“My advice for people going through treatment is to stay and stick it out. Be open-minded. Find the desire to change. And make sure you don’t leave. Don’t leave before the miracle happens.” — Jennifer, California
“Los Angeles has experimented with marijuana and has failed,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander just before the Council voted to ban medical marijuana shops in the city. In the latest salvo of a battle fraught with legal controversy, the council has given 900 medical marijuana dispensaries a deadline of 30 days to close shop. Read more here.
Recent SAMHSA data, based on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for the years 2002 to 2012, shows that more teens tried drugs for the first time in June and July than at any other point in the year. Each day during these months, more than 11,000 teens on average tried alcohol, more than 5,000 tried cigarettes, and more than 4,500 tried marijuana—each day!
To read more about teen use in the summertime and what we can do to help, click here.
Reverend Al Sharpton was correct in praising NY Governor Cuomo’s marijuana decriminalization proposal as “a step in the right direction,” but it is only the first of many steps that need to be taken to address drug abuse in our state and our nation.
The New York police may have set an unfortunate historical precedent for discrimination, but we all know that drug use doesn’t discriminate. It’s a disease that can and does affect all kinds of people from all walks of life, and it’s common human decency to offer sick people treatment, not jail time.
To read more, click here.
Check out this infographic’s sections on marijuana use and cigarette use; it’s great to know that our country’s ongoing education and prevention efforts for kids & teens have made headway over the past 30 years. Here’s to progress!
A recent survey found that half of young adults who smoke cigarettes also smoke pot. No surprise there! But what’s interesting about this study is that it was conducted primarily on Facebook. Could social media be used as a tool to treat young people? Read more here.
Recent news coverage raises an important issue: the effects of marijuana use on parenting. At Demeter House, one of our Mother and Child Programs here at Phoenix House, mothers learn valuable parenting skills while they receive substance abuse treatment.
