A leading drug educator gives presentation at Beth-Center
By Joseph Augustine, For the Herald-Standard
04/05/2009
Updated 04/04/2009 08:15:07 PM EDT
FREDERICKTOWN
- Many families gather in the comforts of their home each week to play along with contestants on the popular, family friendly television game show "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" Though, the show brings families together to test each other's knowledge on topics ranging from mathematics to history to science, it's the "game of life," where parents and children may be torn apart if alcohol and drugs enter the scene, leaving parents asking themselves, "Am I 'Smarter than a Teenager?"
To help answer that question, administrators at Bethlehem-Center High School welcomed one of the leading educators in drug and alcohol prevention in the state, the Byrnes
Health Education Center located in York, to test parent's knowledge about drugs and paraphernalia being used today among teenagers.
"Drugs 101: What Parents Need to Know" the theme for the evening, sought to educate parents about the signs, symptoms and current trends associated with drug and alcohol abuse among teenagers.
A mock bedroom of a teenager served as the backdrop to the presentation. To set the scene, music blared from artists such as Bob Marley, Dave Matthews, and Snoop Dog; who are associated with smoking marijuana, as parents had an opportunity to inspect the mock bedroom and to identify possible signs of drug use.
Scattered throughout the room were some obvious harmful items such as empty beer bottles, cigarettes and lighters, and as well as some lesser known paraphernalia like a highlighter that can double as a pipe, liquid paper (white out) for inhalant use, and a rolled up dollar bill linked to cocaine abuse.
Before the start of the "live" role playing demonstrations and educational portions of the program, it was revealed by health educator Clarence Watson that more than 70 drug indicators were present in the teenager's bedroom.
"How many of you parents identified all the items," asked Watson? None of the 30 plus parents in attendance raised their hands. On average, the majority of the parents said they could identify only 20 to 40 of the drug-related contraband in the bedroom.
"We are here today to create an awareness about what's going on in the drug world," stated Watson, who has been teaching the program since its inception in 2006.
Watson, along with co-health educator Suzanne Noel, began the educational portion by defining what the definition of a drug actually is.
"A drug is a chemical that changes the way your body works," informed Watson. "And the drugs of choice among today's teens are marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, heroin, nicotine, and inhalants."
Both health educators discussed these types of drugs during their two-hour presentation with important facts about each.
Some of the facts outlined dealt with depressants, stimulants, inhalants and underage smoking.
"Depressants (downers) tend to slow down the normal function of the central nervous system," said Noel. "These drugs suppress activities to the brain that controls a persons bodily functions such as breathing and heart rate."
Types of depressants are alcohol, marijuana, inhalants and prescription drugs.
Watson added that marijuana is known as the 'gateway drug. "It opens the door to more dangerous drugs," he said.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that young people who smoke marijuana are two to five times more likely to move on to harder drugs.
In addition, Noel said that marijuana plants today produce stronger chemicals due to the effects from ozone layer damage; which makes the plants purity higher than 20, 30 or 40 years ago. "There are over 400 dangerous chemicals in one marijuana joint," she said. "That's like putting 15 cigarettes in your mouth at one time."
Stimulants (speed) in comparison to depressants have the opposite effect on normal body function by causing the heart to beat faster, as well as an increasing in blood pressure and metabolism. Stimulants can cause the users to become more talkative, energetic and even anxious.
Types of stimulants include cocaine, crack cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, nicotine, and ecstasy.
Watson informed parents that even one time use of cocaine or crack-whether snorted, injected, or smoked could lead to overdose.
"In rare instances, sudden death can occur with the first use of cocaine resulting in cardiac arrest or seizures," he said. "Teens who abuse both cocaine and alcohol compound the danger each drug poses."
Inhalants are breathable chemical vapors that produce mind-altering effects. "Teens abuse inhalants because they are easily accessible and inexpensive," said Watson. "These are common products found right in the home. Inhalant abuse can result in death from the very first use."
According to the annual Monitoring the Future national poll, approximately one in six children will use inhalants by eighth grade. The same report notes that inhalants are most popular with younger teens. Teens use inhalants by sniffing fumes from containers; spraying aerosols directly into the mouth or nose; bagging, by inhaling a substance inside a paper or plastic bag; huffing from an inhalant-soaked rag; or inhaling from balloons filled with nitrous oxide.
A source, who works within the Bethlehem-Center School District and asked to remain anonymous, concurs with Watson and Noel that inhalants are becoming a major concern in the district. "A lot of our students are inhaling the Butane (gas) directly from cigarette lighters," the source said.
Watson responded by saying that kids are fearless and don't really care. "It used to be in the past if a parent caught a neighborhood kid smoking in front of the mall, that kid's parents would know about it by the end of the day," he said. "If no one says something to them, they develop confidence."
Updated 04/04/2009 08:15:07 PM EDT
©The Herald Standard 2009
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20292845&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6
By Joseph Augustine, For the Herald-Standard
04/05/2009
Updated 04/04/2009 08:15:07 PM EDT
FREDERICKTOWN
- Many families gather in the comforts of their home each week to play along with contestants on the popular, family friendly television game show "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" Though, the show brings families together to test each other's knowledge on topics ranging from mathematics to history to science, it's the "game of life," where parents and children may be torn apart if alcohol and drugs enter the scene, leaving parents asking themselves, "Am I 'Smarter than a Teenager?"
To help answer that question, administrators at Bethlehem-Center High School welcomed one of the leading educators in drug and alcohol prevention in the state, the Byrnes
Health Education Center located in York, to test parent's knowledge about drugs and paraphernalia being used today among teenagers.
"Drugs 101: What Parents Need to Know" the theme for the evening, sought to educate parents about the signs, symptoms and current trends associated with drug and alcohol abuse among teenagers.
A mock bedroom of a teenager served as the backdrop to the presentation. To set the scene, music blared from artists such as Bob Marley, Dave Matthews, and Snoop Dog; who are associated with smoking marijuana, as parents had an opportunity to inspect the mock bedroom and to identify possible signs of drug use.
Scattered throughout the room were some obvious harmful items such as empty beer bottles, cigarettes and lighters, and as well as some lesser known paraphernalia like a highlighter that can double as a pipe, liquid paper (white out) for inhalant use, and a rolled up dollar bill linked to cocaine abuse.
Before the start of the "live" role playing demonstrations and educational portions of the program, it was revealed by health educator Clarence Watson that more than 70 drug indicators were present in the teenager's bedroom.
"How many of you parents identified all the items," asked Watson? None of the 30 plus parents in attendance raised their hands. On average, the majority of the parents said they could identify only 20 to 40 of the drug-related contraband in the bedroom.
"We are here today to create an awareness about what's going on in the drug world," stated Watson, who has been teaching the program since its inception in 2006.
Watson, along with co-health educator Suzanne Noel, began the educational portion by defining what the definition of a drug actually is.
"A drug is a chemical that changes the way your body works," informed Watson. "And the drugs of choice among today's teens are marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, heroin, nicotine, and inhalants."
Both health educators discussed these types of drugs during their two-hour presentation with important facts about each.
Some of the facts outlined dealt with depressants, stimulants, inhalants and underage smoking.
"Depressants (downers) tend to slow down the normal function of the central nervous system," said Noel. "These drugs suppress activities to the brain that controls a persons bodily functions such as breathing and heart rate."
Types of depressants are alcohol, marijuana, inhalants and prescription drugs.
Watson added that marijuana is known as the 'gateway drug. "It opens the door to more dangerous drugs," he said.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that young people who smoke marijuana are two to five times more likely to move on to harder drugs.
In addition, Noel said that marijuana plants today produce stronger chemicals due to the effects from ozone layer damage; which makes the plants purity higher than 20, 30 or 40 years ago. "There are over 400 dangerous chemicals in one marijuana joint," she said. "That's like putting 15 cigarettes in your mouth at one time."
Stimulants (speed) in comparison to depressants have the opposite effect on normal body function by causing the heart to beat faster, as well as an increasing in blood pressure and metabolism. Stimulants can cause the users to become more talkative, energetic and even anxious.
Types of stimulants include cocaine, crack cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamine, nicotine, and ecstasy.
Watson informed parents that even one time use of cocaine or crack-whether snorted, injected, or smoked could lead to overdose.
"In rare instances, sudden death can occur with the first use of cocaine resulting in cardiac arrest or seizures," he said. "Teens who abuse both cocaine and alcohol compound the danger each drug poses."
Inhalants are breathable chemical vapors that produce mind-altering effects. "Teens abuse inhalants because they are easily accessible and inexpensive," said Watson. "These are common products found right in the home. Inhalant abuse can result in death from the very first use."
According to the annual Monitoring the Future national poll, approximately one in six children will use inhalants by eighth grade. The same report notes that inhalants are most popular with younger teens. Teens use inhalants by sniffing fumes from containers; spraying aerosols directly into the mouth or nose; bagging, by inhaling a substance inside a paper or plastic bag; huffing from an inhalant-soaked rag; or inhaling from balloons filled with nitrous oxide.
A source, who works within the Bethlehem-Center School District and asked to remain anonymous, concurs with Watson and Noel that inhalants are becoming a major concern in the district. "A lot of our students are inhaling the Butane (gas) directly from cigarette lighters," the source said.
Watson responded by saying that kids are fearless and don't really care. "It used to be in the past if a parent caught a neighborhood kid smoking in front of the mall, that kid's parents would know about it by the end of the day," he said. "If no one says something to them, they develop confidence."
Updated 04/04/2009 08:15:07 PM EDT
©The Herald Standard 2009
http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20292845&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=480247&rfi=6
