So Much News from Everywhere

I decided to consolidate the many articles that have come out in the month of February. There has been so many that report the same type of discovery about kids and prescriptions drugs but notice how they come from sea to shining sea. But wait there is one that I found rather ironic. Among all of the reports that have come from Stamford, CT; Maryland; Madison, WI; Indianapolis, IN; and Arizona, there is one curious Associated Press item from Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

From The Advocate in Stanford, CT
Dr. Kasey Spoonamore repeats the mantra that kids take prescription drugs because they think them safe. She is a psychiatrist and addiction specialist who works primarily with young people in Greenwich, Roweyton, and New York City.

A new term for PHARM parties is a "bowling" party. Kids are popping a handful of pills in combination and then sometimes mixing them with alcohol and weed.

From the Carroll County Times

Results of the 2007 Maryland Adolescent Survey from this county were released Weds. 2/25 and showed almost 13% of seniors and 6.4% of sophomores had abused some type of narcotic.

Lisa Myers, director of Westminister-based treatment facility said, "They (prescription drugs) are chemically equal to heroin."

Officials cited in the article claims parent involvement may be the key to combating the rise in prescription drug abuse.

from the Huntington Herald Dispatch 2/19

A toxocology report in an Ashland, WVA teenager's accidental death confirms the combination of alcohol, prescription drugs, and marijuana caused his death.

from WKOWTV.com Madison Wisconsin

Two in every ten teenagers have used prescription drugs to get high. Wisconsin's Attorney General claims part of the problem is lack of public awareness. Sixty percent of high school students have access to controlled substances in their homes and twenty percent have used them to get high. This is according to published reports.


In Indianapolis, IN wthr.com
Jennings Cty teens are facing drug charges for bringing drugs to their middle school. Fearing an overdose, other students reported the incident after watching the student ingest pills.

Now here is the clincher:
Associated Press reports that Partnership for Drugfree American president and Chief executive officer Steve Pasiero said that "parents are talking and particularly girls are listening" according to a recent commissioned survey. This study marks the first increase in percentage that kids are listening to parents about the dangers of prescription drug use.

Not enough Mr. Pasiero. Not enough. Are we trying to validate our existence here?