Wood County Prevention Coalition
Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004
D.C. City Council Raises Tobacco Sale Age to 21, Makes Baseball Tobacco-Free in Nation's Capital
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Campaign for Tobacco-Free KidsNov 01, 2016, 15:52 ET
The D.C. City Council today took strong action to combat tobacco use – the nation's No. 1 cause of preventable death – by giving final approval to measures that increase the age of sale for tobacco products to 21, prohibit the use of smokeless tobacco at Nationals Park and other sports venues, and prohibit electronic cigarette use in public and work places. These actions will protect children from tobacco addiction, save lives and help make the next generation tobacco-free. We look forward to Mayor Muriel Bowser signing these measures into law.
Increasing the tobacco age to 21 will reduce tobacco use among youth and young adults – age groups when nearly all tobacco use begins and that are heavily targeted by the tobacco industry. We know that about 95 percent of adult smokers began smoking before they turned 21. The increase in the tobacco age will help counter the industry's efforts to target young people at a critical time when many move from experimenting with tobacco to regular smoking. It will also help keep tobacco out of high schools, where younger teens often obtain tobacco products from older students. A 2015 report by the prestigious Institute of Medicine (now called the National Academy of Medicine) concluded that increasing the tobacco sale age to 21 would yield substantial public health benefits.
By increasing the tobacco age to 21, the nation's capital adds momentum to similar efforts nationwide. To date, so-called "Tobacco 21" laws have been passed by the states of California and Hawaii and more than 200 localities, including New York City, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland and both Kansas Cities.
With its prohibition of smokeless tobacco – like chew, dip and snuff – at all organized sports facilities within the city, Washington, D.C., joins the growing ranks of tobacco-free baseball cities. Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco have enacted laws prohibiting tobacco use at sports venues, including their professional baseball stadiums. A statewide law in California will take effect before the 2017 season. Once all of these laws are implemented, 11 of the 30 Major League stadiums will be tobacco-free.
Today's baseball action sends a simple and powerful message to kids: Baseball and tobacco don't mix. Our national pastime should be about promoting a healthy and active lifestyle, not a deadly and addictive product.Tobacco use kills nearly half a million Americans and costs the nation about $170 billion in health care bills each year. If current trends continue, 5.6 million of today's youth will die prematurely from a smoking-related illness. We applaud D.C. Council members for their leadership in helping end this terrible epidemic.
THIS “MOLLY” IS NOT YOUR FRIEND
Molly sure is making the news these days—and make no mistake—the “Molly” you are hearing about is NOT your child’s friend. "Molly" is the street name for MDMA, which is short for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine – the active ingredient in the party drug “Ecstasy.”
MDMA is man-made. It was first synthesized in 1912 by German chemist Anton Köllisch, but usage of the stimulant began in the 1970s, when pharmacologists resynthesized the chemical and psychotherapists extolled the drug's anxiety-alleviating virtues. The drug soon found its way out of psychotherapy and onto dance floors all across Europe, where it immediately became a hit – hence the reference as a “club drug” or a “party drug.”
Most people who abuse MDMA take it in the form of a tablet or capsule. Pills can often be different colors and some have images on them. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, MDMA is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that has similarities to both the stimulant amphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. It produces feelings of increased energy, euphoria, emotional warmth and empathy toward others, and distortions in sensory and time perception. But MDMA is not a benign drug. It can produce a number of adverse health effects, and the risk of overdose is high. Because of the stimulant properties associated with MDMA, one of the most acute effects is a marked rise in body temperature – hyperthermia. Treatment of hyperthermia requires prompt medical attention as it can rapidly lead to dehydration, hypertension, kidney failure, and even heart failure.
Molly is said to contain pure MDMA, whereas ecstasy is frequently combined with other dangerous drugs — including speed, ketamine, or even LSD. But like anything man-made, its makers can add anything they want to the drug bringing its “purity” into question, and raising the danger level for users. People who take Molly don’t really know what they are actually ingesting, experts say. They warn that many powders sold as Molly do not contain any MDMA. “Anyone can call something Molly to try to make it sound less harmful,” Rusty Payne, an agent at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) national office, told The New York Times. “But it can be anything.” The DEA considers MDMA to be a Schedule I controlled substance, which means it has a high potential for abuse, and no accepted use in medical treatment.
The name “Molly” is thought to have been derived from the word "molecule." The term wasn't used often before 2008, but since then Molly has become a part of pop culture and is often referenced in songs and at concerts. According to the National Drug Abuse Warning Network, MDMA-related emergency department visits increased from 10,227 in 2004 to 22,498 in 2011.
Along with Molly and Ecstasy, other slang terms for MDMA include: “E, XTC, X, Adam, Hug, Beans, and Clarity.” It's very important that parents are knowledgeable about drug culture and slang so they can recognize potentially dangerous behavior and stop it in its tracks.
Bullying - Part 2 - How to Keep Your Child Out of Jail
I wish I had a magic wand and could explain why kids bully and how to stop it. It's clear, however, that they are a wide variety of reasons why people bully. Today I'm going to reflect both my personal past (1) and professional past (2) to try to give insight on young bullies. Ultimately, I hope to start a conversation between you and your children, grandchildren or friends. Trust me, the stakes are higher than you know: Bullied Cancer Survivor
People bully for a reason and more likely than not that reason has more to do with the bully than the victim. In my experience, bullies don't like themselves. By picking out another child and making them a target, the bully's faults and problems are all but forgotten. If a child lives in a home environment where his or her parents are emotionally abusive, it is highly likely that this child may repeat that behavior towards a peer and suddenly they've put themselves in a perceived superior position. It's easier to feel good about your situation when you're putting someone else down. Thus, when a bully sees another child with a parent who cares and a level of stability at home, they will act out, not in a positive way.
I'd be ignorant if I claimed that all bullies act out for this reason. Trust me, sometimes we run into kids who come from apparently stable, loving homes but still act out. Perhaps the seed of bullying is planted when Mom or Dad say "Thaaat kid from thaaat neighborhood with thooose parents is NOT allowed into our home" how is a child going to react? It would take a strong child to say "But they're my friend." Would you be strong enough? Of course parents should be aware of who their child is friends with and monitor behavior of all involved but should never deliver a message putting someone down.
Here's another aspect of bullying that is unique and surprising; it can be both solitary behavior and also can be a social activity. I talked with parents, and dealt with cases, where a single young person targets another and does their utmost to make that person's life a living hell. Often, it's not clear why the bullying starts. I try to be hopeful and I have always felt these solo bullies could change. How, you might ask: with consequences, redirection and, sometimes, therapy. The hard part is deciding how to intervene.
On the other hand, it's social bullying, like with a group of friends, which I always found to be more difficult. With some bullying, once a target child is chosen a group mentality sometimes takes hold and the torment begins. A child, or even an adult, who does not fit the social norm is picked on and suddenly becomes a target for jokes, harassment and humiliation. Far too often the reaction of others is either joining in the "fun" or telling the victim to toughen up and brush it off. Here's another scary thing: when a school administrator says "no" to anti-bullying signs or people tell a victim of sexual harassment to "grow a pair", bad things happen.
[READ MORE]Environmental Scans as Tools for Reducing Excessive College Drinking Webinar
Wednesday, Nov 30, 2016, 02:00 PM
Wood County Educational Service Center 1867 N Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
About Us
Our Vision: Helping youth be drug-free, productive and responsible citizens.
Our Mission: We are a coalition of compassionate community members working together to coordinate high quality programs for the prevention of youth substance abuse in Wood County.
Email: mkarna@wcesc.org
Website: wcprevention.org
Location: 1867 Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH, United States
Phone: (419)-354-9010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPCoalition
Twitter: @woodpccoalition