Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/drugs/page/3/)
Rachel Perdue, 16, Pebblebrook High School
I got caught using marijuana three years ago and have now been clean for seven months. For my New Year’s resolution, I want to lose 10 pounds, and stay sober, of course. To do that, I’m going to have to stay busy. I’m going to spend time practicing my cello, and keeping my grades up and spend time with my boyfriend, who is very supportive and a good influence. “Plus, my mom and I have a lot of fun together.
Nick McCullough, 17, Pope High School
“I have a good head on my shoulders and for starters, I won’t do what I normally would do on New Years, which is smoke weed. I want to go to college and I have my mind set on that now. I am the captain of my hockey team and pretty much always have been. I like to be a leader instead of having a lot of people looking over me. I’m not crazy about being under people’s rule, so even this (drug court) is a big deal for me.
Dylan Hamilton, 15, Pope High School
“I started smoking marijuana two years ago. I was skipping a lot of school, hanging with the wrong crowd, living the wrong life. This coming year, I just want to be clean and able to relax and do my best in school so I can start preparing for college. I’m a grade behind where I should be and I’m trying to make that up now. “There were some wasted years, for sure.
Damian Browning, 16, Marietta High School
“I see 2012 as a chance to keep my grades up, think clearly and level headed and stay sober. I was 14 when I started drinking and 15 when I started smoking weed. The probation I’m on actually is a big help in keeping me sober, but my parents have really wised up to what I was up to and are paying close attention. Plus, I’ve got a new baby brother (born around Thanksgiving). When I see him, I just think what I was doing is not worth it.
Reclaiming Futures will host a free webinar Wednesday, December 14 on the “Above the Influence” campaign that helps kids avoid negative peer pressure. The webinar kicks off at 2 p.m. EST and focuses on the “Above the Influence” toolkit. The program will be followed by a Q&A session featuring Mark Krawczyk of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and Sandy Olsen and Kay Crocket, both from the Coalition of Behavioral Health Services in Houston. The “Above the Influence” campaign was created by the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, a program of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, with the goal of helping teens stand up to the pressure to drink or do drugs.
Every 14 minutes, someone dies from drugs, according to a recent examination of government data by the LA Times. What’s worse is that attempts by experts to reverse this trend don’t seem to be working. Drug deaths, fueled by prescription pain and anxiety drugs, now outnumber traffic fatalities in the United States,
This is the first time since the government started tracking drug-induced deaths in 1979 that drugs have killed more people than cars. Most cases of preventable death are declining. Drugs, however, are the exception. While teens and young people often abuse drugs, even, according to the mother one teen who died of an overdose, attending parties where pills are poured into a bowl and taken without knowledge of what they are taking, now people of all ages are suffering from drug-induced deaths. Drug fatalities more than doubled among teens and young adults between 2000 and 2008, yet the death toll is highest among people in their 40s, according to data from The Centers for Disease Control.
An Open Letter to
Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company
Dear Mr. Iger:
I know Disney is a large company and you, like Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation, can’t oversee everything. So I want to let you know about one of your company’s investments -- Disney’s one-third equity stake in the A&E Television Networks. Since it is not fully under Disney’s control, maybe that’s why you haven’t been watching A&E’s "Beyond Scared Straight." Certainly if you had, you would have intervened and pulled it off the air, but alas last week marked the beginning of its second season.
It’s always good to have someone to turn to when you are going through a tough time. And life, as we all know, can be full of those bumpy patches. That’s especially true of the teen years. Toss yourself for a moment back into that tumult of peer relationships, galloping hormones, bad judgment and all the temptations on God’s green Earth. Not so easy for a kid, you’ll remember.
Editor's Note: The following story contains graphic language and images. It may not be suitable for all readers. One day, long before he found himself wanting to die in a cheap motel, Chris Blum got caught shooting up heroin at work. Needless to say, he lost his job.
