AHS Views

If you are the parents of a cheerleader you might want to examine whether your daughter or son needs addiction help.

“In 2005 NCAA colleges noted that one quarter of their insurance claims involved cheerleaders injured in sporting events,” according to a recent review of  Lisa Torgovnick’s book, ‘CHEER! THREE TEAMS’ QUEST FOR COLLEGE CHEERLEADING’S ULTIMATE PRIZE’ in StarNewsOnline.com. “The tumbles, stunts and pyramids demand strength, agility, pure athleticism and a willingness to endure pain”.

That sounds like a formula for painkiller abuse - OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin are the most likely. If you are the parent of a cheerleader, make sure your child isn’t so injured they end up on prescription painkillers for a whole season. If they do, getting off the drugs will be difficult if not impossible, and it’s likely the kids will need addiction help.

If your kids are flyers and need to maintain a low weight they are also likely to be using prescription stimulants such as Ritalin or Adderall. And, possibly, cocaine. You may also want to make sure they aren’t using methamphetamines – often used as a weight loss solution for high school and college-aged kids.

If you are a parent, don’t kid yourself that these drugs are safe because they come with a prescription.

The pressure to succeed in sports or in school puts pressure on students to use solutions such as prescription stimulants and prescription painkillers. Don’t assume your kids aren’t using drugs to perform, lots of athletes do. Avoid the need for addiction help services, and check it out.

You might find the idea of testing your kids for drugs offensive. But it might not be a bad idea. So many kids are getting involved in drugs these days – and so many parents lose their kids because of it – any warning that a parent could take advantage of so they can help their kid get addiction help before it’s too late is probably a good thing.

I’ve met kids whose parents drug test them and, frankly, they don’t seem to mind it. They know their parents are watching out for them. I’m sure there are some kids who resent it, who feel like their parents don’t trust them – but I would bet that those kids are more likely than the others to have something to hide.

Although the majority of drug tests in the past have only been able to check for illegal drugs, there are now drug testing kits available that test for Oxycontin, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Valium, Xanax and tricyclic antidepressants. And these days your kids are probably more likely to be taking prescription drugs than street drugs.

Testing your kids now may save their lives. At the very least, it will enable you to find out fast if your kid has a drug problem. Statistics show that the earlier a person abusing drugs gets the addiction help services they need, the lower their chances of becoming a full blown addict who may remain so for years, if not for the rest of their lives.

“The definition of alcohol abuse is when the use of alcohol is interfering in a persons life, the definition of alcohol dependency is a more severe form of the problem, with the consumption of alcohol a central preoccupation in the afflicted person’s life’, says Dr. Michael Levy, a columnist in The Eagle-Tribune. There are 24 million people in the U.S. who may fall in one of these two categories and who will need some form of addiction help.

Do we need addiction help for the 3.1 million teenagers who turn to cough syrup when painkillers, depressants or other stronger drugs aren’t available? Its coming, that’s for sure. Neil Cline, a counselor for Integrated Counseling Services said that “despite the numbers, the teens he counsels are usually not addicted to cough meds, but rather use them when other, illegal drugs are not available.” There’s no question that they need addiction help.

Abusing prescription drugs is nothing new, but using cough medicine when other stronger drugs aren’t available is a new twist. Kids want the pills and they will buy them from friends: they’ll buy them from freidns who were injured and got prescription painkillers from their doctors; college students buy their friends’ prescribed stimulants; and sometimes they just lift them from people’s homes.

Some estimates say 25% of people between the ages of 18 and 26 abuse prescription painkillers and stimulants. This does not include the normal street drugs such as heroin or cocaine. Some percentage of these people will need to go for addiction help services, no doubt about it.

People need to be aware of who needs addiction help and the magnitude of the prescription drug addiction problem.

Eric F. Landeros and Florencio Reyes Jr. died on Sunday from an apparent overdose of oxycodone. Senseless deaths caused by prescription drug abuse is something we will be reading about for years. One of the primary problems is that so many people think painkillers, depressants and sleeping pills are safe. They are made by drug companies and prescribed by doctors. People feel safe when taking them even when they aren’t prescribed.  As many as 25% of people between the ages of 18 to 26 take prescription drugs. In some parts of the country 20% of high school age kids are also taking prescription drugs without a prescription from a doctor. In Southern, Michigan 37% of kids are taking prescription drugs with and without prescriptions. With those kinds of numbers being put on the boards a lot of addiction help services will be needed

A recent study found that women who increase their drinking between high school and college are more at risk for sexual abuse. Along with the trauma of sexual abuse, some of these women will also need addiction help. Parents are well advised to do whatever they can to educate their children on the risks associated with drinking and the problems it can cause later in life.

The study also found that women who don’t drink are at lower risk for sexual abuse.

Most parents think that drinking is part of college life. However, the risks to your children are apparent - drink a lot in high school and college and there is a good chance you will find trouble. There’s also a good chance their drinking habits will continue and, eventually you, or they, will be looking for addiction help so they can stop drinking.

If you are a parent don’t assume your teenage daughter isn’t drinking. Studies show that as many young women as men take drugs and drink. And a large percentage of those who drink when they’re young end up with alcohol problems for a lifetime. Avoiding drugs and alcohol, even in college, will enable your kids to get through school and start their career instead of looking for addiction help services.

The need for addiction help for prescription drug abuse will be far greater than that needed for methamphetamine abuse in Illinois. At least 10% of high school age kids have used prescription drugs for one thing or another, but only 3% of teens have used meth at least once in the past year. They’ll need addiction help regardless of what drugs they’re using, but people have to wake up to the facts about prescription drugs – they are our biggest threat.

Nevertheless, a recent survey by the Illinois Meth Project revealed some scary numbers: half the kids surveyed haven’t told their friends not to try meth; 25% see no risk in trying meth once or twice; and 22% say that getting the drug is relatively easy. In fact 15% of those surveyed see no great risk in using meth regularly.

The most common reasons for using meth are weight loss, feeling happy, and dealing with boredom.

The non-profit Meth Project in Palo Alto, California is focusing on educating kids about meth. This is a good program that could reduce the need for addiction help services in California and other states would do well to follow in California’s footsteps.

The onslaught of Oxycontin addiction and dependency is going to be the cause of more need for drug addiction help for heroin addicts. In 2007 a huge crop of opium from Afghanistan drove down the price of heroin. At Addiction Help Services we are starting to see or hear of people switching from OxyContin to heroin because of the cost and an inability to get prescriptions filled.

In 2008 you can expect to see more of the same because Afghanistan’s output is expected to be ’shockingly’ high  - although perhaps not quite as large as 2007 if government crackdowns are successful. Neverthless, the price of heroin should continue to stay low, and may come down even further. You can buy heroin for as little as $3 dollars a bag in Ohio and other places.

With prescription painkillers becoming the drug of choice among high school students from Kentucky to Ottawa you can expect heroin addiction will follow suit as those abusing painkillers discover that heroin is cheaper.

As long as prescription painkillers and other prescription drugs remain easy to get, their use will boost the demand for heroin and other street drugs, and addiction help will be needed by many more people.

When it gets to the point where a county medical examiner says he would never let someone in his family take a specific prescription drug unless they were a heroin addict. you know you’re dealing with a dangerous drug. And that’s exactly what Hillsborough County, Florida, Medical Examiner, Vernard Adams, said about methadone. As methadone is involved in an increasing and alarming number of deaths, anyone taking methadone would be wise to get immediate drug addiction help to get off the drug.

Florida is pretty much known as the prescription drug capitol of the U.S., and methadone is a big part of the problem. What’s even more alarming is that many of the methadone-related deaths occur when the drug is taken exactly as directed.

Doctors are prescribing methadone for pain more than ever due to the addictive properties of OxyContin and it’s potential for abuse. Prior to this change, most of the people using methadone were heroin addicts taking methadone as a legal, but still highly addictive, substitute for heroin.

Now that methadone is becoming more a part of the mainstream instead of being associated with the illegal drug culture, it’s getting more attention and becoming known as the extremely dangerous drug that it is.

If you or someone you know is taking methadone for any reason, help them get the methadone addiction help services they need. You could save their life. 

Baseball should really investigate the use of prescription drugs in their sport. If a player can’t perform without Adderall or Ritalin, why isn’t that considered performance enhancing? If he can’t get off the bench without painkillers, shouldn’t that considered performance enhancing? To make matters worse, these athletes are going to become, or already are, dependent on or addicted to these drugs and many of them probably already need drug rehab or some other form of addiction help.

Don Fehr and the players union should put a stop to the use of any drugs. It really sends a wrong message when 103 players are allowed to use drugs to play. If you’re on a high school or college baseball team wouldn’t you start taking drugs to try and reach your goals when that’s what the pros are doing? If the players union and major league baseball approve of the use of any prescription drugs then why shouldn’t you start early, like in little league or t-ball?

Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds might have used steroids, but to crucify them is ridiculous when you’ve got 103 pro baseball players taking Adderall or Ritalin. Are Valium or Xanax also allowed before you’re at bat if you’re nervous?

Unfortunately, instead of sending the message that should be sent by our sports professionals, baseball is helping spread the use of prescription drugs. And the result is going to be the need for more addiction help services, both within the sport and among the general public.