Good..or NOT SO GOOD??

After watching CNN for a couple of hours I noticed there was alot of news concerning teens and young adults from ages 18 to 26 finding new ways to get drunk. So this encouraged me to go and investigate.

I first went to google and typed in new ways to get drunk and strikingly enough I found over a hundred thousand answers. But then I saw an article that narrowed it down for me and said 11 Cheapest Ways To Get Super, Super Drunk I figured this would be 'SUPER' interesting. Suprisingly enough it was very interesting it basically talked about the different liquors would be best to get you drunk and the name brands you should try. Now this information is good for a 21 year old or older person who is looking for a good time, BUT what happens when a 12 year old decides to type in the same and finds the same informations??

This put a whole new thought in my head... Is Google Really Doing Good? Or is this another device started for the good but has gotten into not so good hands?? It's really a question to think about because there are many sides to the story, you have the responsible single adult(over 21) who thinks it is a great tool, the child who cant ask their parents these questions so why not ask the next best thing, and then you have the parents of these children who hope the school has these web sites blocked.

Well for those parents of the children who can get on these sites and learn things way beyond their years there is just one solution!!! Keep your children away from the internet!!!....(and good luck with that)

Seeking Treatment in the Midlands

In Columbia, South Carolina, it is no longer new news that there is a ban on synthetic pot and synthetic cocaine as the WIS reported in this article. However, Blake Rabon says that there are still places to buy it in the local area.  Recently his 10-20 grams of synthetic pot has begun to cause problems in his life. These problems include being paranoid and having suicidal thoughts.

Recently, he has begun asking for help. And viewers of WIS also say the want to know where to go for help, for their addictions to synthetic drugs, because they believe it is unlike alcohol and traditional drugs.

However,  Rabon issue became serious when he sent his cousin Christina a message say "If no one wants to help me, I'll help myself, I'll go out with a bang." This text is what led Rabon's family to go get him checked into rehab. Before rehab, the family had taken Rabon to ER and had a failed attempt to get into a treatment center.

Leslie Wilson, VP of another treatment center says that they have developed a treatment plan for these drugs. They do not see synthetic drugs needing a different treatment track than other drugs. The main issue of synthetic drugs is that people are using the drugs in the first place.

Rabon's family in this situation did the right thing, by taking him to a treatment center.  Christina ended her interview with a message that she thinks every one should know: "If you need help, don't stop and if doors are shut, call WIS, get someone to listen because it's not worth your life."

The most important thing to take away from this new article is not that someone wanted to commit suicide due to synthetic drugs. Rather instead the most important thing to take away is that if you are seeking treatment, if one person is not willing to help you, keep trying because someone is willing to help. Another key point from the article is the major issue with all drugs is using the drug in the first place.

Think if you never try a substance then you are will never have to deal with the side effects and treatment. Remember prevention is key in substance abuse problems. However, if you know someone in need, do not brush the issue off, help them seek treatment! This is especially important for people who want help. If they want help there is a higher chance that treatment will be effective.

Make it your goal this week to help someone in need. This can be as easy as informing a younger brother, sister, friend, and so on of the consequence of trying a substance.

For treatment centers in Columbia, South Carolina visit this link.

Freon Huffing

In Augusta, Georgia, a dangerous new fad is springing up; teens are huffing on Freon out of air conditioners to get high. Georgia poison control warns that “all kids need is a screwdriver, they can actually suck the Freon out of the vents to get high, a high that can kill them”.

In the YouTube video on the news article, two teens walk up to an air conditioner and start puffing away. Later in the video, a college student hugging Freon from a plastic bag falls over and has a hard time keeping his composure but only seconds later, he asks for another Freon fix.

Dr. Mark Lopez from GHSU Pediatric Emergency says that, “Freon itself is a hydrocarbon so it’s going to cause brain damage and that the high is due to your not getting enough oxygen to your brain and therefore that’s what gives you the high, so the dangers of doing it over and over again is that you’re killing off brain cells”.

Dr. Lopez went on to say that, “even one time doing this can cause some changes in the heart response of reaction and you can die instantly from that”.

Signs of huffing include frostbite, whiteness around the nose and slurring of speech. Dr. Lopez says this is a real threat for teens and suggests that all parents talk to their children about huffing.

Parental Illegal Substance Abuse/Child Abuse

In an article/news story, by Child Welfare Information Gateway, from childwelfare.gov, the idea of parental substance abuse being considered child abuse is discussed in different manners. To start off, my own thoughts on this particular subject is that no matter if it is while the mother is pregnant or if it is a situation where the parent is using illegal substances around the child, in my eyes it is still considered substance abuse. This particular article discusses different state laws.

According to the article/news story,
“Approximately 47 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and
the U.S. Virgin Islands have laws within their child protection
statutes that address the issue of substance abuse by parents.”

The First part discussed in the article/news story pertains to Prenatal Drug Exposure; within this part it discusses the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and Child Protective Services (CPS) and Substance-Exposed Newborns (SENs). As stated in the article/news story, within the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act it states that states are required to have some kind of rule/policy stating how they go about notifying Child Protective Services and Substance-Exposed Newborns.

As of 2009, when this article/news story was posted, there were approximately 16 states (along with the District of Columbia) who reported having specific procedures set up for reporting infants that they feel were either: “show evidence at birth of having been exposed to drugs, alcohol, or other controlled substances. To go along with this, there were also approximately 12 states during this time (along with the District of Columbia) who reported including prenatal exposure within their definitions of child abuse or neglect. States that required (at this time during the year 2009) that the State agency develops a plan for the infant to have safe care are: Hawaii and Maine. States that required that the agency completes an assessment of the infant’s and infant’s family’s needs and make a referral to the appropriate services are: California, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nevada, along with the District of Columbia. The States that required that mandated reporters report when they suspect that pregnant women are abusing illegal substances so that those women can be referred for proper treatment are: Illinois and Minnesota.

The Second part discussed in the article/news story pertains to Children Exposed to Illegal Drug Activity. According to this part of the article/news story, some examples of specific circumstances some states considered child abuse or neglect are: “manufacturing a controlled substance in the presence of a child or on premises occupied by a child”, “exposing a child to, or allowing a child to be present where, chemicals or equipment for the manufacture of controlled substances are used or stored”, “selling, distributing, or giving drugs or alcohol to a child”, “using a controlled substance that impairs the caregivers ability to adequately care for the child”, and “exposing a child to the criminal sale or distribution of drugs.”

According to the article/news story, when this was published in 2009, there were currently 25 states (and the U.S. Virgin Islands who address the issue of parents/guardians exposing children to illegal drug activity within their criminal statutes. In the year 2009, there were currently 14 states where either the manufacturing or possession of methamphetamine in the presence of a child is automatically considered a felony. Along with this information, it is also stated that as of 2009, there were four states where instead of just strictly methamphetamine, the manufacturing or possession of any controlled substance within a child’s presence results in a felony.

As of when this article/ news story was published in 2009, specific states that enhanced penalties for “any conviction for the manufacture of methamphetamine when a child was on the premises where the occurred” were: California, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, and Washington. To conclude my summary of the second part of the article/ news story, there are also the states during that time that currently considered the exposure of children to the manufacturing, possession, or distribution of illegal drugs/substances child endangerment. The states where the exposure of a child to drugs and or drug paraphernalia was considered a crime in these specific states: North Dakota, Utah, and the Virgin Islands. To conclude my summary of the second part of the article/ news story, along with those states, there were also: North Carolina and Wyoming who considered giving an illegal drug/substance to child by anyone a felony.

As I stated previously, this is a social problem where it isn’t necessarily children taking part in abusing illegal substances, but tying back to the views on issues such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome that I presented my blog about a while back in the semester. It is clear that the social problem of parental illegal substance/drug abuse being considered child abuse is a very wide spread issue. Even though the article/ news story was written in 2009, it is still pretty recent statistics. Hopefully, I plan to look more into this particular social problems, the number of states has grown more and more. I have always had strong feelings against parental illegal substance/drug abuse and child abuse, and this article has definitely touched my heart and opened my eyes even more.

Be Skeptical of the Media

The media likes to make social issues out of instances that have happened once or twice. Sometimes these things aren't even mention until the media brings light to them. In an article by Jacob Sullum he shines like to the media's ridiculous claim that "vodka-soak tampons are 'everywhere.'" This statement was made CBS affiliate in the Phoenix area. A local school resource officer also stated that this no fad "is not isolated to any school, any city, any financial area." Apparently using a beer bong rectally is the same concept of soaking a tampon in vodka. Together both of these methods of getting alcohol to the blood stream quicker is referred to as "butt chugging."

However, the report fails to mention that a Nexis search of "butt chugging"shows that there has been no earlier mention of this term - not even on the show South Park. This is just one example of the media attempting to make fictional information into a social problem. There are many others related to alcohol consumptions through tampons, here are a few:

• March 1991: Anti-drinking groups states that Finnish girls are using vodka tampons so you can't smell the booze on their breath.
• May 2003: Vic Chestnutt mentions in his song remembering a girl with vodka soak tampon in his science class.
• September 2009: Border protection informs in a forum that tampons can be soaked and inserted rectally.
• March 2011: Patriot News mentions vodka soaked tampons, as well as, "pouring alcohol into eyes" and "brushing teeth until bloody then drinking"

These are just a few of the many stories where the media plays a significant role in displaying information in a way to gain popularity. However, all of these way can lead to very harmful situations, including death. By the media shining light on the situation, they are potentially only making it worst, because now individuals are curious and may attempt these forms of consumption. 

Before reading anything related to drugs and substance consumption, please take note on who is writing the article. By doing this you can figure out their objectives and what they have to gain from the article. Also, this will help you understand any bias in the article. 

Overall, your best bet is to STAY AWAY FROM ALCOHOL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES!

Michael Jackson's Life Long Battle

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the death of Michael Jackson and his addiction to pain medication and his unyielding need for sleep aides, which ultimately led to his death. Understanding how Michael Jackson got so deep into drugs that it would lead to his death is a very complicated but started very innocently.

The first publicly known time that Michael Jackson began his drug use can be traced back to the commercial shoot for Pepsi in which a pyrotechnic malfunction that caused MJ’s hair to catch fire, leading to an extended stay in the hospital. The severe burns caused Michael to be in extreme pain and often required medication to help subdue the pain. It was at this moment in his life where it is believed that he began his addiction to prescription medications.

Because he began to grow tolerant of the drugs, Michael had to rely on increasingly stronger medications to fight his immunity to them. Over time, his brain became reliant on the medications to relax and to sleep. Demerol is reported to have become the drug of choice for Michael over the years.

During the 90’s, Michael’s life became more complicated as allegations and charges of child molestation arose. After being acquitted of the charges, Michaels’s reputation was shattered in the eyes of a vast majority of the public, leading to a downfall of his music career.

After his shocking death due to illegal ingestion of the powerful sleep agent, Propofol, stories form his personal assistance and bodyguards began to surface. These stories began to paint a picture of Michael that showed the King of Pop requiring a progression from one drug to the next, more powerful one, to sleep, which eventually led to his use of Propofol.

This tragic demise of the pop sensation is a clear example that drug abuse and death can reach anyone and everyone.

Are Parents At Just As Much Fault For Underage Drinking?

The article/news story I chose to talk about my ninth blog was written by Frank Hamilton and was printed in the Beaufort Gazette. Obviously Beaufort, South Carolina is very “close to home”. Even though it is so close, it is obvious that this is a social problem that is happening all over. This particular piece is titled, “Parents, don’t delude yourselves about drinking”. The first sentence of the article/news story is very straight to the point and I would say it pretty much sums up what the article/news story is trying to say.

The first sentence states,

“Prom and graduation parties are coming soon with the continuing problem of participants drinking alcohol and using other drugs.”

The main purpose of the article/news story is to discuss the fact of parents being ok with their teenagers drinking underage. Even though parents might not exactly look at themselves as contributing to this social problem, it is obvious that they do. An issue such as this is definitely considered a social problem, and I personally (unfortunately) have heard and experienced these types of situations. When I was in 6th grade there was a story in my hometown of Charleston, SC where a group of teenagers were arrested at a party for underage drinking, along with the parents being there as well.

Thankfully, along with the parents who tend to “support underage drinking habits” there are also groups out there that help with the situation; MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is an example of one. The person who contributed to writing this, Franklin Hamilton, is actually the MADD Action Site Leader for Beaufort, SC. This particular article/news story actually discusses a situation in Beaufort, SC at Beaufort high school where there was a program called “Alive at 25”. This particular program was presented by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department. Along with MADD, other groups such as; Young Life, and the Beaufort YMCA also help with these presentations. When this article/news story was published in 2008: the three organizations held post-prom parties for the two local high schools: all three for Beaufort High school and only Young Life was involved with Battery Creek High school.

Even though there are statistics (on places such as the MADD website) showing the negative effects youth drinking can have on teenagers, parents to this day are still contributing to these habits. While this article was written back in 2008, there is still sufficient evidence to show this social problem is still very important and taking place. After reading this article, I do believe that if enough people expressed concern there could definitely be a significant turnaround. Along with just personal opinions and parents changing, there definitely should be as many presentations possible from organizations such as MADD. I honestly do believe that with the effort the number of incidences with underage drinking can definitely be lowered, I say lowered because it is definitely high probability that this social problem, like others, very well may never go away completely.