Wood County Prevention Coalition
Uniting For A Drug-Free Community Since 2004
Study: Marijuana use among college students continues to rise
Michigan Radio By REBECCA KRUTH • SEP 8, 2017
A new University of Michigan study finds that marijuana use among college students continues to rise in the U.S.
The latest report from U of M's Monitoring the Future program finds that in 2016, marijuana use among full-time college students was at the highest level since 1987.
According to the study, 39 percent of full-time college students reported using marijuana at least once in the previous 12 months, while 22 percent reported using it at least once in the last 30 days. The latest findings show a steady increase since 2006, when percentages for the same categories were reported at 30 and 17 percent.
The program's current principal investigator John Schulenberg says marijuana use among high school seniors has stayed steady in recent years. He says that gives some insight to the increase seen in college students.
"Going off to college, being away from parents, being off on their own, having more flexibility in their daily schedule — that combination, in addition to being with other friends in the same boat, is why we think we see this uptick in marijuana use, as well as alcohol use, during this transition into college," he said.
Schulenberg says another contributing factor is likely the changing perceptions of marijuana as the country moves closer and closer to legalization. In 2016, only 30 percent of people age 19 to 22 perceived regular marijuana use as a behavior that carries great risk.
"In 1991, quite a few thought that regular marijuana use was risky. That's when we saw record lows of marijuana use among college students. That has since flipped. Now, we're at a point where record low numbers of college students believe regular use is not that risky," he said.
Though marijuana use has continued to increase, the study says use of other illicit drugs among college students has leveled off in recent years.
Editorial: A cautionary tale for teens about drinking, driving
The Dispatch-Argus-QCOnline.com
Sep 15th
With high school homecoming celebrations kicking into high gear today and weekend parties beginning to crowd teen calendars, parents face the annual challenge of keeping young people safe from the dangers of drinking and driving.
As we've noted in this space many times before, young people often believe themselves to be invincible. That makes it harder for adults to get and keep their attention about the need to make wise and safe choices. That includes understanding the dangers of consuming alcohol AND making the terrible decision to drive after doing so or to ride in a car with someone who has been drinking.
That doesn't mean what parents and other trusted adults say always falls on deaf ears. In fact, studies and surveys repeatedly have shown what grownups tell teens does influence the choices kids make when it comes to drinking and driving.
But it's equally true those lessons are often more effectively driven home when adults can point to real-life examples of the tremendous price alcohol and bad choices can exact from our kids.
Take, for example, this week's sentencing of Andalusia's Mitchell Gayer, the driver of a vehicle involved in a 2013 alcohol-fueled accident that took the lives of two young people he loved. Mr. Gayer was sentenced to eight years in prison Monday after entering an Alford Plea in connection with deaths of Clayton Carver, 24, of Taylor Ridge, and and longtime girlfriend Jamie Sedam, 22, of Port Byron. Sadly, the grieving family she left behind included a then 3-year-old daughter.
At Monday's sentencing hearing, which was Mr. Gayer's second sentencing in the case, a tearful and remorseful defendant listened as friends and family talked about the loss of the people they loved as a result of Mr. Gayer's awful decision to drive drunk.
Americans are hoarding a 'massive' black market supply of opioids
Tim Mullaney, CNBC
Published 9:26 AM ET Wed, 13 Sept 2017
What happened the last time you were prescribed an opioid? If you're like most people, you didn't finish them — and didn't dispose of them — in effect, making you a potential source of illicit drugs and addiction that has been exploding across America.
This rogue supply of painkiller is alarming, given the latest data on addiction deaths: Even after years of heightened attention from politicians and the press to the nationwide opioid epidemic, 2016 saw an increase in overdose deaths of 21 percent, with rates of synthetic-opioid deaths doubling, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"There are around 200 million opioid scripts a year. ... It's an extraordinary reserve," said Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University who worked on drug policy for the Obama administration. "That's just as many scripts as there are adults; it's such a huge reservoir to tap. ... Lots of people just don't think about it," Humphreys said.
As many as 92 percent of patients don't finish their painkillers, and less than 10 percent dispose of them properly — either flushing them down the toilet or returning them to a hospital, pharmacy or law enforcement, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Surgery.
"For almost every injury we looked at, patients had pills they didn't use," said Johns Hopkins pain-management specialist Mark Bicket, who led the study. "They become a source for illicit use. Other adults use them, and children and adolescents can find them when they're exploring," he said.
At least two-thirds of a total of 810 patients didn't use their entire opioid prescription but kept the unused pills, according to the data Johns Hopkins studied, and roughly 75 percent of patients ignore warnings to keep opioids in a locked cabinet.
Penta K Trail Race on September 30th
RSVP to the next WCPC Community Meeting!
Wood County Prevention Coalition Meeting
Friday, Sep 29, 2017, 08:30 AM
Wood County Educational Service Center, 1867 N Research Drive, Bowling Green, OH
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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