Pathway to Prevention

House lawmakers in December 2011 approved legislation that would prohibit the sale of synthetic marijuana and other drugs known as “bath salts” and “plant food,” which have been compared to dangerous hallucinogenic drugs when used illicitly. The measure, however, faces an indefinite delay in the Senate due to a lawmaker’s hold on the bill.

Representatives on Dec. 8 voted 317-98 to ban the synthetic drugs, which can mimic the effects of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines. Sen. Charles Grassley (R, Iowa) has introduced similar legislation in the Senate, but the bill is being held up by an objection from Sen. Rand Paul, MD (R, Ky.), according to Grassley’s office. Dr. Paul’s office did not respond to repeated inquiries seeking comment on the legislative hold, which senators sometimes place on bills over matters unrelated to the legislation in question.
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Following fatal shootings in two New York pharmacy robberies, a U.S. senator is warning that a new batch of “super painkillers” now under review could force repeats of recent violent robberies that left six people dead.

“It’s tremendously concerning that at the same time policymakers and law enforcement professionals are waging a war on the growing prescription drug crisis, new super-drugs could well be on their way, flooding the market,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. “The FDA needs to grab the reins and slow down the stampede to introduce these powerful narcotics.”
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Teens are likely being exposed to a lot of alcohol advertising online, says the Director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. David Jernigan says alcohol companies’ voluntary limits on print, television and radio ads are often ignored on social media websites.

Jernigan, who conducted a recent review of alcohol ads and social media, cites examples such as a beer bottle that was lit up like a Christmas tree on one Facebook page, and accompanied by stuffed animals in another. He also points to the video on YouTube that featured cartoon characters using alcohol to reduce stress.
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Hookahs, which many people perceive as a less dangerous way of using tobacco than smoking cigarettes, can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, health experts say.

The health effects of hookahs, or water pipes, have not been studied as rigorously as cigarettes, but the risks are becoming clearer as the pipes grow in popularity in the United States, Thomas Eissenberg of Virginia Commonwealth University, who has studied hookahs extensively, told The Courier-Journal
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Everyone wants to be a good parent, to give their children the best education, the best upbringing and all the support they need to grow and mature into productive and confident adults. That’s a lot of pressure for mom and dad, and not all of it comes from within. Who hasn’t worried about what the neighbors think of your chaotic attempt to get everyone out the door in the morning with homework and lunch in tow, or how teachers and other parents might judge the brands of clothing or food you buy?

Being good parents, it seems, is all about balancing these pressures and knowing which ones are worth sweating about. New research finds that having high self-imposed standards can actually be beneficial, while caring what other playground parents think about the stroller you push or your decision to not buy organic milk may in fact undermine your confidence and up your stress levels.

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Just months after Virginia and dozens of other states banned synthetic marijuana, the chemists who make it have found a way to outfox lawmakers.

Spice manufacturers, who spray herbs with compounds that mimic the active ingredient in marijuana, have altered their recipes just enough to skirt the bans and are again openly marketing spice in stores and on the Web. Some users report that the new generation of products could be more potent than the original formulas, which have sickened hundreds nationwide and been linked to deaths.
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Programs that target multiple areas of young people’s lives, including family, peers, community and school, may help prevent drug use and risky sexual behavior, according to a new study. Successful programs often last for several years, according to Reuters. The study found programs that addressed just one area were generally less effective in preventing risky behaviors.

The study assessed 13 programs designed to prevent drug use and risky sexual behavior, and found many have not been successful.
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Parents of teens: If you think a drinking disaster at your kid’s party can’t happen at your house, not with your kid, because he’s a good kid, it’s time to wake up and smell the whiskey bottle tossed on your lawn.

Because of the high risk of underage drinking and driving this time of year, many parents open their homes to partying teens as a way to keep them off the roads. What some may not know is that liability laws can leave Mom and Dad vulnerable to lawsuits, fines and even jail time if underage drinking is found to be going on under their roof.

Parents can get in trouble even if they didn’t know about the drinking.
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Drug companies are working to develop a pure, more powerful version of the nation’s second most-abused medicine, which has addiction experts worried that it could spur a new wave of abuse.

The new pills contain the highly addictive painkiller hydrocodone, packing up to 10 times the amount of the drug as existing medications such as Vicodin. Four companies have begun patient testing, and one of them, Zogenix of San Diego‚ plans to apply early next year to begin marketing its product, Zohydro.
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Talking to teenagers about alcohol and drug use is an important task parents must shoulder if they want to keep their children safe, national substance abuse awareness representatives said Tuesday.
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