Woodlands Treatment Center

Our Schools Are Infested With Drugs

Four out of five high school students and about half of all middle school students attend drug infested schools, where they have personally witnessed illegal drug use, drug dealing, drug possession and students drunk and/or high on school grounds, according to The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.  Parents need to wake up to the reality that most of the nation's schools are sources of illegal drugs, researchers say.

The findings of CASA's 12th annual back-to-school survey, "National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XII – Teens and Parents," shows a huge increase in students exposed to drugs at school in the past five years. Since 2002, the proportion of students who attend schools where drugs are used, kept or sold has jumped 39 percent for high school students and 63 percent for middle school students.

"This fall more than 16 million teens will return to middle and high schools where drug dealing, possession, use and students high on alcohol or drugs are part of the fabric of their school," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's chairman, in a new release. "Too many of our nation's high and middle schools have become marijuana marts and pill palaces.

Wake Up to the Reality

"Parents should wake up to this reality and realize more likely than not, your teen is going to school each day in a building where drug use, sale and possession is as much a part of the curriculum as math or English and do something about it. For many of our middle and high school students, school days have become school daze."

"CASA's deeper dive into the American school system reveals that our nation's youth are drenched in a culture where drug and alcohol abuse are commonplace and that drug-infested schools encourage the idea that it's cool to get high and drunk," noted Califano. "Over the past few years the corridors and classrooms of too many of our schools have become open drug bazaars for teens."

Here are some of the highlights of the 2007 survey findings, from a CASA news release::

More Likely to Use Drugs

Compared to teens at drug-free schools, those at drug-infested schools are:

• 16 times more likely to use an illegal drug other than marijuana or prescription drugs.
• 15 times more likely to abuse prescription drugs.
• Six times more likely to get drunk at least monthly.
• Five times more likely to use marijuana.
• Four times more likely to smoke cigarettes.
• Four times more likely to be able to buy marijuana within a day.
• Nearly six times more likely to be able to buy marijuana within an hour.

Perils of Popularity

The CASA survey also found that popular teens who attend drug-infested schools are much more likely to smoke, get drunk, abuse prescription and illegal drugs. Among teens who consider themselves the most popular at their schools, compared to those at drug-free schools such teens at drug-infested schools are:

• At least 10 times more likely to abuse prescription drugs.
• Nine times more likely to use illegal drugs other than marijuana or prescription drugs.
• Five times more likely to get drunk at least monthly.
• Four and a half times more likely to use marijuana.
• Four and a half times more likely to smoke or chew tobacco.

Parental Attitudes and Teen Behavior

Teens are much more likely to smoke, drink and use drugs when their parents:

• Believe it is very likely that their child will try drugs in the future.
• Do not take steps to limit what their child is exposed to in movies, television and music, and on the Internet.

Only 11 percent of parents see drugs as their teen's greatest concern, but twice as many teens (24 percent) say drugs are their greatest concern.

Other Survey Findings 

• 59 percent of parents whose teens attend schools where drugs are used, kept, or sold believe the goal of making their child's school drug free is unrealistic, while 41 percent of parents consider this a realistic goal.
• Compared to their teen using marijuana, 48 percent of parents would be more bothered if their teen had sex, 82 percent would be more bothered if their teen drove a car while intoxicated and 52 percent would be more bothered if their teen shoplifted.
• Almost 10 million 12- to 17-year olds (37 percent) say they can buy marijuana within a day, and 4.4 million (17 percent) can buy marijuana in an hour or less.

Drug Abuse and the link to HIV/AIDS and Other Infectious Diseases

HIV/AIDS

Behavior associated with drug abuse, such as sharing needle injection equipment and/or risky sexual behavior after drug or alcohol intoxication whether or not injection equipment is used, has been central to the spread of HIV/AIDS since the pandemic began more than 25 years ago.

HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), is a virus that lives and multiplies primarily in white blood cells (CD4+ lymphocytes), which are part of the immune system. HIV ultimately causes severe depletion of these cells. An HIV-infected person may look and feel fine for many years and may therefore be unaware of the infection. However, as the immune system weakens, the individual becomes more vulnerable to illnesses and common infections.

Over time, a person with untreated HIV is likely to succumb to multiple, concurrent illnesses and to develop AIDS. Because HIV/AIDS is a condition characterized by a defect in the body's natural immunity to diseases, infected individuals are at risk for severe illnesses that are not usually a threat to anyone whose immune system is working properly.

As yet, there is no cure for AIDS, and there is no vaccine to prevent a person from acquiring HIV.

How HIV/AIDS Is Spread

HIV can be transmitted by contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person. In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their infants during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding.

Among drug abusers, HIV transmission can occur through sharing needles and other injection paraphernalia such as cotton swabs, rinse water, and cookers. However, another way people may be at risk for HIV is simply by using drugs—regardless of whether a needle and syringe are involved. Research sponsored by NIDA and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has shown that drug and alcohol use can interfere with judgment and can lead to risky sexual behaviors that put people in danger of contracting or transmitting HIV.

Extent and Impact of HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS has become one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, killing more than 25 million people around the world, including more than 500,000 Americans. Despite beneficial advances in treating HIV/AIDS, the pandemic is far from over. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 40,000 Americans become infected with HIV annually, and many of these are under the age of 25. Also, due to a number of complex biological, social, and economic factors, there are some populations who are at increased risk for HIV/AIDS. For example:

• While African Americans made up about 13 percent of the U.S. population in 2004, they acounted for half of the total AIDS cases diagnosed.
• Hispanics made up about 13 percent of the population in 2004, yet they accounted for 18 percent of new diagnoses reported in the 35 areas with long-term, confidential name-based HIV reporting in the United States.
• Women remain a particularly vulnerable population, and accounted for 29 percent of all HIV diagnoses in 2004.
• African-American women accounted for 69 percent of female HIV diagnoses during 2000-2003.
• In 2001, HIV infection was the leading cause of death for African-American women, aged 25-34; African-American men of all ages; and Hispanic women, aged 35-44.
• MSM (men having sex with other men) remains the largest transmission category.
  

Further, CDC estimates that about one-fourth of the HIV-infected persons in the United States are unaware of their infection. Not only are these infected individuals at high risk for transmitting HIV to others, but they are also not taking advantage of effective medical treatments for HIV which can reduce AIDS-related illnesses and slow disease progression.

Since 1996, lives of people with HIV/AIDS have been prolonged and symptoms decreased through the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). HAART is a customized combination of different classes of medications prescribed for individual patients based on such factors as their viral load, CD4+ lymphocyte count, and clinical symptoms.

Preventing the Spread of HIV/AIDS

Early detection of HIV can help prevent HIV transmission. Research indicates that routine HIV screening in healthcare settings among populations with a prevalence rate as low as 1 percent is as cost effective as screening for other conditions such as breast cancer and high blood pressure. These findings suggest that HIV screening can lower healthcare costs by preventing high-risk practices and decreasing virus transmission.

Cumulative research has shown that comprehensive HIV prevention—drug abuse treatment, community-based outreach, testing and counseling for HIV and other infections, and HIV treatment—is the most effective way to reduce the risk of blood-borne infections.

Combined pharmacological and behavioral treatments for drug abuse have a demonstrated impact on HIV risk behaviors and incidence of HIV infection. For example, recent research showed that when behavioral therapies were combined with methadone treatment, about half of study participants who reported injection drug use at intake reported no such use at study exit, and over 90 percent of all participants reported no needle sharing at study exit. While these findings show great promise for achieving reductions in HIV risk behaviors, studies are now needed to improve the long-term effectiveness of such interventions.

Behavioral treatments for drug abuse have also shown promise for enhancing patient adherence to HAART. Interventions aimed at increasing HIV treatment adherence are crucial to treatment success, but usually require dramatic lifestyle changes to counter the often irregular lifestyle created by drug abuse and addiction. Adequate medical care for HIV/AIDS and related illnesses is also critical to reducing and preventing the spread of new infections.

Other Infectious Diseases

Besides increasing their risk of HIV infection, individuals who take drugs or engage in high-risk behaviors associated with drug use also put themselves and others at risk for contracting or transmitting hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV), tuberculosis (TB), as well as a number of other sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, and genital herpes. Injecting drug users (IDUs) are also commonly susceptible to skin infections at the site of injection and to bacterial and viral infections, such as bacterial pneumonia and endocarditis, which, if left untreated, can lead to serious health problems.

HCV, HBV, and HIV/AIDS – HCV, the leading cause of liver disease, is highly prevalent among IDUs and often co-occurs with HIV; HBV is also common among drug abusers. These are two of several viruses which can cause an inflammation of the liver. Chronic infection with HCV or HBV can result in cirrhosis (liver scarring) or primary liver cancer. While a vaccine does not yet exist for HCV, HBV infection can be prevented by an effective vaccine.

HCV is highly transmissible through blood-borne exposure. NIDA-funded studies have found that, within 3 years of beginning injection drug use, most IDUs contract HCV—and up to 90 percent of HIV-infected IDUs may also be infected with HCV. Chronic HCV and HIV co-infection results in an accelerated progression to end-stage liver disease and death when compared with individuals infected with HCV alone.

While the treatment of co-occurring HIV and HCV presents certain challenges, treatment during the acute phase of HCV infection (i.e., within 6 to 12 months of detection) can be very effective in controlling the virus. Treatment for chronic HCV can significantly improve quality of life.

TB and HIV/AIDS – TB is a chronic and infectious lung disease. Through major public health detection and treatment initiatives its prevalence declined in the U.S. for several years, with the 2005 report of 14,000 cases being the lowest since surveillance began in 1953. However, the decline of TB prevalence has slowed by half in recent years, and TB infection remains intertwined with HIV/AIDS and drug abuse.

People with latent TB infection do not have symptoms, may not develop active disease, and cannot spread TB. However, if such individuals do not receive preventive therapy, they may develop active TB, which is contagious. NIDA research has shown that IDUs have high rates of latent TB infection. Because HIV infection severely weakens the immune system, people infected with both HIV and latent TB are at increased risk of developing active TB disease and becoming highly infectious, thereby increasing the risk of further TB transmission. Effective treatment for HIV and TB can reduce TB/HIV-associated disease and the risk of transmission to others.

Rise in Pharm Parties

From USA Today...

'Troubling trend'

In recent months, federal anti-drug officials have acknowledged that they didn't anticipate the quick escalation of prescription-drug abuse. Most government-sponsored drug prevention programs focus on marijuana, tobacco, alcohol and methamphetamine.

"We were taken by surprise when we started to see a high instance of abuse of prescription drugs," says Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is collecting information about how teens perceive, get and use prescription drugs so it can try to craft an effective prevention campaign.

In a bulletin last year, NIDA called the increase in pharmaceutical drug abuse among teens "disturbing" and said pharm parties were a "troubling trend."

The increasing availability of prescription drugs is a big reason for the rise in their abuse, Volkow and other drug specialists say.

Pharmaceutical companies' production of two often-abused prescription drugs — hydrocodone and oxycodone, the active ingredients in drugs such as Vicodin and OxyContin — has risen dramatically as the drugs' popularity for legitimate uses has increased. Drug companies made 29 million doses of oxycodone in 2004, up from 15 million four years earlier. Hydrocodone doses rose from 14 million in 2000 to 24 million in 2004.

The 2005 Partnership survey found that more than three in five teens can easily get prescription painkillers from their parents' medicine cabinets. And as Falkowski says, the rising number of youths being treated with stimulants has made it easier for kids to use such drugs illicitly. About 3% of children are treated with a stimulant such as Adderall or Ritalin, up from less than 1% in 1987.

Almost all of the 13 youths at Phoenix House's intensive outpatient treatment program on New York City's Upper West Side have dabbled in prescription drugs, director Tessa Vining says.

"There's definitely easy access," she says. "Maybe a parent had some surgery and took one or two painkillers from a bottle of 10, and the rest are just hanging out in the medicine cabinet."

After her son died, Cappiello says she wondered how kids in her area were getting pills. She says she learned from police that one local dealer got Xanax from his mother, who had been given a prescription for the drug. Instead of taking the pills, she gave them to her son to sell for $2 to $3 each.

Paul Michaud, 18, of Boston, says he got his first taste of OxyContin pills — he calls them OCs — from a friend during his freshman year in high school.

Until then, Michaud says, he had smoked marijuana daily and taken a Percocet pill occasionally. Michaud's father had recently died of cancer, and Michaud says he was depressed and feeling like an outsider at school. The prescription painkiller made him feel like nothing could faze him, he recalls.

"The first time I did it, I was hooked," says Michaud, who is four months into a yearlong drug treatment program at Phoenix House in Springfield, Mass. He says he quickly became a daily OxyContin user, breaking apart the time-release capsules, crushing pills and snorting the powder from five 80-milligram pills a day.

"They're not very hard to get. I could find OCs easier than I could find pot," Michaud says. "There were plenty of people who sold them," including some dealers who got pills illicitly by mail order.