New Worry for Parents: Teens Sniff Trendy Product for Huffing High

By |

One of the most popular body sprays for teenage boys may be used for more than body odor. In fact, some kids like the smell of AXE Body Spray so much they are inhaling it to get high. “Many parents don’t question a body spray inhalant if kids are huffing because many parents have the scent around them,” said Colleen Creighton from inhalant.org. Message boards on the Internet are buzzing with questions from parents and teens about this trend.  Some people on Facebook and other websites share instructions on how to use AXE to get high.  Users may soak a towel or a shirt sleeve and breathe it in, while others may spray it directly into their mouths. Body sprays like AXE are cheap and sold everywhere.  By contrast, Georgia regulates the sale of model glue to anyone under the age of 18.

Civil Suit Challenges Life Without Parole for Kids

By |

There are new legal challenges popping up across the country in the wake of the Graham v. Florida Supreme Court decision, which made life without parole sentences for juveniles unconstitutional in cases that don’t involve murder. Unlike appeals filed in Florida and Pennsylvania, the American Civil Liberties Union is suing Michigan government officials on behalf of nine convicts who were sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for crimes they committed when they were minors, according to the Jurist. Michigan law requires mandatory life sentences for certain crimes committed by kids who are 14 to 17 years old. The ACLU argues their rights have been violated because they don’t have the chance for parole by demonstrating growth or maturity.

5th Grader Arrested with Gun at School

By |

Police seized an unloaded handgun and a box of ammunition from a 10 year old boy this morning in Augusta. The child was arrested before classes at his elementary school, according to the Augusta Chronicle, which  details the incident further.

Gangs Use Social Networking to Mark Their Turf

By |

Teens in gangs are using sites like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter to glamorize their activities and carry on gang wars. In several cases, gang members use these sites to track down and confront rivals by following them on Twitter or checking out their Facebook page, according to a gang awareness blog called Open the Gate. Teens in gangs are also using social networking to recruit new members. Authorities call it cyberbanging and they’re trying to fight it by monitoring sites, along with pictures and comments related to illegal activities. Some gangs are very active online.

Report Urges Feds to Focus on Why Black Teenage Boys are Failing in School

By |

The Council of the Great City Schools is calling on the  federal government to do something about the academic and social achievement gap between black and white kids. “Black males continue to perform lower than their peers throughout the country on almost every indicator,” says the groundbreaking report A Call for Change: The Social and Educational Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Black Males in Urban Schools. The study focuses on six areas in black kids' lives, including readiness to learn, in-school experience and college/career preparation. Here are a few things the report found:

One out of every three black children lived in poverty compared with one out of every ten white children in 2007. Black or poor students attending public school were more likely to be held back during their K-8 school career than their classmates.

Prevention Group Works On ‘Battle Plan’ To Stop Deadly Teen Violence

By |

The violent deaths of two metro Atlanta teenagers a week apart – allegedly at the hands of peers – has sparked a debate among members of a local violence prevention organization. Members of the Metropolitan Atlanta Violence Prevention Partnership (MAVPP), discussed the tragedies, and more specifically how to thwart similar ones, during its monthly meeting this week. The partnership, a who’s who of more than 200 local violence prevention groups, boasts a diverse membership that spans the spectrum from the Emory (University) Injury Control Center (EICC) and the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, local churches and law enforcement agencies. Attendees batted around an array of ideas Tuesday, including implementing large-scale community reform initiatives along with anger management counseling and expanded educational opportunities for young people and their parents. “I’d like to see more intervention aimed at the community,” says Shakiyla Smith, EICC deputy director.

Feds Push For Nationwide Ban on Alcoholic Energy Drinks

By |

The Food and Drug Administration is under pressure to ban alcoholic energy drinks, according to the Washington Post. An investigation has been underway since last year as to whether the drinks meet the FDA’s “Generally Recognized as Safe” standard. If there is a consensus that energy cocktails are safe, they will be exempted from FDA review, according to MedPage Today. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) along with Senator-elect Richard Blumenthal (D), who is currently Connecticut’s attorney general, sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg Monday urging her speed up the investigation. Blumenthal pushed for the agency to ban the drinks, calling them "a witch's brew of stimulants and alcohol," the Washington Post notes.

New Research on Children Sold for Sex in Georgia

By |

Every month, an estimated three to five hundred girls are being sold for sex in Georgia, according to a new fact sheet from the Governor’s Office for Children and Families. The Office monitors the problem and reports that girls as young as 12 are serving 10-15 men per night and sometimes up to 45 a night during periods of high demand, including sporting events and conventions. The fact sheet, which is released four times a year, is based on research done by Shared Hope International, The Shapiro Group and Citizens Against Trafficking. Researchers say girls who’ve been exploited often keep silent out of fear of physical and psychological abuse from their trafficker/pimp. Many are tattooed, branded or scarred, a method used by pimps to mark ownership and control over emotionally vulnerable girls, Citizens Against Trafficking reports.

Conyers Police Plan Zero Tolerance Crackdown at Big Teen Parties

By |

Two teenagers have died at large house parties that got violent with little warning in the last week.  The latest, in Conyers, Ga., where 18-year old Dequavious Mapp  was shot in the chest and died early Sunday morning.  One week earlier, 18-year old Bobby Tillman was beaten to death at a house party in Douglas County. Conyers Police Chief Gene Wilson has a new plan to break up parties that get out of control before someone gets hurt.  “I spoke to the sheriff and my staff.

Another Teen Killed at House Party

By |

For the second time in a week, a teenager was killed at a house party in the Atlanta area. 18-year-old Daquavious Stephon Mapp was apparently caught in the crossfire of a firefight between other teenage boys. James Edwards and Tevin Williams, both 17, are charged with aggravated assault and gun charges. Police aren’t sure whose bullet killed Mapp, according the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Estimates vary widely, but most accounts say 75 kids were at a party in Conyers, Ga.