PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

Did you know that many prescription pain drug abusers get their medications from family and friends?  

As a matter of fact, 70% of people 12 and older who abuse prescription medicines say they get them from a friend or relative.

“Bottom line is nearly half what is prescribed is sitting in people’s medicine cabinet,” says Larry Pinson, with Nevada’s Board of Pharmacy.  Oftentimes, people do not finish their prescriptions, but rather than dispose of them properly, they either stay in the medicine cabinet and then expire, or they are simply thrown away.

If you have an impulse to flush them down the toilet, don’t – remnants will end up in the drinking water.  Instead, common household items like kitty litter or coffee grounds can be used to dispose of the medicines. You can also pour old coffee over the pills and they will simply dissolve in the grounds.  You can then throw the drugs away.  You can also go to any local law enforcement office and drop off your prescription drugs at a designated receptacle.

VAPING

Nicotine: Although research about the safety of vaping is still relatively new, science shows that e-cigarettes contain ingredients that are addictive and could also harm different parts of your body.  As a teenager, your brain is still developing, which means you are more vulnerable than adults to addiction to substances. Many e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and using nicotine can change your brain to make you crave more nicotine. It can also affect your memory, concentration and impulse control.  Additionally, all E-cigs contain chemicals that are potentially harmful. When people use or breathe the secondary cloud from e-cigs, they breathe in tiny particles that can harm their lungs. Some e-cig batteries have even exploded and hurt people. For more information about the risks of vaping, go to www.E-cigarettes.SurgeonGeneral.gov

THC: Teens now have access to Vaping mechanisms that are designed to vaporize THC oil. Please visit https://raisingteenstoday.com/vape101-what-parents-need-to-know/ to learn more.  THC Oil can be used in certain Vape Pens as well as food items.

ALCOHOL

With so many voices out there, it's important to understand the facts.  While you're a teen, you're still growing and developing, and drug abuse during these years in particular can have a lasting impact.  Your brain is more vulnerable to addiction during your teenage years, in fact, 90% of adult Americans with substance abuse problems started smoking, vaping, drinking or abusing other drugs before age 18. 

This Red Ribbon topic is alcohol.  In small doses, short term effects can be relaxation and reduced tension, but also reduced inhibition (your ability to stop yourself from doing something you know you shouldn't), reduced coordination and reaction time, all of which put you at risk. Binge drinking (drinking a lot and fast) can cause black outs, reckless behavior and even alcohol poisoning and death.  Each year 5000 people under age 21 die as a result of underage drinking.  This includes 1900 deaths from car accidents, 1600 homicides, 300 suicides and hundreds of other deaths due to accidents like falls, burns and drowning. Statistics show more teens are killed by alcohol than by all illegal drugs combined. For more information about this and other topics related to substance abuse for you, a friend or a family member, a very good website to go to is www.abovetheinfluence.com.