Author: VISIONS

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CROSS ADDICTION

An issue that adolescents have with recovery is replacing the drugs, alcohol, or other self-harming behavior with positive behaviors. One fear is that the adolescent will change or switch addictions, this is known as cross addiction. For example, an unhealthy behavior that has to be addressed is sexual promiscuity. One of the biggest distractions that teens use to not focus on themselves is to focus on each other. Switching from one partner to the next can become just as much as a rush as using a substance. In this case sex and the partners they use become the addiction. Another example of cross addiction occurs when an adolescent gets clean and sober from mind-altering substances and develops a gambling habit. In gambling the person can experience the same adrenaline rush that the substance once gave them. Both of these behaviors can be very destructive for any adolescent in recovery and may eventually lead to relapse. Some other examples of cross addiction are: cutting, internet, video games, shopping, energy drinks and unhealthy eating habits.

The goal of every adolescent in recovery should be to live a happy, healthy, and productive life. Negative influences are always going to be a part of society, but through the self – esteem building process of treatment the adolescent will learn to make better choices. Education for adolescents is a key component. It is important to educate adolescents in the disease concept of addiction as well as relapse prevention. It is important to raise adolescents awareness of their self – harming escape behaviors. In addition, it is important to give adolescents healthy alternatives/hobbies to negative behaviors, such as: doing well in school, playing a sport, exercise, eating healthy, music or art. These alternatives will lower the adolescents likelihood of using negative coping mechanisms, and decreases the likelihood of cross addiction and eventually relapse. Getting adolescents involved in a 12-step component support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous is essential. Working with a sponsor to help relate to another person that has already made the changes necessary to live a positive life is equally as important. Dealing with current issues and educating adolescents on possible cross addictions gives them the best chance at success and reaching their fullest potential.
Brian Wildason

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Malibu Canyon Fire

Will the Malibu Canyon Fire affect the local Malibu Drug rehabs? Drug rehabs should have a fire department approved plan for evacuation. Visions Adolescent Treatment Center meets with the local Fire Department once a year to discuss fire prevention, brush clearence and evacuation plans.

“our Teens are safe and we have a plan if the fire situation should change” says Director of Operations John Lieberman.

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Celebrity Influence on Teen Drug Use

Celebrity influence on teen drug use and Teen Drug rehab is at an all time high. Adolescents acquire much of thier beliefs about drugs and alcohol from role models. With celebrities like Brittany Spears and her abuse of prescription drugs. Lindsay Lohan’s cocaine abuse and eating disorder. Pete Doherty’s cocaine use and heroin abuse. Model Kate Moss’s addiction and stay in drug rehab. The list could go on as a virtual who’s who of hollywood elite’s stays in drug treatment centers. If you combine the facts that celebrities are looked up to by adolescents with social pressures and a genetic predisposition it’s no wonder so many teens end up struggling with addiction and alcohol abuse today.

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Lindsay and Britany get teen drug treatment

What if Lindsay Lohan and Britany Spears had gotten help in a teen drug Treatment Center when they were teens? Were there signs off addiction in thier Adolescent years? Lindsay Lohan partying in adult after hour clubs while underage. Some one should have initiated an Adolescent Intervention. Early intervention is proven to increase a persons chance for success when recovering from issues connected to drugs and alcohol.

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Teenagers Recovering from Addiction

Adolescents entering early recovery (0-9 months) should attend regular young peoples alcoholics anonymous and young peoples narcotics anonymous 12 step support groups. Young people support groups meet the needs for adolescents struggling to find acceptance, direction and understanding during the early stages of recovery. Adolescents should always be monitored by responsible adults while attending 12 step related recovery groups.

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Adolescent Drug Abuse

Adolescent drug abuse is treatable. There are substance abuse experts who treat adolescents with varying levels of drug and or alcohol use / abuse. It is important when evaluating an adolescent for substance use, addiction, and drug use that the professional is experienced, and credentialed to treat teenagers / adolescents.

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Teen Drug Treatment

Teen Drug Treatment Centers should be staffed by Licensed and accredited Professionals for maximum results. Adolescent Rehabs should have a staff that consists of Physicians, Licensed Therapists, Chemical Dependency Counselors, Registered dietitians, Psychologists, etc. Teen rehabs need to be safe and secure for the teen,family and Staff.

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Topamax may help reduce alcohol addiction

The AP is reporting that “A migraine [and epilepsy] pill seems to help alcoholics taper off their drinking without detox treatment,…offering a potential option for a hard-to-treat problem,” according to a study published in today’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The pill is called Topamax (topiramate), and may “appeal to heavy drinkers who would rather seek help from their own doctors, rather than enter a rehab clinic to dry out.” Heavy drinkers consumed about “11 standard drinks daily,” which translates into “two six-packs of beer each day, or two bottles of wine.” While study participants noted some side effects, addiction specialist Dr. Mark Willenbring of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said, “The size of the treatment effect is larger than in most of the other medications we’ve seen. … And all the drinking variables changed in the right direction.” On average, Topamax would cost about $350 per month, in addition to physicians’ fees.

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Alcohol

Study Links Early Alcohol Use and Behavior Problems in Young Adulthood

PRESS RELEASE
RAND Corporation

Children who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more likely to suffer employment problems, abuse other drugs, and commit criminal and violent acts once they reach young adulthood, according to a RAND Health study released today.

Following a group of young people from 7th grade through age 23, researchers found that youthful drinking was not only associated with an increased likelihood of people having academic and social problems during their teenage years, but was associated with a heightened risk of behavior problems at least through their early 20s.

“Early drinkers do not necessarily mature out of this problematic lifestyle once they become young adults,” said Phyllis Ellickson, a RAND researcher and the study’s lead author. “Early alcohol use is a signal that someone is likely to have more problems as they transition into adulthood.”

Researchers say the findings suggest that adolescents who drink are at high risk and should be targeted early with intervention programs that focus not only on alcohol, but also cigarette smoking, use of illicit drugs, and perhaps other problem behaviors. The study appears in the May issue of the medical journal Pediatrics.

Underage drinking is a major national problem, with estimates suggesting that by the 8th grade one-fourth of all adolescents have consumed alcohol to the point of intoxication. In addition, adolescent drinking plays a key role in the four leading causes of death among teens–car accidents, accidental injuries, homicides and suicides.

The RAND findings are from a study that followed about 3,400 youths who were recruited in 1985 from 30 socially and economically diverse schools in California and Oregon when they were enrolled in 7th grade. Participants were surveyed during the 7th grade, 12th grade and at age 23 about their current use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, and about a number of behavioral issues.

At the outset of the study, about three-quarters of the 7th graders had used alcohol. Researchers labeled 46 percent as “experimenters” (had consumed alcohol, but fewer than three times in the past year and not within the past month) and 31 percent as “drinkers” (three or more alcoholic drinks within the past year or any drinking in the past month). Nondrinkers (those who had never drunk alcohol) accounted for 23 percent of the 7th graders.

Students who used alcohol by the 7th grade were far more likely than nondrinkers to report using other substances, stealing and having school problems. For example, the drinkers were 19 times more likely to be weekly smokers or hard drug users, and 4.5 times more likely to have stolen items in the past year when compared with nondrinkers. Experimenters reported fewer problems, but were still 2.5 times more likely to have used hard drugs and twice as likely to have stolen when compared with nondrinkers.

The differences remained at the 12th grade, although they were less pronounced. Compared with nondrinkers, drinkers were 5 times more likely to be weekly marijuana users, 3 times more likely to use hard drugs or experience several drug-related problems in the past year, twice as likely to have been suspended or dropped out of school, and about twice as likely to engage in violent or criminal behavior in the past year.

Experimenters were about twice as likely to be weekly marijuana users, use hard drugs, and have multiple drug problems, 1.2 to 1.7 times more likely to engage in violent or criminal behavior, and 1.5 times more likely to commit a felony or be suspended from school.

“Early drinking clearly is associated with other problems that develop in school and in many other settings,” said Joan S. Tucker, a RAND psychologist and another author of the report. “Differences between drinkers and nondrinkers show up early and persist over time.”

At age 23, those identified in 7th grade as drinkers still showed significantly more behavior problems than those who had been nondrinkers. The drinkers were 2 to 3 times more likely to use hard drugs, experience multiple drug problems, or have undergone alcohol or drug treatment, 3 times more likely to have been arrested for drunk driving, twice as likely to engage in violent or criminal behavior in the past year, and nearly 1.5 times more likely to report missing work for no reason.

The differences were smaller for the group identified as experimenters in 7th grade. Compared with nondrinkers, experimenters were twice as likely to have multiple drug problems, 1.6 times as likely to engage in criminal behavior, use hard drugs, or have undergone alcohol or drug treatment, and nearly twice as likely to have been arrested for drunk driving.

“These results suggest that drinking in early adolescence may be among the most important risk factors for a wide variety of behavior problems during the transition to young adulthood,” Tucker said. “Preventing drinking initiation before Grade 7 may help reduce these later problems.”

Researchers say it is not clear what mechanisms link early alcohol use to behavior problems later in life. It may be that alcohol disrupts the development of adequate social and academic skills that are needed to succeed later in life. Or early alcohol use may signal that an individual is predisposed to use drugs and develop other behavioral problems.

The research was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The project also included RAND researcher David J. Klein.

RAND Health is the nation’s largest independent health policy research organization, with a broad research portfolio that focuses on medical quality, health care costs and delivery of health care, among other topics.

Press Release
RAND
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Substance Abuse

Teen Drug Slang


Every parent is baffled at times by the slang of their teens. Individuating via language is an important rite of passage for each generation; a way for the younger generation to identify themselves as unique. But can this normal behavior mask something more dangerous? It is entirely possible that your teenager is talking about their drug use right in front of you. Knowing current slang may be the difference between keeping your child safe, and allowing them unknowingly to engage in unsafe behavior.

Every generation adopts slang for drugs, and the paraphernalia used within the drug culture. Many terms from previous generations remain them same; successive generations strive to identify themselves with fresh new spin words. The advent of new drugs and hybrids of old drugs has necessitated the invention of original names. Many terms may have alternate or multiple meanings depending on a specific region. To try and keep up with current slang can be difficult for most parents. Fortunately, with the help of the Internet and interviewing a group of “experienced” adolescents, we have come up with a shortlist of some of the more common contemporary drug terminology.

Adderall: addys

Cocaine: blow, coke, girl, nose candy, powder, snow, “snow white”, white, the white pony, yay, yayo

Coricidin: cherry bombs, dm, dxm, robo, skittles, triple C’s,

Crack: freebase, ice, rock

Crystal Methamphetamine: crank, crystal, “Crystal Light”, glass, ice, meth, shit, speed, spiff, sugar, Tina, twak, tweak, twizzle, white ice, yaba

Ecstasy / MDMA: Adam, beans, disco biscuits, E, raves, thiz, thizzle, X, XTC

Ecstasy and LSD: candy flip

Heroin: cheese, china white, chiva, dope, H, horse, junk, monkey, smack, tar

Ketamine: k, special k

LSD: blotter, doses, L, liquid, Sid, sugar cubes, sunshine, tabs, trips

Marijuana / Cannabis: blaze, bud, cheeba, chronic, ganja, grass, greens, herb, hydro, MJ, Mary Jane, reefer, THC, trees, weed

Use of Marijuana: blaze, have a sess(ion), let’s go bowling, 420

Mushrooms: magic mushrooms, shrooms

Nitrous Oxide: cartridges, hippy crack, laughing gas, NO2

Oxycontin: o.c., orange county, oxy, Percocet, Percodan

PCP: angel dust, evil

Vicodin: narcos, vics

Xanax: bars, footballs, white sticks, xanys, z-bars, zanies

This list is not comprehensive, and drug terms change frequently, so remember to do your own research. Google any terms you hear your children throwing around if you suspect they may be talking about drug use. Knowing what your teenagers know may be the best way to protect them!

For further information visit:
www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/streetterms/default.asp
www.erowid.com *
www.urbandictionary.com *

* The last two sites were provided by teens and represent sites where they get their information about drugs. These sites are designed for young people, teens and/or drug users, and may contain offensive material and candid discussion of drug use.

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