The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

With today's society, kids have access to many different substances that can be addictive and damaging. If you suspect your child is using drugs or drinking alcohol, please seek help for them as soon as possible. Drug testing is helpful, but not always accurate. Teen Drug use and Teen Drinking may escalate to addiction. We get calls constantly, that a child is only smoking pot. Unfortunately in most cases, marijuana can lead to more severe drugs, and marijuana is considered an illegal drug. Smoking marijuana is damaging to the child's body, brain and behavior. Even though marijuana is not considered a narcotic, most teens are very hooked on it. Many teens that are on prescribed medications such as Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera, Concerta, Zoloft, Prozac etc. are more at risk when mixing these medications with street drugs. It is critical you speak with your child about this and learn all the side effects.  Educating yo...

Teen Drug Use and Teen Drinking also known as Substance Abuse amongst teens and even children. With today's society, kids have access to many different substances that can be addictive and damaging. If you suspect your child is using drugs or drinking alcohol, please seek help for them as soon as possible. Drug testing is helpful, but not always accurate.  Teen Drug use and Teen Drinking may escalate to addiction. Parent's Universal Resource Experts get calls constantly, that a child is only smoking pot. Unfortunately in most cases, marijuana can lead to more severe drugs, and marijuana is considered an illegal drug. Smoking marijuana is damaging to the child's body, brain and behavior. Even though marijuana is not considered a narcotic, most teens are very hooked on it. Many teens that are on prescribed medications such as Ritalin, Adderall, Strattera, Concerta, Zoloft, Prozac etc. are more at risk when mixing these...

Underage drinking and/or teenage drinking is a serious concern for parents. Alcohol is usually more accessible than most drugs. We often hear about college students that binge drink. Could this be the beginning of a dark future called alcoholism? During the month of April it is time to learn more about teen drinking and underage drinking. The younger you are when you start drinking, the greater your chance of becoming addicted to alcohol at some point in your life. More than 4 in 10 people who begin drinking before age 15 eventually become alcoholics. Children of addicts and alcoholics are four times more likely to become addicts and alcoholics themselves than children of non-addicts. Why do teens drink? Experimentation with alcohol during the teen years is common. Some reasons that teens use alcohol and other drugs are: curiosity to feel good, reduce stress, and relax to fit in to feel older From a very young age, kids see advertising messages showing beautiful people en...

Each year at this time, teens begin planning for some of the most memorable moments of their lives, including celebrating proms and graduations with friends and family. To help keep these celebrations safe for everyone, it¹s important to remind adults to encourage teens to celebrate safely and without alcohol. According to the 2009 GfK Roper Youth Report , 68 percent of youth, ages 8 to 17, cite their parents as the number one influence on their decisions about whether they drink alcohol or not. In addition, government research shows that teens who report drinking usually get their alcohol from adults. To help prevent underage drinking, the Family Talk program encourages open, honest communication between parents and children. Developed by an advisory panel of education, family counseling, child psychology and alcohol treatment professionals, Family Talk materials are distributed free to parents and educators by Anheuser-Busch and its national network of distributors. These ma...

Source: Connect with Kids “My parents are pretty powerful in my life. I have their respect, and they have mine.” – Deepak, 16 years old Teenagers are bound to experiment with drugs, alcohol and sex – right? Not necessarily, says 15-year-old Nick. “It’s not inevitable,” he says. “It’s just a personal decision.” “There’s [sic] a lot of people who just don’t want to try any of that stuff, but there are some people who do,” says 15-year-old Chris Mullings. The Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs reports that when underage drinkers are disciplined by their parents they are less likely to become heavy drinkers compared to kids whose parents ignore their drinking. “My parents have a pretty big influence on everything that I believe in – what I will and won’t do,” says Elizabeth, 15. Nick echoes her sentiments. “For all my decisions, I’m always thinking about what they taught me, and even if I don’t do what they said, it’s still always in my head,” he says. What’s more, teens themselves sa...