Transcript Myths and Facts Regarding Adolescent Alcohol and Substance Use

Myths and Facts
Regarding Adolescent Alcohol and
Substance Use
PRESENTED BY: Janice Gabe, LCSW, LCAC
New Perspectives of Indiana, Inc.
6314-A Rucker Road
Indianapolis, IN 46220
(317) 465-9688
(317) 465-9689 Facsimile
Newperspectives-indy.com
[email protected]
Parenting Myths That
Endanger our Children
Myth One:
They are going to do it anyway
Myth Two:
The stricter we are on them in high school,
the more they will rebel
Myth Three: The more freedom they have in high school,
the more prepared they will be in college
Myth Four:
Once they start driving you have no control
over their choices
Myth Five:
I need to have unconditional trust or
unconditional distrust
Myth Six:
My child is wise enough and mature enough
to consistently make good choices even
when overwhelmed by opportunities to
make bad choices without accountability
Myth Seven: The biggest problem with the internet is
potential predators
Myth Eight:
Talking to my child takes the place of
consequences
Myth Nine: Maintaining a positive relationship with my
child is more important than maintaining a
parent relationship with my child
Myth Ten:
Grades are the ultimate measure of
responsibility, maturity, character, mental
health and future success
Myth Eleven: It’s okay if my child experiments with drugs
or uses alcohol as long as they are “safe
and smart about it.”
Myth Twelve: The more teens are allowed to drink in high
school, the more responsible they will drink
in college
Myth Thirteen:
If I allow my child to drink at home,
they will drink more responsibly and
have fewer problems
Myth Fourteen:
Kids won’t experience negative
consequences of alcohol and drug
use as long as they are not very
frequent
Myth Fifteen:
Alcohol and marijuana are helpful
to teens attempting to “blow off
steam” or dealing with stress and
anxiety
Trends and Patterns
SUBSTANCE USE PATTERNS
 Teens prefer drugs that separate them from the
unpleasant feelings of depression
 The drugs do not make them feel better; just makes them
not care as much that they feel bad
 Often prefer drugs that dull vs. enhance emotions (pills,
weed, alcohol, opiates.)
 All teens that are addicted have some mood and anxiety
disorder problems during active use and early recovery
 Substance use often creates a mood disorder which
remains present, even when the use has discontinued
Trends and Patterns with Adolescents/Young Adults
with Substance Abuse
1. Percentage of teens reporting problems with stress and
anxiety continues to climb
2. As stress and anxiety increase, adolescent use of
substances increase
3. Young adults retrospectively report that the primary
reason they used alcohol and drugs in high school was
to deal with stress
4. Anxiety is often connected to achievement stress
5. National trends reflect an increase in Benzodiazapines
(Xanax, Valium, Klonopin.)
6. The rate of alcohol and marijuana use is increasing
more rapidly among adolescent females than adolescent
males
WHY ARE THEY USING ALCOHOL
 Alcohol (12th Graders):
* 69.4% Lifetime
* 41.5% Past month
 90% of all teen alcohol consumption occurs in form
of binge drinking
 200,000 adolescents visit emergency rooms due to
drinking each year
 The rate of alcohol and marijuana use is increasing
more rapidly among adolescent females than
adolescent males
 Today’s teens start drinking earlier; use larger
amounts, more potent substances, and use with
more frequency
 34% males report drinking prior to age 13
Energy Drinks With Alcohol
 Energy drinks containing alcohol are very
dangerous
 Examples: Phusion Projects, Four Loko,
Blast, Jungle Juice, Tilt
Alcohol Risk:
 Teens who experience onset of drinking prior to 14 are 4
times more likely to have life long problems with drinking
 Drinking becomes primary coping strategies for social
anxiety and stress management
 Stress levels influence alcohol consumption in teens
 MRI indicate hippo campus volumes of smaller ______ in
teens who drink. Hypo campus influences and memory
 Having a hangover is actually alcohol withdrawal. Every
time you drink enough to have a hangover you are
creating damage to your central nervous system. Every
time you have a hangover you are damaging memory,
verbal learning, ability of your brain to reorganize
around a new experience, more often your exposed,
more significant long term cognitive damage you are
creating
 Brain remains toxic for several days after alcohol use
 Drinking a drink 2-3 times a month is enough to create
cognitive impairment
 Alcohol has consequences in short term. Weed has
consequences in the long term
 Alcohol and substance use is the number one risk factor
for teen suicide
 Alcohol use impacts a dopamine receptor site in the
brain
Marijuana Trends
 Adolescent marijuana use is on the rise with
adolescent females. This is particularly true for urban
African American female adolescents
 Research indicates that adolescents who use
marijuana are more likely to be sexually active
 Age of onset of first use continues to decline with
anywhere from 19% to 24% of 8th graders reporting to
have used marijuana. Some research indicates this
number had doubled in the last decade, some research
indicates the rate of use among young teens has
jumped 142% in last decade
 Two thirds of the new marijuana users each year are
between the ages of 12 and 17. 25% of these were 14
or younger
 Teens perceive risk of marijuana use to be insignificant
THC Laced Candy and Food (Edibles)
 Looks like over the counter candy
 Made in U.S. and Holland
 Brownies, fudge, ice cream, jam, etc.
__________ / Wax
 Butane hash oil
 High concentration of THC
 Intense high
 Toxins from Butane and nails used in production
Consequences:
Marijuana use in adolescents significantly alter
and damage the cognitive development of teens. This
creates structural and cognitive damage to the brain
and impact grades, emotional well being and learning
Learning and Academics
 Significantly impacts the ability to process and learn new
information, especially higher level concepts
 Suppressing chemicals in hippo campus that is
responsible for short term memory
 Using marijuana 4X a month impacts academic
performance
Marijuana Use On Academic Performance
Source: SAMHSA, 2002, 2003, and 2004 NSDUH Survey of Households
A or B Average Grade
100%
C or Less Average Grade
27.8
42.0
80%
55.1
60%
40%
72.2
58.0
20%
44.9
0%
No Past Month
Marijuana Use
Marijuana Use on
1 to 4 Days in the
Past Month
17,000 Students Nationally
Marijuana Use on
5 or More Days in
The Past Month
 Brain has to work harder. Even easy tasks require
more frontal lobe effort
 Alters pre-frontal lobe in girls which effects planning,
focus, and decision making
 Difficulty shifting attention
 Problem with verbal recall
 Difficulty in learning processing, integrating new
information
 Males who used marijuana throughout adolescence
score 9 points lower on IQ test at end of their teen’s
Longitudinal studies indicate a correlation
between adolescent marijuana use and –
 Schizophrenia: 2 X more likely to experience schizophrenia
and psychotic symptoms
 In absence of family history
 2 ½ years earlier onset
 Depression – 2 to 3 X more likely (weekly or more)
 Anxiety – panic attacks – suicidal thoughts
 If not depressed when they start – 4 X more likely to
become depressed
 Depressed kids more likely to become addicted
 K 2 Spice
* “Synthetic marijuana”
* Perceived as natural, not dangerous
* Psychoactive (mind-altering) effects;
hallucinogenic
* Not for human consumption
* Sold as incense products to mask
intended use to get high
Other Drugs of Abuse

* Hallucinogenic – LSD, PCP, Acid,
Mushrooms
* Molly, Ecstasy, MDMA
* Inhalants
* Cocaine
* Methhelamphetamines
* Over the counter DXM products
Prescription Medication
 Prescription medication was misused by
adolescents more than any other drug
besides marijuana and alcohol
Top 3 commonly abused prescription drugs:
* Pain relievers: Opiates (Vicodin, Oxycontin,
Oxycodone)
* Stimulants: Used to treat ADHD, narcolepsy
and weight loss (Ritalin, Adderall)
* Central Nervous System (CNS) depressants:
Sedatives, Tranquilizers, Hypnotics (Valium,
Xanax, Sleeping Pills)
 Non-medical opiate use was associated with the
largest number of new users than any other category
of illicit drug use
 Adolescent users of non-prescribed medication
(PPR) initiate use of PPR at an earlier mean age of
almost all other drugs. These teens more likely to
become addicts
 Middle school “purple drank” cough syrup codeine.
In some areas 8% middle school students report use
 Girls report more use of PPR in last 12 months than
guys
 Hydrocodone products most commonly used PPR
 In 2006 estimated 2.2 million first time nonprescribed users of PPR in 12 months compared to
2.1 million new marijuana users
 Reason Teens Report Using Prescription
 Pain Medication
Easy to get in medicine cabinets
Available everywhere
Not illegal
Easy to get with other people’s prescriptions
Can claim to have a script if you get caught
Safer than illegal drugs
Less shameful than street drugs
Easy to purchase on internet
Fewer side effects than street drugs
Parents don’t care as much if you get caught
(7261 - 7th to 12th grades)
62%
52%
51%
50%
49%
43%
33%
32%
32%
21%
Heroin Use Among Teens
(Young Adults)
(SAMHSA)
 Number of teen deaths skyrocketing for 15-25 year olds
from 199 in 1998 to 510 in 2009
 80% jump in numbers of teens seeking treatment for
heroin
 Number of teens reporting using heroin at some point in
their lives has increased by 300%
 Initiation to heroin use by 12-17 year olds is up 80%
 Significant increases by affluent teens in suburbs
 A study of 16 female adolescent heroin users in
Baltimore indicated:
• Females are twice as likely to be introduced to drugs
by a male friend or boyfriend
• 94% initiation by inhalation
• 75% injected at some point
• Percentages significantly less for males
 Male heroin addicts are more likely than females to
abuse alcohol heavily, use wider variety of other
drugs more often than females
 90% of teen and young adult females report their
initial use of heroin was with a male (usually a
boyfriend)
 80% of world’s heroin supply is used in the United
States
 Treatment admissions for opiate addiction in 2006
was secondary only to alcohol
(National Survey of Drug use and Health)
Limitation Access and Changing Attitude
Goals Onset
Reduce Frequency
Reduce Amounts
Accomplish This By:
Monitor Close
Catch it Early
Make a Big Deal When it Happens
CHANGING ACCESS
 Limit unsupervised unstructured hang time
 Do not allow teens to hang out in homes where
parents are not present
 Limit overnights
 Eyeball teens when they come home at night
 Limit exposure of young teens to older teens
 Make expectations clear to the teens who visit your
house frequently
 Network with other parents
 Stay present and involved when teens are at your
house
 Closely monitor what teens bring into your house
CHANGING ACCESS – CONTINUED
 Monitor for late night visitors and late night
escapades (i.e., sneaking out)
 Make it clear that if adults serve your child alcohol,
you will hold them accountable
 Your stance about alcohol and drug use needs to be
consistent and not change just because you are
somewhere that there is no drinking age
 Let your child know they will be held completely
responsible for anything they have in their
possession and their friend’s behavior at your home
WHAT ADULTS NEED TO KNOW
 Teens do go through withdrawal from marijuana.
Withdrawal symptoms include headache, sleep
disturbances, irritability and agitation
 There is a direct correlation between teen’s
perception that their parents approve of alcohol and
drug use and seriousness of the adolescents use
 Research indicates that teens who know their parents
have used marijuana were significantly more (40%)
likely to use marijuana
 If adults do not explicitly disapprove of adolescent
drinking and drug use, teens interpret this as approval
WHAT ADULTS NEED TO KNOW
(Continued)
 Talking to teens about what you think about drug and
alcohol use is good, but more effective if this
discussion includes an “enforcement component.”
 It is not hypocritical to tell your teen that they will not
be allowed to use or drink, even if you yourself did
use or drink as a teen
 Young teens that use or drink are typically
introduced to this by an older teen, usually a friend’s
older sibling
 Adolescent use patterns tend to be influenced by
same gender older siblings
 We need to talk to our kids about drug and alcohol
use whenever the situation presents itself