Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jan 2014
Source: Herald News, The (Fall River, MA)
Copyright: 2014 The Herald News
Contact:  http://www.heraldnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3604
Author: Stephen Gray Wallace

GUEST OPINION: TEEN MARIJUANA USE IS RISING

Not that it wasn't predictable, but the federal government, fueled
by new Monitoring the Future data collected by the University of
Michigan on behalf of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is
reporting a rise in the illicit use of marijuana among high school
students.

Did we really believe the loosening of restrictions on marijuana
sales, possession and use - including those related to "medicinal
marijuana" - were to have no effect on those we have worked so
hard to protect from the ravages of substance use condition and
disorder? Not so much.

In fact, the national SADD organization predicted as much when it
rallied publicly against decriminalizing the possession of marijuana y
ears ago, stating, "Decriminalization would encourage increased use,
including among teenagers. Decriminalization also sends the message
that marijuana is harmless, which is not the case. The developing
brains of teenagers are susceptible to negative changes as a result of
drug and alcohol use, and these changes can be permanent."

This statement foreshadowed much of the information just released from
NIDA, including reference to the normalizing of use and detrimental
impact on maturing adolescent brains. Citing a new study by scientists
at Northwestern University , NIDA director Dr. Nora D. Volkow, said,
"What is worrisome is that we"re seeing high levels of everyday
use of marijuana among teenagers - the type that is most likely to
have negative effects on brain function and performance."

What are those effects?

According to the Northwestern study, they include differences in 
structures such as the thalamus, globus pallidus and striatum. 
Translation: a decline in "working memory " vital to such tasks as 
solving puzzles, remembering numbers or quickly processing information 
needed to perform everyday tasks. Working memory is also a strong 
predictor of academic success, according to Matthew J. Smith, an author 
of the study.

The NIDA report also highlights concern that the relaxation of
restrictions on marijuana (which can now be sold legally in 20 states
and Washington, D.C.) has been influencing the behavior of teenagers.
The federal statistics tell us that more than 12 percent of eighth
graders and 36 percent of high school seniors, at both public and
private schools, reported smoking marijuana in the past year. Perhaps
most alarming is that approximately 60 percent of seniors said they
did not believe regular use of the drug is harmful.

With 13 million driving-aged teenagers, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau, we have reason to be afraid.

Very afraid.

The NIDA report also contains some good news noting alcohol use by
teens - including bouts of heavy or "high risk" drinking -
continues to decline, as does use of most every other illicit drug,
including Vicodin, abuse of which is half what it was 10 years ago.

The takeaway?

Prevention programming, such as the type provided by SADD through its
thousands of school-based chapters across the country , works -
especially when we intentionally take two important steps:

Identify significant trends in substance use condition and substance
use disorder; Empower youth and all caring adults to talk about
adolescent decision-making, convening key stakeholders in communities
(school, public safety, parents and teens) to reach consensus and
take action on prevention initiatives. Finally , we must remain
focused on the future, recommitting to initiatives aimed at keeping
young people safe, alive and in pursuit of the positive youth outcomes
they seek, lest our decades of work go up in smoke.

Stephen Gray Wallace, an associate research professor and director of
the Center for Adolescent Research and Education (CARE) at Susquehanna
University, has broad experience as a school psychologist and
adolescent/family counselor and is also a senior advisor to SADD,
director of counseling and counselor training at Cape Cod Sea Camps.
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MAP posted-by: Matt