Health News
- Electronic Cigarettes Are 'high On Every School System's Radar Right Now,' Western Ky. School Official Tells Henderson Newspaper
This story has been updated to reflect recent data about teens and e-cigarette use. School officials in northwestern Kentucky are trying deal with an increase in the use of electronic cigarettes by students, Erin Schmitt reports for The Gleaner in...
- Fewer Teens Report Using Tobacco And Abusing Prescription Drugs, But Some Attribute Latter Trend To Increase In Heroin Use
By Melissa Patrick and Melissa Landon Kentucky Health News Fewer Kentucky teenagers said last year that they used prescription drugs without a doctor's direction, or tobacco, than in the last such survey. But some addiction experts worry that prescription-drug...
- U.s. Teens' Cigarette Use Drops To A New Low, But Use Of Alcohol Goes Up A Bit And More 12th Graders Are Smoking Marijuana
Teenagers' cigarette smoking dropped to a record low this year but alcohol use rose slightly after seven years of decline, according to a survey of 45,000 eighth-, 10th- and 12th- graders for the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The survey also found...
- Mccracken County To Consider Banning New Kind Of Synthetic Pot
In response to several teenagers overdosing on it, officials in McCracken County are considering banning chemicals that are being sold as synthetic marijuana. "Death is a realistic side effect when using this stuff," said Jamey Locke, emergency director...
- Parents Should Talk To Children About Drugs And Alcohol Often, And Firmly, But Spend More Time Listening
Talking about drugs and alcohol often, and when children are at a young age, are two of the best things parents can do to prevent substance abuse by teenagers. "As much as parents want to be the 'anti-drug,' as media campaigns encourage, the...
Health News
Marijuana product that can be smoked in e-cigarettes reported to be on the rise in Oldham County schools; heroin too
Oldham County school officials report that a waxy form of marijuana in e-cigarettes, as well as heroin, are becoming more prevalent among students, Taylor Riley reports for The Oldham Era.
"At least eight students were taken to the hospital or medical offices, just after spring break, due to the effects of using vape oils with electronic cigarettes, according to Dan Orman, assistant superintendent," Riley reports.
Orman referred to a new marijuana product on the market called Wax, which has a waxy texture and yellow color. It is made from the oils of marijuana plants and has a high level of THC, the ingredient in marijuana that makes a user high. This product melts as it heats up in an e-cigarette and can be smoked. It is much stronger than marijuana and is undetected by sight or smell.
"It?s very dangerous to the developing brain," Orman said. He presented the report at the board of education meeting and said there had been a "huge decrease" in prescription pill use in the Oldham County schools, but heroin use is on the rise, which "seems to be the trend everywhere in Kentucky," Riley reports.
Earlier this year, Carrollton police officer Tim Gividen told WLKY-TV that this product had been an issue in high schools in Carroll and Trimble counties, just north of Oldham and toward Cincinnati.
"In a 2011 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5.2 percent of Kentucky?s high-schoolers reported using heroin, nearly double the national average. By the time the teens hit their senior year, use had grown to 7.7 percent, nearly 5 points higher than the nation?s average," Terry DeMio reports for The Cincinnati Enquirer.
The director of Operation Parent, Jean Schumm, told Riley that parental engagement was the key to helping kids from "going down the wrong road." She also suggested that drug and alcohol prevention needs to start earlier, in the fourth and fifth grade, instead of high school, because this is when kids start to experiment. Operation Parent is a LaGrange-based nonprofit for parents of pre-teens.
Orman agreed: "Parents should be aware of all possible substances their children may be ingesting or abusing. There are many over-the-counter and illegally obtained drugs that young people may abuse for recreational purposes. Awareness and constant vigilance are the best tools parents can use to help keep their kids safe."
"At least eight students were taken to the hospital or medical offices, just after spring break, due to the effects of using vape oils with electronic cigarettes, according to Dan Orman, assistant superintendent," Riley reports.
Orman referred to a new marijuana product on the market called Wax, which has a waxy texture and yellow color. It is made from the oils of marijuana plants and has a high level of THC, the ingredient in marijuana that makes a user high. This product melts as it heats up in an e-cigarette and can be smoked. It is much stronger than marijuana and is undetected by sight or smell.
"It?s very dangerous to the developing brain," Orman said. He presented the report at the board of education meeting and said there had been a "huge decrease" in prescription pill use in the Oldham County schools, but heroin use is on the rise, which "seems to be the trend everywhere in Kentucky," Riley reports.
Earlier this year, Carrollton police officer Tim Gividen told WLKY-TV that this product had been an issue in high schools in Carroll and Trimble counties, just north of Oldham and toward Cincinnati.
"In a 2011 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5.2 percent of Kentucky?s high-schoolers reported using heroin, nearly double the national average. By the time the teens hit their senior year, use had grown to 7.7 percent, nearly 5 points higher than the nation?s average," Terry DeMio reports for The Cincinnati Enquirer.
The director of Operation Parent, Jean Schumm, told Riley that parental engagement was the key to helping kids from "going down the wrong road." She also suggested that drug and alcohol prevention needs to start earlier, in the fourth and fifth grade, instead of high school, because this is when kids start to experiment. Operation Parent is a LaGrange-based nonprofit for parents of pre-teens.
Orman agreed: "Parents should be aware of all possible substances their children may be ingesting or abusing. There are many over-the-counter and illegally obtained drugs that young people may abuse for recreational purposes. Awareness and constant vigilance are the best tools parents can use to help keep their kids safe."
- Electronic Cigarettes Are 'high On Every School System's Radar Right Now,' Western Ky. School Official Tells Henderson Newspaper
This story has been updated to reflect recent data about teens and e-cigarette use. School officials in northwestern Kentucky are trying deal with an increase in the use of electronic cigarettes by students, Erin Schmitt reports for The Gleaner in...
- Fewer Teens Report Using Tobacco And Abusing Prescription Drugs, But Some Attribute Latter Trend To Increase In Heroin Use
By Melissa Patrick and Melissa Landon Kentucky Health News Fewer Kentucky teenagers said last year that they used prescription drugs without a doctor's direction, or tobacco, than in the last such survey. But some addiction experts worry that prescription-drug...
- U.s. Teens' Cigarette Use Drops To A New Low, But Use Of Alcohol Goes Up A Bit And More 12th Graders Are Smoking Marijuana
Teenagers' cigarette smoking dropped to a record low this year but alcohol use rose slightly after seven years of decline, according to a survey of 45,000 eighth-, 10th- and 12th- graders for the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The survey also found...
- Mccracken County To Consider Banning New Kind Of Synthetic Pot
In response to several teenagers overdosing on it, officials in McCracken County are considering banning chemicals that are being sold as synthetic marijuana. "Death is a realistic side effect when using this stuff," said Jamey Locke, emergency director...
- Parents Should Talk To Children About Drugs And Alcohol Often, And Firmly, But Spend More Time Listening
Talking about drugs and alcohol often, and when children are at a young age, are two of the best things parents can do to prevent substance abuse by teenagers. "As much as parents want to be the 'anti-drug,' as media campaigns encourage, the...