Tag Archives: Teen Substance Abuse

Vaping … Flakka? What Every Parent Should Know About the Latest S. Florida Teen Trends

E-cigarettes, or vaporizer pens, now have a thriving, growing and vulnerable new market here in Broward County and greater South Florida. Teens looking to experiment with drugs are increasingly using these battery-operated devices, often touted as a healthier alternative to traditional cigarettes, to vape synthetic substances like flakka (an amphetamine-like drug similar to bath salts) […]

New Research About the Teenage Brain

The prevailing theory about teenagers’ brains is that the prefrontal cortex — which is thought to control complex cognitive behavior and planning — isn’t fully developed. But new research out of the University of Pittsburgh is beginning to challenge that premise. The research was presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual […]

The Truth about Teens and Drugs

Teenage drug abuse facts may be surprising to many adults, and especially alarming to parents of teens. Many more teens are experimenting with, abusing and becoming addicted to drugs than most adults ever imagined. They are using illegal drugs, but they are also getting prescriptions from friends and family members to use as study aids […]

New Back-to-School Checklist from Elements Behavioral Health Helps Parents Prevent Substance Abuse From Sabotaging the School Year

Kids who enter a new school year struggling with drugs or alcohol can see their dreams for academic success dashed before the year even begins, but parents can help. Elements Behavioral Health has developed a helpful 10-item checklist with key warning signs that a teen or young adult needs to tackle a drug or alcohol […]

Top 5 Places Your Teen Probably Shouldn’t Be on 4th of July

As parents you want to keep your children safe, even more so when they become teenagers and venture out to explore the world, have fun and be with their friends. That’s when most parents truly begin to worry, wondering if they’ve done enough to prepare their offspring for the many dangers associated with use of […]

Brain Studies Reveal What Puts Teens at Risk for Alcohol Problems

Teenagers in the U.S. are more likely to use alcohol than any other substance. Unfortunately, alcohol use in adolescence comes with greater risks than adult alcohol use, and significant numbers of teens will develop serious drinking-related problems. In a series of studies presented in late 2014 to the Society for Neuroscience, researchers from Georgetown University […]

How to Keep Your Kids Safe During Spring Break

It’s that time of year parents of teenagers dread: spring break. Even if you are not sending your teen out into the world to go on an unchaperoned trip, you still have things to worry about. Research has shown that when teens and kids are left unsupervised, they are more likely to engage in risky […]

Marijuana Smokers Less Likely to Attend College

In the U.S., marijuana use is fairly common among teenagers and young adults in the typical college age range of 18 to 25. Unfortunately, intake of the drug is associated with a number of significant problems, including memory and concentration deficits, altered brain development and the onset of cannabis use disorder (cannabis abuse and/or cannabis […]

Hedonism Drives People to Combine Energy Drinks, Alcohol, Study Finds

Energy drinks are a relatively new type of mass-marketed beverage high in caffeine or other legally produced, plant-based stimulants. Current evidence shows that this type of beverage, popular among both teenagers and young adults, can have especially harmful effects when consumed in combination with alcohol. In a study published in May 2014 in the journal […]

Theme Park Grad Nights Lure Millions Into Safe, Sober Celebration

It’s high season for grad nights, and Patterson Jaffurs will be among millions of high school seniors not drinking and driving to the party. The 18-year-old Santa Barbara High School honors student will instead join his classmates as they board chartered buses to motor south to the mecca of grad nights, where teenagers — and […]

Grad Night Safety Tips for Teens

As the graduation season kicks into high gear, the merriment also brings peril on the roads for teenagers, who suffer the most traffic deaths in April, May and June, officials say. The supervised grad-night party was designed to entice students away from gatherings where drug or alcohol impairment may lead to risky behaviors, such as […]

Palcohol: Top 3 Perils of Powdered Alcohol

A powdered form of liquor called Palcohol that can turn water into a cocktail? First thought: Astronaut buzz? Second thought: Who would want to replace a regular margarita with a “Powderita” and why? It’s the second question that remains unanswered and has alarmed parents, public health officials and addiction treatment doctors, who swiftly rattled off […]

Teens Gone Wild: Spring Break and Risky Behaviors

Spring break is a fun time of year for most students. It means relief from studying and hitting the books and is a good opportunity to relax and recover. For most students, though, spring break means partying, drinking, sex, and a whole lot of trouble. Partying during spring break has taken on epic proportions in […]

How Do Substance Use Disorder and Conduct Disorder Affect the Teen Brain?

Substance use disorder and conduct disorder are two mental health conditions defined in the U.S. according to terms set forth by the American Psychiatric Association. Many people affected by conduct disorder engage in patterns of drug or alcohol intake that put them at risk for developing substance use disorder. Practically speaking, this means that the […]

Teens Make Rapid Shift Away From Bath Salts

“Bath salts” are a modern class of illicit/illegal drugs with a close chemical relationship to natural, mind-altering substances contained in a stimulant plant called khat; these drugs have entered circulation in the U.S. over the last several years. Bath salts are used by only a very small minority of American teenagers. According to results of […]

How to Stop Enabling Your Grown-Up Child

From changing diapers to zipping zippers and wiping noses, there probably isn’t much that you haven’t done for your child. The role of “parent” has certainly changed throughout history, but caretaking and guiding a child from birth through adolescence and into adulthood is a fairly universal process that involves doing quite a bit for our […]

Can Child’s Temperament Predict Teen Drinking?

A significant number of American teenagers drink alcohol either occasionally or on a regular basis. Even more than adults, these teens expose themselves to a range of potentially severe alcohol-related health risks. In a study published in December 2013 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, a team of British and American researchers sought […]

Teens Using Mothballs to Get High

It goes without saying that people do a lot of weird things in their attempts to get high. When an 18-year-old French woman entered a hospital, unsteady on her feet, “mentally sluggish” and with scaly skin on her hands and legs, doctors were unsure what was going on. Her twin sister had the same problem, […]

‘Affluenza’ Drunk-Driving Teen Ethan Couch May Still Face Jail

Drunk-driving teen Ethan Couch plowed into a group of good Samaritans, killed four people, paralyzed a friend and injured at least 11 others, yet got no jail time. The judge who heard testimony that the 16-year-old suffers from an affluent-kid condition dubbed “affluenza” sentenced him to a decade of probation under court monitoring, and a […]