 | When video games get problematic so do smoking, drug use and aggression
A new study on gaming and health in adolescents, conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, found some significant gender differences linked to gaming as well as important health risks associated with problematic gaming. Published today in »Read more |
 | Teen brain more prone to drug, alcohol damage
Teens may act invincible, but when it comes to drugs and alcohol, they're actually more vulnerable than adults to harmful effects on the brain, researchers said at Neuroscience 2010, the Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego, California, »Read more |
 | Successful Kelowna Residential Treatment Program for Troubled Teens Expands Into Ontario
Venture Academy for Troubled Teens has expanded into Ontario where it has opened a second residential treatment program for teens struggling with problems ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, and criminal behaviour. »Read more |
 | School-based intervention successfully lowers drinking rates in at risk children
The coming weeks mark the return to school for many of our youngest citizens. Sadly the satisfaction of making new friends and obtaining good test scores may be overshadowed by the prospect of substance abuse for some school-aged adolescents. »Read more |
 | Many school suspensions are linked to drug, alcohol abuse
There have been 54 suspensions handed out to students in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district so far this year, with 24 due to drug and/or alcohol offences in the district's high schools. The other major offences causing suspensions so far this year also »Read more |
 | High-caffeine energy drinks linked to alcohol abuse
Regularly consuming high-caffeine energy drinks significantly increases the risk of becoming alcohol-dependent and engaging in bouts of heavy drinking, a study published Tuesday found. The study of more than 1,000 students at a US university »Read more |
 | Canada’s First Online Healthy Lifestyle Channel for Youth Airs October 31
More than 60 percent of illicit drug users are 15 to 24 years old, with the average age of first use as young as 11 among some groups of high-risk youth. Research tells us that giving youth information on drugs alone is not enough—effective »Read more |
 | What’s best for troubled teens? Increasingly, Canadian youth are put in U.S. residential programs.
Using boot camps or wilderness programs to treat youth suffering from emotional, behavioural or addiction problems is a divisive issue in the mental health profession. So a conference in Toronto this month that will include representatives of more »Read more |
 | Time to Talk
It is a surprise to many parents that they are the most powerful influence in a child’s life — greater than peers, popular music, television, celebrities and the media! Our research shows that kids who consistently learn about the risks of drugs from »Read more |
 | There's more crack and the users are younger
SAINT JOHN - In Saint John, you can find crack cocaine "anywhere and everywhere," says the head of the police force's street crimes unit. And the users are getting younger and younger, an addictions official says.
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 | 'That demon is with you for life'
SAINT JOHN - A dangerous new form of ecstasy is turning up in schools throughout the region, police say. Drug dealers are turning to young teens as a lucrative market for ecstasy laced with methamphetamine - a highly addictive and toxic substance. »Read more |
 | The Right to resist - Quick tips on resisting pressure
Sometimes resisting isn’t easy, but you can do it with practice and a little know-how. Keep trying, even if you don’t get it right at first. To get started, check out Quick Tips. »Read more |
 | Teen girls say kids more likely to drink, do drugs to cope
Teen girls are more likely than teen boys to identify potential benefits from drugs and alcohol, says a study released today by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. People should not believe girls are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol than boys, »Read more |
 | Mental illness, addiction prevalent among high school students: speaker
More than 30 per cent of youths show elevated signs of distress, an addiction clinician told a mental illness forum last week. “This goes higher with each grade level,� said Erin Horlings of the Phoenix Program and the Halton Alcohol, Drug and Gamblin »Read more |
 | Shiny, happy teenagers
Teenagers report the highest levels of life satisfaction of any Canadians, defying the stereotype of unhappy, misunderstood youth. What's behind this trend? Experts say it's because we care more. »Read more |
 | Party delivers sobering message
For many parents of teenagers, it’s their worst nightmare — and Daryl Meyers is inviting them to witness it.Reality parties for parents is a novel approach to demonstrate first-hand scenarios of incidents that happen at many teen parties. »Read more |
 | 'I couldn't stay there anymore'
Arguments with her father were bad enough that Megan didn't want to be around him. She'd spend free time in peace at her friends' places. He drank a lot, she said. When things cooled down, she'd go home. »Read more |
 | Drug survey results vague, but telling
Pop cans sliced and converted into bongs. Backpacks clinking as bottles collide with binders. Empty Visine bottles discarded in bathrooms. These subtle but telling signs, scattered around high schools in Yellowknife, are early indications of a larger »Read more |
 | Troubled youth give tips to social service providers
EDMONTON — Nikki Webb booked appointments with four counsellors in one month when she was trying to get off the street two years ago. Each sat stiffly behind their office desk. She felt awkward and didn’t go back. »Read more |
 | Does Teen Drug Rehab Cure Addiction or Create It?
"Matt Thomas" (a pseudonym) had only recently begun experimenting with marijuana when he got caught selling a few joints in the bathroom at his junior high school. It was no big deal, Thomas thought, especially considering that his parents — an investme »Read more |
 | Girls who are bullied are at risk for substance use through depression
Both boys and girls who are victims of bullying, including bullying through e-mail and the internet, are at elevated risk for depression. However, according to a new study, adolescent girls may engage in substance use as a result of bullying-related »Read more |
 | Cops, docs fight teen booze sales
North Van RCMP: 'It takes half the alcohol to affect the teen brain than an adult brain' Dr. Sam Gutman can predict, almost to the hour, when the Friday night mayhem will hit the emergency ward of Lions Gate Hospital. At 10 o'clock, the 14-year-olds »Read more |
 | Addictions this year's theme
Just saying no to drugs won't save kids from addiction. That's the message keynote speaker Gabor Mate is bringing to the 17th Annual Consultation on Chilliwack's Children and Youth this Friday at Sardis secondary. Mate, a doctor who works with drug addict »Read more |
 | 'Just say no' doesn't work, say students behind anti-drug website
Canadian Students for a Sensible Drug Policy designed www.not4me.org, which it says moves away from the government's »Read more |
 | Underage drinking 'is bigger problem for white middle class families'
Underage drinking is most common among white middle-class families and liberal parenting attitudes are to blame, a government report has warned. It found white children are five times as likely to have been drunk as those from ethnic minorities - »Read more |
 | 10 Resolutions That Show Your Kids You Care
The importance of being a role model to your children and exampling just how much you care has to be at least among the most important and vital responsibilities of a parent. These resolutions are courtesy of The Partnership at Drug Free.Org. »Read more |
 | U.S. children turn to inhaling to get high: study
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More 12-year-olds in the United States admit to using potentially deadly inhalants to get high than have used marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogens combined, U.S. health officials said on Thursday. »Read more |
 | Treating Teens: Ten Important Questions to Ask a Treatment Program
A guide designed to help parents, teachers, judges, counselors and other concerned adults make better choices about teen substance abuse treatment. To order the 60-page Treating Teens publication, which includes practical resources for parents... »Read more |
 | Letter from Melissa
Venture Academy sends us this wonderful testimony of just how it can work when mercy and grace, gifts from families who have decided to make a difference become a part of a young teens new life of change and mentorship. »Read more |
| Tips to spot kids on Meow
IT might not yet be illegal, but mephedrone - aka meow meow - is a dangerous substance that has already claimed the lives of several British youngsters. »Read more |
 | The answer to teen alcoholism?
Can you imagine the entire month of January being designated a “dry month� during which Scots were discouraged from drinking alcohol? »Read more |
 | Teen pot smokers at high risk of mental illness
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young people who use marijuana (cannabis) are at increased risk of suffering hallucinations, delusions or other reality-distorting »Read more |
 | Party drug blamed for teens' deaths
Sixteen-year-old Kayla Lalonde of Vancouver died in hospital after she was found lying on Rumble Street in south Burnaby just before 1 a.m. A few hours later, her friend Martha Jackson Hernandez, 17, died several kilometres away in a Richmond hospital. »Read more |
 | Mother warns of deadly street drug that killed son
The mother of a 23-year-old man says a single dose of a deadly street drug killed her son. Bev Robertson's son Adam died after injecting Fentanyl last April. Robertson is sharing her story about the drug in the hopes that other parents »Read more |
 | PROVINCE TARGETS YOUTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE, SMOKING, UNHEALTHY EATING WITH TOUGH NEW MEASURES
Manitoba will introduce some of the toughest penalties in the country for those who facilitate and participate in underage drinking, along with new tools aimed at reducing youth drug abuse, smoking and unhealthy eating, Healthy Living, »Read more |
 | Less sleep linked to higher drug use
Teens who sleep fewer than seven hours per night are more likely to use illegal drugs, according to a study released Sunday. The research also found a link between a lack of sleep and the likelihood of illegal drug use, which can spread through teens' net »Read more |
 | Mom's partners, discipline alters teens' drinking
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young teens may be more likely to drink alcohol if their mother had multiple partners and did not consistently keep tabs on their behavior when they were 5 years old or younger, researchers from Australia found. »Read more |
 | Every parent and child should hear this message
“After presentation, 94% of students said they'd never take crystal meth.� As Mark McLaughlin places bottles of Drano, antifreeze, brake fluid, acetone, camping fuel, rat poison and paint remover on a table, his audience is filled with growing horror. »Read more |
 | Victoria faces upsurge in teens overdosing on cough medicine
14- to 18-year-olds swallow products containing dextromethorphan (DM or DXM) Teenagers in Victoria looking for an easy, legal high, have started downing cough medicine, with at least five overdosing in the past two weeks, according to the Vancouver Island »Read more |
 | Beginning to drink in teen years raises alcohol risks later on: study
NEW YORK -- While research has linked moderate drinking to better heart health, a new study suggests that those benefits disappear when drinkers add the occasional binge to the mix. Pooling data from 14 previous studies of moderate drinkers, »Read more |
 | Painkillers killing young users
Three people died waiting to get help for their addiction to prescription painkillers as the number of young adults hooked on drugs like OxyContin skyrockets in middle-class neighbourhoods across Manitoba. Addiction expert Laurie Magee said she's seen a s »Read more |
 | Youth gambling on rise:
Parents don't consider underage gambling a big concern despite there being more avenues than ever in which adolescents can bet away their money, results of a Canadian study released Tuesday conclude. »Read more |
 | Young, addicted and on hold!
Thousands of youths wait for 86 addiction rehab beds funded by the province – none in Toronto – and it can take up to four months to get in for treatment [Heartbreaking, you bet!] »Read more |
 | A Different Kind of Teenage 'Angst'
I first started to realize that my mind and body were prone to 'excitability' around the time that I was getting used to a double digit age. I remember that I was really excited about the first day of Grade 6, so much so that I found it hard to get to »Read more |
| Indian teens use rap to bare tribal problems
He spent the last week at Warm Beach Camp, attending a music academy for Indian teens that focused on ending prescription drug abuse and problem gambling. Around 50 teens participated, including a few from the Tulalip Tribes. They recorded their own CDs »Read more |
 | Nearly 1 In 10 Youth Gamers Addicted To Video Games
Parents have been saying for years that their kids are "addicted" to video games, but a new study by an Iowa State University psychology professor is the first to actually report that pathological patterns of video game addiction exist in a national »Read more |
 | 25% of students report being a passenger in a car driven by a drunk driver
Twenty-five per cent of students surveyed by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reported being a passenger in a car driven by a drunk driver, and 17% said they drive after smoking cannabis. »Read more |
| Youth justice committee seeks involuntary 'detox'
For many parents facing the issue of drug addicted youth, the tools are not in place to deal with the problem effectively, says Barbara Westlake, Vice Chair South Fraser and Youth Justice Committee. “If parents don’t have the tools in place to deal wi »Read more |
| Violence Linked to Who Kids Play With, Not What They Play
We found that depressed mood and association with delinquent peers were the strongest and most consistent risk factors for youth violence across outcome measures. Parents’ use of verbal cruelty in domestic relationships and the child’s antisocial per »Read more |
 | Dinners make a difference
Alberta Health believes that kids whose families eat together are more often less likely to develop problems with substance abuse. The challenge is offering to families for Addictions Awareness Week is to have dinner together five to seven times during... »Read more |
| Power of the family meal
Dubbed the "most famous narc in America," Bob Stutman says the number of times parents eat dinner with their kids every week will predict whether they will be drug addicts. »Read more |
 | Model's death highlights 'the agony of ecstasy'
The RCMP has launched a new national anti-drug campaign that features the story of a young B.C. woman who died last year after overdosing on illegal synthetic drugs. Erin Spanevello, had just turned 21 when she died from cardiac and respiratory failure. »Read more |
 | Religious teens half as likely to use marijuana
Parents who want to keep their kids off drugs may want to start taking them to church. Religious teens are considerably less likely to use marijuana and are less susceptible to peer pressure to smoke and drink, according to a new study. »Read more |
 | Teens turning from cocaine to ketamine: police
The animal painkiller ketamine is replacing cocaine as a street drug of choice among teens, according to Hamilton police. Typically sold as a white powder in small vials of about a gram, the drug, also known as Special K, looks like cocaine but costs a th »Read more |
 | School discipline failure fuels crime, says Home Office
Weak discipline and "insufficient" responses to bad behaviour are increasing the likelihood of children going off the rails, researchers concluded. »Read more |
| Tween & Teen - Talking to Your Kids About Drugs
The right time to start talking to your kids about drugs is...now. Here's an age-by-age guide to get the conversation started. »Read more |
| A New Year’s Resolution for Every Parent: Talk With Your Kids about Drugs and Alcohol
Resolving to talk more often with your child about healthy decisions & choices is a great idea for the New Year. Here are 10 Great Resolutions That Show Your Kids You Care: »Read more |
 | Protecting Kids from Illegal Drugs
Last Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that random searches by drug sniffing dogs in Canadian high schools cannot take place unless there is already reasonable suspicion that drugs are present. »Read more |
 | Teens and prescription drugs
As families begin preparations for the upcoming school year, parents should be aware of a peer-pressure problem burgeoning nationwide: prescription-drug abuse. Parents, particularly those with teen-age girls, should hold frank discussions with their child »Read more |
