, to stop the cycle of drug use, criminal acts, imprisonment, release, and re-arrest.

Last week, the Office of National Drug Control Policy released a report that it said showed the importance of addressing the nation’s drug problem not just as a criminal justice issue, but as a public health issue.

The report showed a decline in cocaine use since 2003, which indicates that law enforcement efforts and public educationcampaigns may be having an effect. Illegal drug use overall has decreased about 30 percent since 1979.

An average of 71 percent of men arrested in 10 U.S. metropolitan areas in 2011 tested positive for an illegal substance when they were taken into custody, the study found. The rates ranged from 64 percent in Atlanta, to 81 percent in Sacramento, California. These rates were higher for almost half of the collection sites since 2007.