During National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month drug education groups fight youth drug abuse with facts
Free booklet on synthetic drugs with information anyone working with children or teenagers should know.
This free on-line course can be done in an hour. It gives information and tools to help ensure youth are aware of the dangers of synthetic drugs. Studies show that increased awareness of the dangers of drugs leads to leads to a reduction in their use.
Foundation for a Drug-Free World materials include the Truth about Synthetic Drugs.
Youth find the Foundation for a Drug-Free World Synthetics booklets interesting.
Free “Truth About Drugs” resources help prevent youth drug use and combat drug abuse
Synthetic drugs are some of the most harmful illicit drugs, but they are often falsely advertised as ‘safe,’ ’natural’ or ‘legal.’ They are definitely not legal and are not natural or safe.”
WASHINGTON, DC, USA, October 27, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- During National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month one of the successful strategies being employed by many groups and governmental agencies is education about the effects of various drugs and the dangers involved.— Thalia Ghiglia, Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Washington, DC
Unfortunately, rising drug-use trends during the pandemic continue even as the pandemic is more under control.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of June 2020, “13% of Americans started, or increased substance use, as a way of coping with stress or emotions related to Covid-19.”
An American Medical Association report of December 2020 disclosed that 40 states had record deaths from overdoses.
One of the drug categories raising concern is synthetic drugs which include “bath salts” and synthetic marijuana (K2/Spice). Bath salts and other similar products are herbal mixtures that act as amphetamine-like stimulants that can produce euphoria, paranoia, agitation, hallucinations and even psychosis and violent behavior. Spice (synthetic cannabinoids) refers to a wide variety of herbs and chemical additives that produce a marijuana-like effect but may also result in even stronger reactions. A common misconception is that synthetic drugs are safer than other types of drugs, whereas they are actually much more dangerous.
In Minnesota, for example, the Department of Health released drug overdose death statistics which showed a 31% increase in drug overdose deaths in 2020 compared to the same time period in 2019. Of these deaths, approximately 80% were synthetic opioid related deaths.
Texas reports that 60% of those admitted to the hospital for use of synthetic cannabinoids are between 12 and 20 years old.
Some teenagers turn to synthetic drugs thinking that these will solve and ease their problems, but by the time they find out that this is not the case, their lives have already been harmed or ruined.
Drug prevention programs highlight the dangers of drug usage in youth, because youth who start using marijuana or misusing prescription drugs have been found to develop substance use disorders much faster than adults, according to a recent National Institute of Drug Abuse study.
To help educate youth and their parents on the many dangers of synthetics drugs, a free booklet and a free online course are available from the Foundation for a Drug-Free World at www.drugfreeworld.org.
Thalia Ghiglia, faith liaison for the Foundation for a Drug-Free World in Washington, DC, observed, “Synthetic drugs are some of the most harmful illicit drugs, but they are often falsely advertised as ‘safe,’ ’natural’ or ‘legal.’ They are definitely not legal and are not natural or safe. What they really are is deadly.”
The Truth About Synthetic Drugs is a free booklet that explains why these drugs are some of the most destructive illicit drugs manufactured. It describes how synthetic drugs are created in laboratories abroad and imported into the US where they are put onto plant material that can be smoked or added to candies. The “manufacture” is unpredictable: one lot might contain a small amount of chemicals while other lots in the same batch might contain enough to overdose a person, causing severe medical issues or even death.
More information is in the Truth About Drugs Education Package, which contains practical tools to educate young people about substance abuse. This is available for free to teachers and educators. Parents and community members can download the free booklet and watch a short video on the truth about drugs.
The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug free. The free booklets are used in thousands of schools and social programs to help youth with factual information about the drugs they may be offered.
References:
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/p1218-overdose-deaths-covid-19.html
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/initiatives/synthetic-drugs
https://nida.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2021/03/younger-age-of-first-cannabis-use-or-prescription-drug-misuse-is-associated-with-faster-development-of-substance-use-disorders
https://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/2020/overdose120320.html
Thalia Ghiglia
Drug-Free World
+1 202-667-6404
email us here
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