The availability of over-the-counter medications that contain DXM is a major problem that parents need to pay attention to. Many families have cough syrup in the medicine cabinet, ready to be abused. Experts say that many parents are in the dark about the dangers of using DXM to get high.

When combined with other stimulant drugs like caffeinated beverages, energy drinks, and prescription drugs to treat ADHD, the effects can be fatal.

According to a 2006 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) survey, more than three million people ages 12 to 25 abused cough medications. About 48 percent of the people who were taken to the emergency room for DXM abuse were between the ages of 12 and 20, according to the survey.

Signs of DXM abuse include a medicinal smell on your child’s breath, empty or missing cough syrup bottles, and changes in attitude and sleeping habits.

Parents should talk to their children about the dangers of abusing cough syrup and be aware of the websites he or she visits, as there are a number of web sites that give information on how much cough syrup to take, how to extract DXM from cough medications, and even how to buy a powdered form of DXM for snorting.

Sources: CNN Health, Parents Be Warned: Your Kids May Be "Robo Tripping," July 8, 2010

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Teen Cough Syrup Abuse

The Dangers of DXM is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

This study – the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control – found that just over one in five high school students in the United States admits to having taken a prescription drug without a prescription from a physician.

Within the survey, the CDC found that 20.2 percent of high school students report having taken a drug such as Ritalin, Xanax or OxyContin without a prescription. In addition, prescription abuse was most common among white students at 23 percent, followed by Hispanics at 17 percent and African-Americans at 12 percent.

Drug abuse proved to be the most common among high school seniors at 26 percent and least common among freshman at 15 percent. There appeared to be no difference in prescription drug abuse by gender as it was 20 percent for both male and female students.

“We are concerned to learn that so many high school students are taking prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them,” Howell Wechsler, EdD, MPH, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, saidin a news release. “Some people may falsely believe that prescription drugs are safer than illegal drugs, yet their misuse can cause serious adverse health effects, including addiction and death.”

Teen Drug Abuse Increasingly Focused on Prescription Drugs is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

A study in 2009 examined the effects of exposure to cannabis in music on adolescents’ cannabis use (Primack et al, 2009). The researchers hoped to better understand the association between hearing about cannabis and actual use of cannabis.

To gather information, the study used baseline survey data of an anti-smoking clinical trial. The 959 participants were all recruited from health classes from three large high schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The baseline survey included information about socio-demographic variables, parenting style, sensation seeking, rebelliousness and alcohol use.

The researchers used two methods to measure the exposure students had to lyrics in two ways. The students were asked how many hours per day they listened to music, and they were asked which musician was their favorite. The researchers then analyzed this data to determine the student’s unique exposure to cannabis lyrics by measuring the number of hours per week multiplied by the number of cannabis lyrics per hour in their favorite artist’s songs.

The second way that the students’ exposure was measured was by determining the number of songs that contained cannabis lyrics by the artists named as favorite artists.

The primary outcome variables of interest were divided into those who had ever used cannabis (even a puff) and a measure of past 30 day cannabis use (even a puff).

The researchers used multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine that the students with the highest exposure to cannabis lyrics also had the highest odds of past 30 day cannabis use when compared with those students who had low cannabis lyrics exposures.

The regression analysis also revealed that those who had the highest song exposure had higher odds of past 30 day cannabis use than those who had the lowest song exposure.

The study’s results may be limited by the use of self-reported data. In addition, the study assumes that the favorite artist of the student is also who they listen to most, which may not be true. The study also does not determine causality with its cross-sectional design.

This study’s findings are the first to examine the relationship between lyrics containing references to cannabis and actual cannabis use among adolescents.

Reference
Primack, B. A., Douglas, E. L., & Kraemer, K. L. (2009). Exposure to cannabis in popular music and cannabis use among adolescents. Addiction, 105, 515-523.
 

Study Examines Impact of Music with Cannabis References on Adolescent Marijuana Use is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

How Big is the Problem?

Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in America, and has been for decades. It is also the number one drug of choice for millions of U.S. teens. While parents may find the statistics of teen marijuana use startling, the prevalence remains fairly consistent across numerous studies. In one recent study of 11,426 teens, one-quarter (25 percent) said they had already smoked marijuana, 13 percent had smoked it during the previous month, and 6 percent had smoked cannabis more than 4 times in the previous month.

In a press release (http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pressreleases/09drugpr.pdf) about the results of the 2009 Monitoring the Future Study (MTF), researchers pointed out that teen marijuana use has been increasing gradually over the past two years, following years of declining use. The MTF has been tracking drug use among U.S. teens since 1975. Each year, about 50,000 8th, 10th, and 12th graders are surveyed (12th graders since 1975, 8th and 10th graders since 1991).

Lloyd Johnson, the study’s principal investigator said that while marijuana use isn’t up dramatically, the trending upward stands in sharp contrast to nearly a decade of declines. More troubling are attitudes and perceptions. “Not only is use rising, but a key belief about the degree of risk associated with marijuana use has been in decline among young people even longer,” says Johnson, “and the degree to which teens disapprove of use of the drug has recently begun to decline. Changes in these beliefs and attitudes are often very influential in driving changes in use.”

The 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) (http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUHlatest.htm) shows that of the 2.2 million recent initiates to marijuana in the past year, most (61.8 percent) were under the age of 18 at first use. Among youths aged 12 to 17, an estimated 5 percent had used marijuana for the first time within the past year.

Factors that Increase Risk of Teen Marijuana Use

Experts have identified the following factors that increase the risk that teens will begin using marijuana:

• Poor family relationships
• Household access to marijuana
• Poor school experience
• Low self-esteem
• Lack of (or little) religious identity
• Fear of dying
• Working more than 20 hours per week
• Poor grades

Potency of Marijuana Increases

Marijuana that is available in the U.S. today is much more potent than cannabis in the 1970s, according to research. Today’s levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main ingredient in marijuana (of more than 170 different compounds), is nearly 9 percent today, compared to less than 1 percent in the 1970s. Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has been quoted (http://jcctcc.wordpress.holton.k12.ks.us/adults-and-parents-heads-up/er-visits-for-teen-marijuana-use/) as saying, “Marijuana is not a benign drug. Marijuana can be addictive: it interferes with brain functions, like learning and memory. And it may pose a threat to the health and well-being of children and adolescents at a critical point in their lives – when they are growing, learning, maturing, and laying the foundation for their adult years.”

Negative Effects of Marijuana Use

The increased potency of marijuana available today carries with it increased risk of negative effects in the users. In other words, marijuana use by teens is far from harmless, even in small quantities. Some of the negative effects of teen marijuana use include:

Short-term Effects:

• Increases in blood pressure and heart rate
• Increased risk of heart attack
• Increased tendency toward depression
• Impaired judgment and reduced coordination
• Problems with memory and learning
• Distortions in perception (sights, sounds, smells)

Long-Term Effects:

• Addiction – Not everyone who smokes marijuana will become dependent or addicted to the drug. But when someone feels they need to smoke it in order to feel better, to escape from their problems, to avoid tasks or responsibilities, they are said to be dependent on or addicted to it. In addition, frequent, heavy users of marijuana develop a tolerance to the drug. This means they require more of it and more often in order to achieve the same high or the same results they used to get from smoking smaller amounts. It is important to note that people can become emotionally and mentally addicted to marijuana. Getting the drug, so-called drug-seeking behavior, becomes all they think about. Their days are consumed by thoughts of, cravings for, and use of, the drug. This is classic addiction.

• Damage to brain cells – THC disrupts nerve cells in the brain where memories are formed. This makes it harder for someone who uses marijuana to recall recent events and also makes learning more difficult. Short-term memory is thus affected in learning or performing tasks that require more than 1 or 2 steps. In terms of long-term damage, researchers know that chronic marijuana use over a period of years takes its toll on the brain’s functioning. The extent of the long-term damage of marijuana use on the brain is still being studied.

• Lung and other respiratory problems – Studies show that people who smoke marijuana tend to have the same type of breathing problems that cigarette smokers do. These include frequent coughing, phlegm accumulation in the throat and chest, wheezing, and more chest colds than non-smokers.

• Compromised immune system – Studies of animals have found that THC can damage cells and tissues that protect from disease.

• Reproductive system difficulties – Heavy marijuana use can affect the reproductive systems of both males and females. The effects of THC could cause delayed puberty in males, and, in females, the drug may disturb the monthly cycle (menstruation periods and ovulation).

• Cancer potential – Scientific evidence is inconclusive whether marijuana can cause cancer, but marijuana smoke does contain many of the same – and sometimes more – cancer-causing chemicals as smoke from cigarettes. Studies have shown that someone who smokes 5 joints per week may take in as many cancer-causing chemicals as a person who smokes a pack of cigarettes daily.

• Increased risk of schizophrenia – Among persons with underlying substance abuse and mental disorders, the risk of schizophrenia (or other mental disorders) may increase with chronic, long-term cannabis use. Researchers are exploring the connection between co-occurring disorders (substance abuse and mental disorders) and marijuana use.

Marijuana usage, especially chronic, has other short- and long-term effect on teens. These include the way they are able to perform in a variety of settings. Marijuana use affects how they perform at school, at work, in extracurricular activities, sports, and other social interactions, and how they interact with parents and other family members. Since marijuana smokers tend to display reduced motivation and increased apathy, they are less likely to be on time for work, school, or appointments, and are more likely to show a lack of interest, enthusiasm or diligence in doing well at school or other activities.

Signs of Marijuana Use

Parents may fear prying into their teens’ lives, but it is important for parents and other caregivers to be on the lookout for telltale signs of marijuana use. Certainly the combination of several of the following signs should be cause for concern:
 

• Red, bloodshot eyes
• Moodiness
• Smell of sweet-type smoke on the person and clothes
• Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed
• Irritability
• Signs of depression
• Changes in eating/sleeping patterns
• Drug-using paraphernalia (cigarette rolling papers, bongs, marijuana plants, roach clips)

Treatment for Teen Marijuana Use

Depending on how severe the marijuana use, parents may opt for outpatient or private counseling in lieu of a residential treatment facility. About 16 percent of the admissions to U.S. treatment facilities are for marijuana use – and most are males between the ages of 15 to 19. Whichever type of treatment facility is used, the important point is to get help for teen marijuana use and abuse – before it leads to a chronic behavioral pattern that can have life-long negative impact.

Local treatment programs can be very effective in helping teens to overcome marijuana use. Among the most effective are programs such as adolescent community reinforcement approach (A-CRA), motivational enhancement therapy (MET)/cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)/, and multidimensional family therapy (MDFT). These are evidence-based, scientifically-tested approaches to treating substance abuse as identified by the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

• Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach – A-CRA is a behavioral intervention that seeks to replace environmental contingencies that have supported drug or alcohol use with prosocial behaviors and activities that support recovery. This outpatient program targets youth aged 12 to 22 years old and DSM-IV cannabis, alcohol, and/or other substance use disorders.
o A-CRA guidelines comprehend three types of sessions: Adolescents alone, parents/caregivers alone, and adolescents and parents/caregivers together

o After assessment of the youth’s needs and self-assessment of happiness in multiple areas of functioning, therapists choose from 17 A-CRA procedures to address areas such as: communication skills, problem-solving skills to cope with day-to-day stressors, active participation in prosocial activities to help the youth improve life satisfaction and eliminate substance use and alcohol problems. Role-playing and rehearsal are a critical component of A-CRA procedures, particularly in relapse prevention and communication skills training.

• Motivational Enhancement Therapy/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Sometimes combined under Family Support Network (FSN), an outpatient substance abuse treatment targeting youths aged 10 to 18, FSN includes a family component along with a 12-session, adolescent-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, known as Motivational Enhancement Therapy/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (MET/CBT), and case management. Note that there are various CBT program lengths (5, 12, etc.).

o The family component engages adolescents and their parents in a joint commitment to the treatment and recovery process.
o The MET/CBT12 component includes 2 individual MET sessions to explore youth’s ambivalence about changing substance abuse behaviors and 10 CBT sessions that teach specific cognitive behavioral skills. These skills include how to refuse cannabis, solving problems, anger awareness and management, how to deal with criticism, managing depression, how to cope with cravings, planning for an emergency, managing thoughts about marijuana, building a better social network, engaging in activities unrelated to drug use, and coping with relapse.

• Multidimensional Family Therapy – MDFT is a comprehensive and multisystemic family-based outpatient or partial hospitalization (day treatment) for substance-abusing adolescents – as well as adolescents with co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders, those at high risk for continued substance abuse and other problem behaviors such as delinquency and conduct disorder. By working with the individual youth and his or her family, MDFT helps the young person to develop more effective skills in coping and problem-solving for better decision-making, and helps the family to develop better interpersonal relationships and functioning to protect against substance abuse and related problems. MDFT is delivered in 60- to 90-minute sessions over a flexible series of 12 to 16 weeks. The manual-driven intervention consists of specific assessment and treatment modules that target four areas of social interaction:

o The youth’s interpersonal functioning with parents and peers
o The parents’ practices of parenting and level of adult functioning independent of their parenting role
o Interactions of parents and adolescents in therapy sessions
o Communication between family members and key social systems (for example, school, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile justice)

What About Medications to Treat Marijuana Use?

There are currently no medications that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of marijuana use, dependency or addiction. At this time, treatment consists of multidisciplinary counseling approaches, as listed above.

There is hope, however, following recent discoveries in pharmacology, that scientists may be able to develop a medication that will block the intoxicating effects of THC to the brain’s reward center. If so, such medication may prove useful in helping to prevent relapse by limiting or reducing the drug’s appeal (if there is no reward, drug use is curbed).

Finding Treatment

The best approach to finding treatment is to use the SAMHSA’s Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator. SAMHSA also operates a toll-free referral helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

Remember, there is help available for teens who use or abuse marijuana. The sooner treatment begins, the better the chances of successful recovery.
 

Treating Teen Marijuana Use is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) publishes a report about the emergency department treatments of adolescents and includes information about drug-related suicides. This article summarizes the findings of DAWN in 2008 regarding drug-related suicides among adolescents aged 12 to 17.

DAWN reports that 263,871 teens were treated for drug-related injury in 2008 in emergency departments across the United States. 23,,124 visits (8.8 percent) of these visits involved a suicide attempt. The visits often involved multiple drugs, with an average of 1.8 drugs per visit, including alcohol. Females made up 72.3 percent of the emergency department visits for drug-related suicide attempts among adolescents.

Over 10 percent of the emergency department visits involved alcohol as one of substances abused related to a suicide attempt. Pharmaceuticals were reported in 95.4 percent of suicide attempts, and illicit drugs represented 8.8 percent of drugs reported during these visits.

The drugs that were involved in the teens’ abuse before the suicide attempt varied by gender. Males were much more likely to use antipsychotic drugs than females were (14.3 percent of visits for males, versus 4.8 percent for females). Acetaminophen was much more likely to be used by females than by males (28.5 percent for females, versus 17.1 percent for males).

Most drug-related suicide attempts result in follow-up care. DAWN reports that in 2008 77.0 percent of the visits to the emergency department ended with follow-up care. 90.2 percent of visits related to use of prescription antidepressants resulted in follow-up care, and at the low end, 52.4 percent of visits involving ibuprofen received follow-up care.

Follow-up care is defined broadly. It can include inpatient admission to the hospital, transfer to a different health care facility, or even a detoxification program.

Every teen who has made a visit to an emergency department for a suicide attempt should be considered at high-risk for a second suicide attempt, according to DAWN. A second suicide attempt could be fatal. Because of the data gathered by DAWN, health care professionals and family members should take advantage of the intervention opportunity offered by a first suicide attempt that results in a hospital visit.
 

Teen Suicides involving Drugs (2008 Data) is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

There is a new warning for parents who have a teenager that uses marijuana. A recent study has found that even light cannabis use can lead to problems in the future. The study was led by researcher Louisa Degenhardt from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of NSW.

The study recruited 2,000 school children in Australia. The children were tracked over a decade. The results of the study indicate that children who used cannabis occasionally at the age of 13 and 14 were at a higher risk for using ecstasy, cocaine or amphetamines at the age of 24.

Even those who used marijuana lightly were also at risk for addiction. The study showed that the individuals who used cannabis lightly at age 13 or 14 became addicted as adults at a rate of one in 10.

In addition, the study revealed that a third of teens who used marijuana lightly were taking harder drugs in their twenties, compared with only 11 percent for those who had not used marijuana during their teen years.

The study also highlighted a link between light marijuana use and alcohol. The research indicated that 15 percent of individuals who used marijuana lightly in teen years were addicted to alcohol early in adulthood. Only 9 percent of those who had not used marijuana were addicted to alcohol in early adulthood.

The results of the study suggest a warning for teenagers who have used marijuana only as a recreational drug on occasion. Prior research has shown that regular use of the drug was harmful, but that light use may be of little concern. This study highlights the need for education about even the light use of marijuana.

“What it definitely says is that early onset occasional cannabis use is a marker for being more likely to be engaging in a whole range of drug use behaviors in young adulthood,” said Degenhardt.

The findings of this study suggest that parents take heed of warnings that cannabis use in teen years may cause problems later in early adulthood, even if the use of marijuana is occasional and light.
 

New Research Indicates Marijuana Really Can Be a Gateway Drug for Teens is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

The research, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Aging, and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, has been published in the journal PloS ONE.

Poor sleep patterns and drug habits are two habits that may spread easily in an adolescent’s social group, and one may influence the other. According to lead researcher Sara C. Mednick, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System, this is the first investigation of the spread of illegal drug use in social networks. It is also the first study in age population on the spread of sleep behaviors through social networks.

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were analyzed to determine how sleep deprivation and the spread of drug use within social groups are related. About 8,349 teens in grades 7 through 12 were studied for a period of eight years. Each of these participants was asked to name five friends who also participated in the study.

The findings of the study revealed that participants belonging to the same large social group with poor sleep had tried marijuana. It was also found that teens’ sleep and drug habits are influenced by their friends and even the friends of their friends.

"Our behaviors are all connected to each other and we need to start thinking about how one behavior affects our lives on many levels. Therefore, when parents, schools, and law enforcement want to look for ways to influence one outcome, such as drug use, our research suggests that targeting another behavior, like sleep, may have a positive influence," says Mednick.

It is difficult to predict which teenager would take up drugs but will quit and who will progress to dependency. Instilling good habits like limiting hours of watching television and spending time in front of the computer, using the phone only during daytime and early evening hours, and promoting getting a good night’s sleep may help.

Sleep-Deprived Teens More Likely to Abuse Drugs is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

The DPI’s Safe and Drug-Free Program’s Steve Fernan is surprised so many students say they have experimented with prescription drugs. "The fact that at least 20% said that they had at least once was surprising. So again as we look at this further, we can begin to determine if there is a growing or declining trend,” he said. The study found that 11% of high school students took prescription drugs to get high.

Department of Justice Special Agent Brian Dunlap says prescription drug abuse is leading to drug overdose deaths among teens and surpassing illegal drug overdoses in Wisconsin.

"So if you look at coke, crack, methamphetamine, add all those together, just the OxyContins account for more deaths on an annual basis than all those other drugs combined,” he says.

Dunlap says statistics from the four-county area of Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac, and Calumet show more deaths from prescription pain killers among teens than from street drugs, and he believes this trend is reflected statewide.

One in Five Wisconsin Teens Have Abused Prescription Drugs is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

What Is Wilderness Experiential Therapy

In a sense, wilderness experiential therapy is a combination of the best camp experience with inpatient traditional addiction treatment. The goal is to introduce young adults and older teens to a drug- and alcohol-free way of living. Wilderness treatment centers (WTCs) have activities that increase clients’ self-confidence and feeling of empowerment. They’re no cakewalk, however. The activities are both rugged and challenging and may include rappelling, ranch work, wilderness expeditions, backpacking, cross country skiing and others.

Length of Stay

Depending on the wilderness experiential therapy program, the length of stay is the traditional 30-day inpatient chemical dependency addiction treatment program that has the added benefits of wilderness adventure expeditions that range from 16 to 40 days in duration. If the young person is addicted to drugs or alcohol he or she may need to go through medically monitored detox first, and some attend a 30-day traditional alcohol or drug rehab first to stabilize them and ensure they are healthy for the experience.

Staffing

Look for licensed addiction counselors that are with the clients the entire length of their stay. This isn’t a case of sending young adults off on some bonding trip where they do survival training. Experienced counselors trained in all the activities are with clients at all times.

Unconventional Settings for Treatment

Like the name implies, wilderness experiential therapy takes place in settings that offer incredible beauty and majesty of nature – and are nothing like the sterile or hospital-like environment of some traditional treatment facilities. Rocky Mountain and Blue Ridge Mountain locations, ranches or settings in Montana, Arizona, Utah, North Carolina, Oregon, or other breathtaking sites just add to the overall excitement of being away from it all. Many times the opportunity to be several states or hundreds of miles from home, and faced with taking a sense of personal responsibility and accountability with the assistance of licensed addiction treatment counselors is enough to make a dramatic change in the client.

Treatment Philosophy

Type of treatment used is generally multi-disciplinary, depending on the facility. Some are male only or female only WTCs. Since chemically-dependent or polysubstance-addicted individuals often have behavioral and emotional issues and psychological problems such as ADD, ADHD, oppositional-defiant, depressed, conduct-disordered or bi-polar, treatment counselors use appropriate methods designed for maximum impact. The 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous programs are utilized.

Daily Schedules

Daily life at the WTCs begins early – usually about 7:00 a.m. – and it’s lights out by 10:30 p.m. In between, there are lectures, chores, individual counseling, group therapy, step group and peer evaluation, free time, AA or NA meetings, individual counseling assignments, recreation therapy, and work therapy. Again, the schedules vary depending on WTC.

Cost of Programs

These vary depending on location, type of treatment offered, length of stay and other factors. Costs per day are from $375 and includes room, board and all therapy, plus a clothing allowance of $500 (for wilderness expedition equipment, sleeping bags, etc.). Insurance may help cover a portion of the costs, and some WTCs have loans available to cover the stay.

How to Find Wilderness Experiential Therapy Centers

Referrals come from both inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment centers, probation officers, individual counselors, even family members.

Licensing and Accreditations

Make sure the WTC you’re considering has all the right licenses and accreditations. Look for licensing by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, accreditation from organizations such as the Association for Experiential Education, The Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC), National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) and others.

Tips for Finding A Wilderness Experiential Therapy Program

It takes a lot of research, but the rewards will be well worth it. Here are some tips to help make your search more productive.

• Research Type of Treatment Option – Find the one that’s right for your loved one.

• Visit Websites – From the handful of potential programs you’ve identified, visit each WTC’s website. Thoroughly read through their treatment programs and philosophies to ensure it’s what you’re looking for.

• Make Contact – You’ll undoubtedly have more questions, so now’s the time to make a phone call to talk with their admissions counselor to get the answers.

• Check References – It’s important to check the reputation of the WTC from previous clients. These may be in the form of testimonials, articles in the media, or even talking to the parents of former clients.

• Get The Family Involved – The addiction of your loved one affects the entire family, so make this a family decision. There are also some WTCs that have a family component, so investigate that as well.

• Take a Tour – If possible, tour the facility before you enroll your loved one. If this is not possible due to distance or time constraints, see if the facility has virtual tours on its website or a DVD they can send.

• Know All The Costs – Don’t be blindsided by costs you hadn’t anticipated. Ask for a complete and itemized estimate of what’s involved for the treatment program. Financial aid, loans or scholarships may be available, and insurance may cover a small portion of the program.

• Stay Informed – Once you’ve selected the wilderness experiential therapy program for your loved one, stay informed through the WTC’s licensed professionals on progress and any information critical to aftercare.
 

Wilderness Experiential Therapy for Young Adults is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

The researchers analyzed data from 109 hospitalized patients who were experiencing their first psychotic episode. The results showed that patients who had a history of using marijuana, or cannabis, and increased to daily pot smoking experienced both psychotic and pre-psychotic symptoms at earlier ages.

“We were surprised that it wasn’t just whether or not they used cannabis in adolescence that predicted the age of onset, rather it was how quickly they progressed to becoming a daily cannabis user that was the stronger predictor,” said Michael Compton, lead author and assistant professor of psychiatry in the Emory School of Medicine.

The study also found that the female subjects who progressed to daily pot smoking had a greater increased risk for the onset of psychosis than the males.

Marijuana is the most abused illicit substance among people with schizophrenia, the most extreme form of psychosis, and previous research has shown that smoking pot is likely a risk factor for the disease.

The Emory study also focused on what is known as the prodromal period, when a person has symptoms such as unusual sensory experiences, which are often precursors to frank hallucinations and delusions. Prodromal symptoms can occur months, or years, before a diagnosis of psychosis. About 30 to 40 percent of prodomal teenagers will eventually develop schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder.

“The prodromal period is especially important because it’s considered to be a critical time for preventive intervention,” says Elaine Walker, a co-investigator of the study and professor of psychology and neuroscience at Emory.

The study also involved researchers from Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health and Georgia State University. It was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Daily Marijuana Use May Hasten Psychosis is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment