AHS Views

We hear about issues stemming from substance abuse frequently in the US. From drunk driving and drug-related traffic stops to prescription and illegal drug abuse. These problems affect every state in this country and all walks of life.

I came across an interesting read recently, which was about a study done by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services on how substance abuse is affecting the workplace. A lot of people equate substance abuse with lower economic areas, homelessness, you name it. But, that’s actually not the majority. Did you know that 77% of illegal drug users are employed full or part-time here in the US?

That means that more than three quarters of the illegal drug using population are mixed in with the working population. What’s more is that substance abuse costs American businesses upwards of 81 billion dollars a year in lost production, work absences as well as accidents. Speaking of absences, about 500 million workdays per year are lost due to substance abuse by employees.

This is a no win situation for either side of the coin. Both the employee and the employer suffer as a result of substance abuse. Employers experience productivity downtrends, suffer because of absenteeism, accident claims and quite possibly the difficulties of dealing with employees who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Then there are the issues that come into play for an addict, i.e. their health, relationships with family and friends, job loss and income reduction and possibly overdose and/or death.

Have you ever known of or worked with someone who was under the influence of an illegal drug or alcohol on while on the job? Apparently, according to the study, more than 60% of adults do currently or have in the past. Why is the statistic for substance abuse in the workplace so high then? Are the abusers not being reported? Probably not. The reasons for this could be fear of retribution by the addict, not wanting to get their co-worker in trouble or that they don’t want to get involved.

Substance abuse is an epidemic in our country. Not just by the homeless man on the corner asking for money to buy who-knows-what, but possibly by your coworker. If we are ever going to get a handle on this debilitating, expensive, pervasive crisis, we’re going to have to actually speak up and do something about it. Get those people into drug rehab or alcohol treatment. Each one of us can do our part to get them addiction help!

I came across a headline today that I thought must have been a joke. When I read further into the article, I realized that it’s not, and am absolutely shocked! Russia is experiencing a heatwave and vodka-swigging, drunken people are trying to swim to cool off, and drowning.

I actually was in such disbelief that I Googled the story to find out if anyone else had written about the terrible events that have taken place. Sure enough, there were several other articles written, that I was able to easily find online. The death toll so far has surpassed 1200 people since June. And, in one day, there were 49 drowning deaths in Russia from drunken swimming.

The most heartbreaking part of this news story was to find out that children are also drowning because their parents are too drunk to notice them. If you can believe this, last week there were five children who drowned at camp because their counselors were too drunk to pay attention!

A lot of people like to take some drinks with them to the beach. It’s certainly quite common in many parts of the world. But this has proven that it can be quite dangerous, if people are being reckless and irresponsible with the amounts that they’re consuming. This would fall into the category of binge drinking, basically drinking large amounts of alcohol quickly to get drunk. Swigging massive quantities of vodka before taking a swim is not the best idea and you’d think that people would have caught onto this by now!

A state of emergency has been declared in Russia because of the death toll. Unfortunately, this is a long standing issue there, alcohol abuse needs addiction treatment. It’s time to really take a look at this crisis and help Russians with their blatantly obvious problems with alcohol addiction. Alcohol rehab programs are desperately needed and fast! It may be a good idea to restrict alcohol from the public beaches too. I’m sure it would help save many lives.

There’s a situation in the US that a lot of people may not be aware of. It’s called Robo tripping. Do you have any idea what that is? I surely didn’t! It’s the practice of drinking large amounts of cough syrup to get high. It’s also called Robo, Skittles, Dex and Tussin. When it’s consumed in large quantities, the user will experience a hallucinogenic type of high. And, it’s legal, cheap and available at drug and grocery stores everywhere. It’s easy to get.

Ten percent of US teens and tweens (kids ranging in ages from 9 to 17) have admitted to partaking in this activity. Like the name of this activity, I had no idea how big of an epidemic it was. That’s a lot of kids!

There are a number of alarming side effects that can occur, that these young people probably have no idea about. Not only in the short term, but long-term as well. Loss of motor control, and even death, have been attributed to this dangerous method of getting high.

Now that summer is upon us, and kids are not in school every day, it’s incredibly important for parents to be aware of the dangers involved. Any type of over-the-counter medications that contain the active ingredient dextromethorphan (DXM) will create the desired high that kids are trying to achieve. There are more than 125 medications that contain DXM.
Like any other prescription medication kept in the house, it is wise to keep this out of their reach. Parents should watch for the following signs in their kids, if Robo tripping is suspected:

•    Empty or missing bottles of cough syrup
•    An unusual medicinal smell on your child
•    Changes in your child’s appearance, attitude, eating and sleeping habits
•    Drug website visits by your child

As with any type of drug or alcohol abuse, it’s better to be open with your child about the dangers involved. If you talk to them about what you know, you’ll be passing that information along, and hopefully, that knowledge will help to deter them. If they know they could actually die from participating, they will most likely think twice and perhaps help to educate their friends.
Help lower this staggering statistic and get them some help before they get addicted, it’s dangerous and abusive behavior that could not only lead them down a path as a gateway to other harmful drugs, but it could take their life. If you already need addiction help call now.

At very early ages, kids are experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Kids from all walks, white, black, Hispanic, coming from homes with or without money, literally any scenario you can think of. It’s a problem all across the US.

A recent study has uncovered some interesting information with regard to children experimenting with and using drugs as well as drinking alcohol. What it found was that girls are more likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol to help them with their problems and emotions, while boys do it more to relax socially.

This is a pretty scary thought; girls thinking that they’ll benefit emotionally from taking drugs and/or drinking. They’re basically self-medicating, which is a very dangerous thing to do. If prescription drugs are truly needed for a condition, they should be prescribed by a doctor, and patients, as well as their parents, should know exactly what they’re taking and why.

Boys and girls alike should know the dangers of these powerful substances and the toll that they can take on them, their families, their education, their friends, every aspect of their lives. Parents should sit down and talk with their kids, not once, but frequently about what’s going on in their lives, who they’re hanging out with and how they are doing emotionally.

Watch for signs that kids may be doing drugs or drinking. Look for things like negative attitude and mood changes, drop in grades at school, new friends or a change in peers, withdrawal and lack of interest, carelessness about grooming and extreme tiredness. And, most of all, follow your instinct. If your gut says something is wrong, chances are that something is indeed wrong.

If you do find that your child is doing drugs, don’t wait for them to get through whatever “phase” they’re going through. Get them addiction help immediately!