Information by State: Missouri

The state of Missouri is widely known as one of the methamphetamine capitals of the world. There are many drugs available and trafficked through Missouri besides Methamphetamines. With the high amount of drugs circulating throughout the state, abuse pattern observation and the strong prevention programs are needed more now than ever. Though there are common stereotypes for drug use, statistics prove that the concepts of who is most susceptible to drug use and addiction are not necessary true. The percentages shown between private and public school students who use drugs are, for the most part, very close to being the same. The prevention techniques for Missouri may very well be considered outdated and in need of revision.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) 2006 state fact sheet there was a total of 5,976.8 kgs of marijuana, 328.1 kgs of cocaine, 6.1 kgs of Heroin, and 23.8 kgs of Methamphetamines confiscated from drug seizures in Missouri in a single year. In addition to these amounts there were 2,170 Methamphetamine Lab incidents. These large amounts of drugs are due to the many drug trafficking organizations and drug manufacturers in Missouri. The number of Meth Lab incidents has decreased by around 700 incidents in the past year.
Still the numbers are quite staggeringly high.

So how are these drugs effecting Missouri’s children and what is being done to help them say no, stay no, or recover from already saying yes?

The Children
The Missouri Department of Mental Health reports the following facts in their 2006 student surveys:
- Among students in public and private schools, alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana were the most commonly used substances. The majority (60% of public school students and 58% of private school students) used at least some alcohol in their lifetime, and 34% and 33%, respectively, used it in the month before the survey. In addition, approximately 18% of students in both samples exhibited binge drinking behavior in the 2 weeks before the survey. Recent tobacco use was reported by 19% of students in both samples, and recent marijuana use was reported by 13% and 10%, respectively.
- There were few differences in substance use by gender among public school students. However, in private schools, males were generally more likely to report use of the various substances.
- White public school students were more likely to report recent tobacco and alcohol use than those in the other racial/ethnic category. Analysis of use by race/ethnicity could not be conducted for private school students because of the small number of surveys completed among students in the other racial/ethnic category.
- The rate of substance use generally increased steadily between grades 6 and 12 among both public and private school students. For example, among public school students, prevalence of recent alcohol use was 11% among 6th graders, 30% among 8th graders, 45% among 10th graders, and 55% among 12th graders. Similarly, among private school students, prevalence of recent alcohol use was 7% among 6th graders, 26% among 8th graders, 43% among 10th graders, and 61% among 12th graders.
- Rates of substance use also varied by substance across region among public school students. Regional analysis could not be conducted for private school students because of the small sample size.

Prevention
As with many states Missouri has available funding to implement whichever drug prevention policies and programs they see fit. Though many states have chosen not to continue implicating the D.A.R.E. program, Missouri is still using it in most schools. Along with the D.A.R.E program, they use of the S.P.I.R.I.T. program and the Green Bear Program.
These programs have different rates of success and failure from school to school and child to child. Many people believe that the current programs are no longer a satisfactory way to help children deal with the hardships they face in their everyday life and remain drug free.

The following quotation is from the National Conference on Drug Abuse Prevention Research’s Work Group on Prevention Through the Schools:
“It is clearly important that we refocus the way in which we approach the problem of drug abuse prevention. This war on drugs metaphor has been an unfortunate one. I agree that it does not adequately capture the social aspects and the dimension of the problem. What we are talking about is trying to develop interventions that deal with the whole kid, interventions that do not just teach kids to say "no" or beat them over the head with facts, but interventions that deal with real-life concerns and give kids the skills they need to succeed in a frequently hostile environment, whether it is at home, at school, or traveling to school. Unfortunately, many of our kids live in a hostile world. We need to give kids the skills to cope with that world and to succeed to the greatest extent possible. So we need to think about this in a different way.” (Botvin, Gilbert J. 2006)

Experts all agree that children are most vulnerable at the transitional stages to drug abuse. The transitional stages are most commonly the move from grade school to middle school and from middle school to high school. It is imperative for schools to provide effective drug education before, during, and after these stages in order to assist children with making healthy choices.

Conclusion
Overall, it is apparent that the state of Missouri has a growing drug problem. While we may see temporary declines in some usage trends, without proper prevention methods these are destined to increase. By implicating strong prevention methods that include not only the schools and students but the families and communities Missouri can benefit greatly.

Rehab? The New Trend!

Britney, Lindsay, and Mary Kate. What do they have in common? Rehab, bad partying, and a bad influence on the children that love them.

Every parent who has a star-struck child has been through the trends. The puppy in a purse trend, the bad clothes, the dumb sayings that are repeated incessantly, and on an on. That's why this new trend of drug use, alcohol abuse, and rehab are so frightening.

Kids watch on average 2.8 hours of television per day, 82% of young people use the internet daily and 77% of 16-24 year olds read a newspaper during the week.

59% of the young people stated that their idols had influenced some aspect of their attitudes and beliefs.

In the past decade celebrity influence has become a real part of the socialization of our nations children. Sadly, this influence weighs more with many youth more than that of their parents, peers, or teachers. With the headlines screaming about the ongoing partying and in and outs of celebrity rehab. We can only expect this to affect our children.

The Beginning of Drug Use

What drives a person to do drugs? Is it their lot in life or an inherited dependency? Are drug addicts just born bad seeds? These questions have plagued the world of non-users and users alike for centuries. Scientists have provided answers and the drug-addicted have told their stories. So where does that leave the rest of the nation when trying to sort out the important facts from the data and the emotions?

- What causes drug addiction?
Three main factors play a part in a person’s likelihood of using illicit drugs. The first are what professionals deem predisposing elements, the second being enabling elements, and the third are reinforcing elements. These alone or in combination can play a big part of a person’s chance of becoming a drug abuser.

Predisposing elements are the environment and personal mindset before their first encounter with drugs. This type of factor reveals if a person will be more resistant or more vulnerable to drug use, abuse, or tendency.

Some of the leading environmental and personal aspects that are a part of this factor are:
- Genetically transmitted vulnerabilities or strengths (psychological characteristics)
- Developmental deficits or successes (early socialization and self esteem)
- Education (knowledge and belief of the hazards of drug use)
- Moral beliefs ( Mainly based in their family and/or religion)
- Social circumstances ( This covers a variety of social status)

Enabling elements are the economic and decision-making factors. These are in direct relation to the person’s behavior in situations where the opportunity to use drugs is present. Some common examples of enabling elements are:
- The availability or unavailability of drugs
- Availability or unavailability of prevention education
- An individual's problem-solving and stress management skills

Reinforcing elements in simpler terms are the reactions, expectations, and influences of the people surrounding the individual.
These situations may include:
- Giving or withholding approval by an important individual or group
- Praise or intimacy based on persons actions
- Opportunity to earn better money or acquire better possessions.
- Receiving special recognition or higher social status

People who are considered important or influential:
Parents, Peers, Teachers, Employers, Co-workers

As we can see from this information, the majority of drug users are conditioned by a number of factors that vary widely. Where you live, your family situation, your friends, and your community all may contribute to your drug addiction or drug abstinence. These factors are not set in stone and are only an example. No matter if a child, teen, or adult has negative or positive versions of these elements they are all subject to the horrors of drug abuse and addiction and all are capable of drug abstinence.

Information by State: Mississippi

Cocaine, particularly crack cocaine is considered to be the largest drug threat in the state of Mississippi. The rise of methamphetamine use and manufacturing is now quickly making it a close second in the stats. According to the DEA 2006 report the steady increase in production of methamphetamines is causing a severe threat for the people who use and manufacture the drug, law enforcement agents, and everyday people like ourselves.

While these drugs are not the only ones available they are by far the most serious threat at this time. Other drugs being widely produced, used, and sold in the state of Mississippi are: Marijuana, MDMA, LSD, GHB, Ketamine, and Rohypnol. These drugs are the most popular among younger users.

Another significant concern for the stat is the usage of pharmaceutical drugs. The abuse of the popular OxyContin® drug is continuing to rise throughout the country and Mississippi is no exception.

In 2006 the DEA reported the following confiscations in Mississippi:
Cocaine: 797.0 kegs Methamphetamine: 54.3 kgs./501 du Marijuana: 419.0 kgs
MDMA: 0.0 kgs /10,042 du Methampehtamine Laboratories: 184 (DEA, state, and local)

Mississippi is considered to be the “Crossroads of the South” in the drug trafficking world. It has an ideal location with ample access to interstates, ocean and river ports, and air and railway systems. This facilitates drug movement from the Texas, Mexico, and gulf ports into the entire Midwest and the eastern seaboard. Most confiscations take place on the interstate systems which seems to be the preferred method of transporting in and out of Mississippi.

The Children:
How bad is the risk for Mississippi Children? The following article can be found at http://www.drug-rehabs.org/content.php?cid=957&state=Mississippi
• Cocaine found packed in a box of food at a second South Mississippi school
• Cocaine was found packed into boxes carrying food at a South Mississippi school cafeteria for the second time in a week.
• Fifteen pounds of Cocaine was found at East Central Upper Elementary in Mississippi.
• A week ago the same discovery was made at an elementary school in Ellisville, Mississippi.
• Just like in Ellisville, Mississippi the drugs in the Hurley school were found in a box of frozen ground beef.
• Drug Enforcement Agency assistant chief for Mississippi Charlie Brown Jr. says this type of drug smuggling is not unusual.

If this isn’t frightening enough there are many state and national reports that provide information on the drug use trends of Mississippi youth. An example of this is the SAMSHA report that shows that drug use, teenage pregnancies, suicides, and diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS are a problem in the state. Data has proved that there is a strong connection between these problems.

196 Mississippi babies were born to mothers who were younger than 15. The total number of babies born to mothers between the ages of 15-19 was 7,340.
There were a total of 5,236 adults and adolescents, as well as 57 children younger than 13, had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Mississippi.
22 Mississippi children younger than 20 committed suicide. That is a rate of 257 per 100,000 children in the population.
11,000 children ages 12-17, and 42,000 adults 18 and older, were dependent on or abusing illicit drugs and alcohol.

Prevention:
Mississippi receives $5.7 million in FY00 for the Safe & Drug Free Schools Program, which invests in school security and drug prevention programs.

In 2002, the Department of Education announced grants to help middle schools in 113 school districts recruit, hire, and train drug prevention and school safety coordinators. Coordinators will...
• Identify and help schools adopt successful, research-based drug and violence prevention programs and strategies
• Develop, conduct, and analyze assessments of school drug and crime problems
• Work with community organizations, parents, and students to ensure collaboration
• Identify additional funding sources for drug prevention and school safety program initiatives
• Provide feedback to state educational agencies on successful programs and activities.

The fiscal year of 2006 showed that the total amount of substance abuse prevention and treatment was $14,215,234.00 for the entire state of Mississippi.

There are currently 16 active Juvenile Drug Courts in Mississippi and 9 are in planning. There is currently a hot debate on whether or not drug testing should be allowed in schools to prevent addiction and eradicate the need to have as many court programs.

An Intervention: Tough Love Can Save A Life.

Many parents facing the devastation that their child is using or already addicted to drugs or alcohol do not know where to turn, how to confront their child, or what steps to take to give them the help they need. Many parents' first reaction is to punish the child with little or no actual conversation taking place. Where showing their child consequences is always a good measure, not discussing the problem further can cause more damage. Simply telling your child that drugs are bad for them, that they are breaking the law, and that you do not approve is not always going to work.

Intervention does not have to be a formal confrontation of the person by a group of people. It can be any number of triggers that add up to move a person along a continuum toward help-seeking and wellness. A conversation can be a powerful tool. Here are a few steps to start with.

1. Parents should first talk privately with each other to get on the same page about how they are going to address their child. Do research. There are many questionnaires that can help you determine the extent of the problem.
2. You should find a time to hold a conversation with your child when they are not high or drunk and when they are not extremely upset or angry.
3. You should initially express love and concern for your child's safety and well-being as the basis for the concern, whether the child acknowledges this or not.
4. You should point out that, while it is the child's responsibility to grow up, it is your job as parents to make sure they reache adulthood as safely as possible.
5. You should tell your child the warning signs you've observed in their behavior that have made you concerned, and use the findings of the questionnaires to say that this problem warrants serious attention and family support, as well as professional help, because it can get out of control and can even be fatal. This may include negative effects of the person's substance use on you, and on those around you. However, it is extremely important to remain neutral and non-judgmental in tone, like a news reporter. To sum up the warning signs at this step, you should state that the pursuit of substance use despite adverse effects on yourself or others is actually the definition of "drug addiction." Don't press the child to agree on this assessment of the problem.
6. You should then listen to anything and everything the child has to say in response. If they bring up related problems, they should be listened to with a promise of being addressed separately. But you should reiterate that what you are addressing at the moment is substance abuse, which is serious and can be at the core of other problems.
7. Then you should follow the practice of "motivational interviewing" used by clinicians to empower your child and get them to think about their substance use in a new way. Ask questions about what the child wants their life to be like at this stage — school, relationships with friends, relationships with parents, siblings, job, activities, etc. Ask how things are going in each of these areas and listen. You are holding up a mirror on their life and letting them look at it freshly.
8. The listening step is crucial to establish empathy and to convey that you really see and hear your child and are taking them in. Prompt your child to consider the link between substance use and where their life is not matching up to their dreams and wishes. Our kids are generally not self-destructive; they want to do what serves them in their lives. They don't want to be patronized but do want to be trusted with your expectations and full confidence that they can, and will, do the best thing for their own health and their family.
9. Ask the child -- in light of what he or she is concluding in this conversation about the substance abuse effect on their life -- to reassess the problem. Set a goal for getting well. Plan together further steps to find information about addiction, recovery and resources, and identify professional help that will be most suitable.
10. You and your child should understand that the conversation you just had is actually a successful "intervention," a first concrete step toward interrupting the progression of the problem and getting well. It is a good idea to reiterate again your love and caring concern for your child. Acknowledge yourselves, knowing that you need and deserve strong encouragement and support and have the power to solve this problem together.
11. Let your child know in every way that you are there to help them, you love them, but you will not tolerate these actions from them. If your child assumes that they will only have this type of conversation as a result of their behavior, it isn’t going to do much to stop the problem. Punishments are a must! Grounding, removal of privileges, and other positive actions. Do not scream, hit, or threaten your child. These types of actions will only drive your child farther away.

Sex, Drugs, and Teenagers

What many people are not considering when they talk about the drug problem in America is it’s relationship with teen age pregnancies, contraction of STD’s by teens, the amount of teens who have sexual intercourse, and sexual crimes committed by and against teens.

Drugs impair the logical thinking of those who use them. A person, especially a teenager, cannot make good decisions while under the influence. So when you have that “Just say no” talk be sure to include information on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the effects of pregnancy on a teen, and their chances of being victims of a sexual crime.

*Teens 15 and older who use drugs are 5 times more likely to have sex than are those teens who do not use drugs.

*According to the NCPP (National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy) in a 2005 report 46.8% of all teens say they are currently sexually active. Broken down by gender 45.7% of all teen girls are sexual active compared to 47.9% of teen boys. While sexual activity is showing record lows for unmarried teens above the age of sixteen it is still very high for teens under the age of 15.

*According to a similar survey in 2002 by the NCPP teen pregnancies were down to about 75 out of every thousand teen girls. The previous numbers were 117 out of a thousand. Still that shows an average of about 750,00 girls who became pregnant before the age of twenty.

*Teens who have used marijuana are four times more likely to have been pregnant or to have gotten someone pregnant than teens who have never smoked pot.

*More than 1/3 of sexually active teens and young adults age 15 to 24 report that alcohol or drug use has influenced a decision to do something sexual

*Nearly 1/4 of sexually active teens and young adults age 15 to 24 report having unprotected sex (not using a condom) because of alcohol or drug use. And 43% of teens and young adults -- almost half -- say that they are concerned that they might do more sexually than they had planned because they are drinking or using drugs.

*Found that 24% of girls ages 13 or younger at the time of their first pre-marital intercourse reported the experience to have been non-voluntary.

*Sexually experienced teens who average five or more drinks daily are three times less likely to use condoms.

*Teens who use drugs are at a higher risk of contacting sexually transmitted diseases. Even if a teen does not use but has sexual relationships with those who do they are at a high risk factor.

Information by State: Indiana

Indiana is an active drug transportation and distribution area. In the northern part of Indiana you can find Lake Michigan, which is a major waterway within the St. Lawrence Seaway system. This provides international shipping for all areas of the Midwest. Add in seven interstate highway systems and 20 U.S. highways and you have a drug traffickers dream, especially with the southwest border and California. Mexican criminal groups are the primary wholesale distributors of marijuana, powdered cocaine, and methamphetamine within Indiana.

The DEA reported in 2005 that they confiscated the following amount of drugs.
Cocaine: 103.2 kgs. Heroin: 0.6 kgs. Methamphetamine: 35.1 kgs. Marijuana: 1,646.5 kgs. Hashish: 0.0 kegs MDMA: 0.0 kgs/16,513 du Meth Lab Incidents: 915 (DEA, state, and local)

The amount of confiscated drugs is considerably less than some neighboring states except for the amount of Meth Lab Incidents. The smaller amounts should not be allowed to lull the residents of Indiana into feeling safer. Their children are still being exposed to drugs at a young age and these drugs are still readily available in almost any area.

The Children

Congratulations are in order for the State of Indiana. The IPRCS (Indiana Prevention Resource Center Survey) of 2005 shows illicit drug use among Indiana youth has continued to decline. Many of the rates show very strong declines of 3 or more percentage points. So, we would like to take this moment to say, “GREAT JOB!”

State drug seizures are down and the usage rates of the children are down and that is wonderful. Yet, Indiana’s youth are still at risk and are still showing active usage of many illicit drugs. For example about 10,890 out of 136,782 of the students are heavy smokers and 5.5% try methamphetamines by 12th grade.

Prevention

On the basis of the IPRC report, the Division of Mental Health has announced that it is providing $5.2 million in funding for 250 to 300 new local prevention programs designed specifically for the 7th through 9th grade age group. Developed with the expertise of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center, the programs will be provided to all 92 Indiana counties. While state funding and the developing of new prevention programs is always an excellent improvement the lack of diversity throughout different age groups is an area for concern.

The particular age group is considered a “window of vulnerability” due to them transcending from grade school to middle school and then from middle school to high school. Adding in factors like the onset of puberty, more drug availability, and higher rates of peer pressure it is a definite time of unrest and vulnerability for youths. NIDA’s (National Institute on Drug Abuse) research indicates that prevention programs that begin in elementary and middle school have beneficial effects in lowering drug use, but that these effects are diminished if follow-up is not presented in high school programs. So waiting until the 7th grade after the first half of the transition is over with may prove to be less effective and then with no planned follow-ups after 9th grade could prove to be a fatal error on the part of well-intentioned and highly respected drug prevention resource leaders.