"TIPs & QUIPs" Archive

Subject: Lifescope TIPs & QUIPs [10] "Children and Drugs"

TIPs & QUIPs, the free occasional email of helpful hints and quotes (and
sometimes challenging suggestions) for getting the most from life.

In this issue:
     *** WiseWords
     *** This Issue's Theme
     *** Suggested Resources
     *** Thrive On! Recommended Site


*** WiseWords ***
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"Children are our most valuable natural resource."
  --Herbert Hoover

"The potential possibilities of any child are the most intriguing and
 stimulating in all creation."
  --Ray L. Wilbur

"Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet: there's always one
 determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger
 desires."
  --Marcelene Cox

"O true apothecary! Thy drugs are quick."
  --William Shakespeare

(For a collection of some of our favorite WiseWords, see our web page at
<http://www.lifescope.com/pages/WiseWords.html>.)


*** This issue's theme:  CHILDREN AND DRUGS - PART 1: CALL TO ACTION
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"I felt depressed and hurt all the time. I hated myself for the way I hurt my
parents and treated them so cruelly and for the way I treated others. I hated
myself the most, though. I would take drugs to a stupor, and fell further and
further behind in school and work and relationships with others. I just
didn't care anymore whether I lived or died. I stopped going to school
altogether. I felt constantly depressed and began having thoughts of suicide,
which scared me a lot! I didn't know where to turn..."
 -- Stewart, a high school student

Americans have consistently identified drug use as being among the top
problems confronting the nation's schools. Yet many do not recognize the
degree to which their own children, their own schools, and their own
communities are at risk.

Research shows that drug use among children is 10 times more prevalent than
parents suspect. In addition, many students know that their parents do not
recognize the extent of drug use; as a result, some young people believe that
they can use drugs with impunity.

The facts are:
* Alcohol-related highway accidents are the principal cause of death among
  young people ages 15 through 24. Alcohol use is the primary cause of traffic
  accidents involving teenage drivers. Furthermore, about half of all youthful
  deaths in drowning, fires, suicide, and homicide are alcohol-related.
* Heavy drinking, defined as five or more drinks on one occasion, was
  reported by 30 percent of high school seniors, and more than one-half are
  occasional users of alcohol.
* By high school graduation, 88 percent of students had used alcohol; 78
  percent had used alcohol in the past year and 54 percent had used it in the
  month prior to the survey.
* Although higher proportions of males are involved in illicit drug use,
  especially heavy drug use, the gap between the sexes is closing.
* Drug use is not confined to young people in certain geographic areas or
  from particular economic backgrounds; drug use affects young people
  throughout our nation. Students from non-metropolitan areas reported almost
  as much illicit drug use as students from large cities.
* Drugs are a serious problem not only among high school students but among
  middle and elementary school students as well. Initial use of alcohol and
  other drugs occurs at an increasingly early age. 44 percent of 8th graders
  have tried cigarettes, and 70 percent have at least tried alcohol.
  Twenty-seven percent of 8th graders have gotten drunk at least once.
* All illegal drugs are dangerous to children; there is no such thing as safe
  or responsible use of illegal drugs.
* Although drug trafficking is controlled by adults, the immediate source of
  drugs for most students is other students.
  [--The above facts taken from a Federal Survey conducted in the early 1990s.]

Continuing unawareness and misconceptions about the drug problem stand in the
way of corrective action. Drug use frequently progresses in stages -- from
occasional use, to regular use, to multiple drug use, and ultimately to total
dependency. With each successive stage, drug use intensifies, becomes more
varied, and results in increasingly debilitating effects.

But this progression is not inevitable. Drug use can be stopped at any stage.
However, the more deeply involved children are with drugs, the more difficult
it is for them to stop. The best way to fight drug use is to begin prevention
efforts before children start using drugs. Prevention efforts that focus on
young children are the most effective means to fight drug use. So if you have
children or have friends with children, this is a call to action: 
Become more aware...

SIGNS OF DRUG USE IN CHILDREN
Changing patterns of performance, appearance, and behavior may signal use of
drugs. The items in the first category listed below provide direct evidence
of drug use; the items in the other categories offer signs that may indicate
drug use. Adults should watch for extreme changes in children's behavior,
changes that together form a pattern associated with drug use.

Signs of Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia
* Possession of drug-related paraphernalia such as pipes, rolling papers,
  small decongestant bottles, eye drops, or small butane torches.
* Possession of drugs or evidence of drugs, such as pills, white powder,
  small glass vials, or hypodermic needles; peculiar plants or butts, seeds, or
  leaves in ashtrays or in clothing pockets.
* Odor of drugs, smell of incense or other "cover-up" scents.

Signs of Physical Deterioration
* Bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils.
* Memory lapses, short attention span, difficulty in concentration.
* Poor physical coordination, slurred or incoherent speech.
* Unhealthy appearance, indifference to hygiene and grooming.

Identification with Drug Culture
* Drug-related magazines, slogans on clothing.
* Conversation and jokes that are preoccupied with drugs.
* Hostility in discussing drugs.
* Collection of beer cans.

Dramatic Changes in School Performance
* Marked downturn in student's grades -- not just from C's to F's, but from
  A's to B's and C's; assignments not completed.
* Increased absenteeism or tardiness.

Changes in Behavior
* Chronic dishonesty (lying, stealing, cheating);trouble with the police.
* Changes in friends, evasiveness in talking about new ones.
* Possession of large amounts of money.
* Increasing and inappropriate anger, hostility, irritability, secretiveness.
* Reduced motivation, energy, self-discipline, self-esteem.
* Diminished interest in extracurricular activities and hobbies.

Drug suppliers have responded to the increasing demand for drugs by
developing new strains, producing reprocessed, purified drugs, and using
underground laboratories to create more powerful forms of illegal drugs.
Consequently, users are exposed to heightened or unknown levels of risk.

* The marijuana produced today is from 5 to 20 times stronger than that
  available as recently as 10 years ago. Regular use by adolescents has been
  associated with an "a motivational syndrome," characterized by apathy and
  loss of goals. Research has shown that severe psychological damage, including
  paranoia and psychosis, can occur when marijuana contains 2 percent THC, its
  major psychoactive ingredient. Since the early 1980s, most marijuana has
  contained from 4 to 6 percent THC-two or three times the amount capable of
  causing serious damage.
* Crack is a purified, cheap, and highly addictive form of cocaine..
* Phencyclidine (PCP), first developed as an animal tranquilizer, has
  unpredictable and often violent effects. Often children do not even know that
  they are using this drug when PCP-laced parsley in cigarette form is passed
  off as marijuana, or when PCP in crystal form is sold as lysergic acid
  diethlyamide (LSD).
* Some of the "designer" drugs, slight chemical variations of existing illegal
  drugs, have been known to cause permanent brain damage with a single dose.

Acknowledgements:
A heartfelt thanks to the many individuals within the U.S. Department of
Education, the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, and
the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who variously conducted the research,
compiled this information, and made it publicly available.



*** Suggested Resources ***
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For more specifics on what various drugs do, go to our HOW2WIN@LIFE report
Children and Drugs: Part 2.

If you want to help keep children off drugs, find out at Part 3: What you can do.

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    (softcover book, 284pp) Item# B6215-BK
        SRP$16.95  (see link for special price)
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*** Thrive On! Recommended Site ***
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
PDT-90 Home Drug Test <http://www.drugtestnow.com/drug.html>
If you're really concerned about the drug use of your child, you can,
for $60, confirm whether your child has done drugs. According to this site:
"The PDT-90  Personal Drug Testing Service comes complete with everything
you need to anonymously collect and ship a hair sample to an accredited
laboratory while providing easy access to accurate test results. PDT-90 
Personal Drug Testing Service has been clinically proven to be as effective
and accurate as drug tests administered by doctors, hospitals, health
clinics, or professional labs such as the US Justice Department.
Once drugs are in the hair a permanent marker is formed. An inch and a half
of hair will cover a 90 day time period. Hair that is bleached, permed, etc.
is only affected on the outside of the follicle. Hair alteration has no
bearing on the inside of the hair where the drug is deposited."


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merchantability for a particular purpose. Besides, actual mileage may vary.

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