Drug Tests Become More Common in Middle School

By Join Together Staff | September 24, 2012 | 2 Comments | Filed in Drugs,Prevention & Youth

A growing number of middle schools are requiring that students submit to drug testing, The New York Times reports. Students are being asked to provide a urine sample to participate in sports, or even in extracurricular activities such as choir and drama.

Some parents and civil liberties advocates are objecting to the tests, the article notes.

Middle schools that conduct drug tests are located in states including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia. Some school administrators, coaches and teachers said drug testing deters young students from substances of all kinds, including alcohol, marijuana and steroids.

There are no known cases of middle school students testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and only a few positive results have been found for marijuana, the article notes.

“Drug testing is a multibillion-dollar industry,” Dr. Linn Goldberg, head of the Division of Health Promotion and Sports Medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University, told the newspaper. “They go to these schools and say it’s great. But do the schools actually look at the data? Schools don’t know what to do.” He added, “There’s little evidence these programs work. Drug testing has never been shown to have a deterrent effect.”

A 1995 United States Supreme Court ruling states that drug testing for high school athletes is constitutional.

In most cases, outside drug testing companies conduct the tests. Students are given little or no notice about them. Specimens are sent to a lab, and families are notified if the result is positive. In some cases, schools require a second test to confirm the finding. Law enforcement generally is not notified if a test is positive.

School punishments can range from a warning, to removal from a team or activity.

If you are participating in the
16th Annual Hendricks House & Hansen House
Charity Golf Tournament Tomorrow
(Tuesday, September 25, 2012)
at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township, NJ

Don't forget this year's NEW schedule:

8:30am - Breakfast & Registration
10:00am - Shotgun Start
3:30pm (after golf) - Dinner, Silent Auction & Awards

We're looking forward to beautiful weather
and a fantastic tournament.

See you in the morning, and THANK YOU for your support!

www.hansenfoundationnj.org

Prescription Drug Abuse and the Future of America

By R. Gil Kerlikowske | September 21, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inAddiction, Community Related, Prescription Drugs & Young Adults


Last month, I visited a fellow Medicine Abuse Project partner—Project Lazarus—an organization on the forefront of combating the prescription drug abuse problem. Project Lazarus is located in Wilkes County, North Carolina, an area of the country that has borne a disproportionately large part of the burden caused by medicine abuse. While there, I met a group of dedicated people working hard to reduce medicine abuse in the area and across the country—doctors, leaders and law enforcement officers. I have great admiration and respect for all of the people I met at Project Lazarus, but one individual in particular stood out for me.

Donna Reeves is a mother from North Carolina who tragically lost her daughter to a drug overdose in 2006. She spoke of the importance of involving a diverse range of people in the conversation about prescription drug abuse—emphasizing that this problem doesn’t just affect one demographic, but all age groups across the geographic and socio-economic spectrum. Perhaps most importantly, Donna highlighted the urgent need to educate parents on the signs of drug abuse, the tools available to help young people seek treatment and the existence of a life-saving overdose reversal drug, Naloxone. Donna’s message was heartbreaking, but it’s one we must hear: education is one of the most powerful ways to prevent drug abuse.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classify prescription drug abuse as an epidemic. While there has been a marked decrease in the use of some illegal drugs like cocaine, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that approximately one-fourth of people aged 12 and over who used drugs for the first time in 2010 began by using a prescription drug non-medically.

Alarmingly, the majority of new or occasional nonmedical users of pain relievers obtained the drug from family or friends for free or took them without asking. Chronic users were more likely to obtain the drugs from doctors or by buying them. What can we learn from this? We know that securing medicine in the home—and disposing of unneeded pills—can help prevent medicine abuse from ever beginning.

Securing medicines in the home and disposing of medicine properly is an important part of the solution, but it must be accompanied by prescription drug monitoring programs in every state, law enforcement efforts to thwart improper prescribing practices and, of course, education for parents, prescribers and patients.

If you have unneeded medicine in the home, please take advantage of National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on September 29th, when the Drug Enforcement Administration will open sites across the country to receive unused prescription drugs—no questions asked. If you’re a parent, please take the time to talk to your children about the harm caused by medicine abuse, and educate yourself on the signs of abuse. Working together, we can build a better future for our country’s young people—free of the pain caused by medicine abuse.

RECOVER PROJECT MASSACHUSETTS

About
Our peer-developed Code of Ethics is at the heart of our work
MissionThe RECOVER Project is a community open to all concerned with alcohol and drug addiction. We exist to foster recovery and empower individuals, families, and the communities of Franklin County.
DescriptionWe provide peer-to-peer support based on the guiding principles that people can and do recover from alcohol and drug addiction and that competence and wisdom reside in those with lived experience.
General InformationOur Code of Ethics is a set of guidelines that dictates how we interact and relate at the RECOVER Project. It also dictates decisions
about our programs and policies.



68 Federal Street
Greenfield, Massachusetts 01301


Phone (413) 774-5489
Website http://www.recoverproject.org

New Hope Recovery Ranch Nevada

About
New Hope Recovery Ranch is one of the only places in the country where the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit come together to ensure that those in the long-term residency program welcome sobriety into their lives.
MissionNew Hope Recovery Ranch is a 6 to 12 month live-in addiction recovery program that gives men practical and spiritual tools for continuing whole and healthy lives.
Company OverviewPastors Rick and Teresa McKinney are the founders and directors of New Hope Recovery Ranch. Both Rick and Teresa were set free from serious personal addictions and through their ministry at New Hope Recovery Ranch in Silver Springs, NV they have been able to help thousands of men over the last ten years.
Description
The desert is an environment of dangerous extremes. Certainly, the choices made in the desert are of life and death.

At New Hope Recovery Ranch, located in Silver Springs, NV, the desert is the perfect setting for recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Rebirth into a God-centered life is the ultimate result.

New Hope Recovery Ranch is a non-denominational, Christ-centered, long-term residency
program for men that allows recovering alcoholics and addicts to set aside much-needed time and effort to focus on what is causing the downward spiral—and teaches them to claw their way back up. Residents focus on asking, considering, and responding to life’s basic questions—and quickly determining God has all of the answers.

According to Pastor Rick McKinney, “Healing at New Hope includes spiritual, mental, and physical healing. You’re feeding your mind, body, and spirit here. When you feed these, you’re going to get well.”

New Hope Recovery Ranch integrates miracles from three sources—The Bible, the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, and animal therapy. Residents spend a minimum of six months on campus. Recovering alcoholics and addicts stay in the residency program for up to one year, learning about the all-encompassing love of Jesus Christ and the awesome power of the Holy Spirit.








Location P.O. Box 961, Silver Springs, Nevada 89429


Contact Info
Phone (775) 577-4734
Email newhoperr1@aol.com
Website http://www.newhope-church.com

Study Links Mothers Who Let Kids Sip Alcohol and Children’s Reported Drinking

By Join Together Staff | September 19, 2012 | Leave a comment | Filed inAlcohol, Parenting, Prevention & Youth


A new study finds a link between mothers’ belief that it is acceptable to let their children sip alcohol, and their children’s reported alcohol use. The study found one-quarter of mothers of young children believed allowing children to sip an alcoholic drink would likely deter them from drinking in the future.

The study of 1,050 pairs of mothers and their third-grade children, who participated in the four-year study, found 33 percent of children reported alcohol use. “A strong, significant association was found between parental ‘prosipping’ beliefs and children’s reported alcohol use,” the researchers report.

The mothers with prosipping attitudes said they believed allowing their children to try alcohol would make children less likely to drink as adolescents and make them better at resisting peer pressure to drink. Some also said early tasting would discourage future use because of alcohol’s taste, or because drinking would become less enticing when the children realized their parents allowed it, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The study found four in 10 mothers said not allowing a child to taste alcohol would increase their desire to try it. In the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, the researchers cite previous studies that conclude that early drinking is a known primary risk factor for problem drinking during the teenage years. They also refer to studies that suggest teens are more likely to imitate their peers’ drinking habits than their parents’.

Mothers who were more highly educated, and those who worked outside the home, were more likely to allow their children to sip alcohol.