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Weekly Adolescent Substance Abuse Seminars Offer Education and Help

2008-12-16T09:14:36-08:00

Lately your teen has been acting more distant than usual. You never know what mood he’ll be in, and he doesn’t want to talk about his classes or activities. He’s been sleeping more than usual, and seems forgetful and distracted. Is this just normal adolescent behavior or a sign of something more serious?

That’s the question that confuses many parents of adolescents with substance abuse problems. While finding drug paraphernalia among your child’s things is an obvious sign of substance abuse, many other warning signs mirror typical adolescent behavior, such as:

Mood swings or depression
Dishonesty and secretiveness
Deflecting questions about activities or money
Anger, irritability or defensiveness
Short-term memory loss
Money missing in the home
Suspicious phone calls or seemingly nonsensical text messages
Unexplained weight loss, red eyes, poor hygiene
Missing school or not coming home after school
Trouble in school or with the police

Often, warning signs go undetected for a long time; research has shown that, on average, a drug problem exists for seven years before a family recognizes it and seeks help. If parents are too quick to write off these behaviors as “normal” without considering the possibility of a deeper problem, they may not realize their child has an addiction until it causes serious health, financial, or legal consequences.

Moreover, sometimes parents know that their son or daughter experiments with alcohol or drugs and misjudge or even deny the severity of the situation. Many parents experimented themselves when they were teens, and believe it is basically a harmless rite of passage. However, marijuana today is ten to twenty times stronger than it was years ago, and alcohol and drug abuse is rampant on high school and college campuses.

Also, research has found more evidence of a hereditary factor in addiction; if there is a history of drug or alcohol addiction in the family, the likelihood is four times greater than average that recreational alcohol or drug use will become a full-blown addiction in adulthood.

Scripps Treatment Program can help

Helping parents understand adolescent alcohol or substance abuse is the goal of the informational adolescent intervention seminars offered by the Scripps Treatment Program located on the campus of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. These free weekly seminars are open to all parents and others interested in learning more about the widespread problem of adolescent addiction.

Whether a child has a problem or not, all parents can benefit from learning about addiction and understanding what their children are exposed to on a daily basis — because no matter what school your children attend or how “good” your neighborhood is, drugs and alcohol are readily available.

Along with alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and crystal meth, the list of the most popular drugs among adolescents reads like a pharmacy inventory: Oxycontin, Vicodin, Xanax, and Valium, along with over-the-counter cold medicine and household products used as inhalants, which can be deadly the first time they’re used. Kids get drugs at school or on the street, steal alcohol or prescription medications from their parents, take a quick trip across the border, and pay friends or strangers to buy alcohol.

About the substance abuse seminars

In addition to helping parents identify a substance abuse problem, intervention seminars —held every Saturday at 10:30 a.m. — help determine whether a child needs treatment and what kind. For example, Scripps Treatment Program conducts an Intensive Outpatient Program for some teens, while others may need residential treatment.

Many people mistakenly believe that the only way to get a child into treatment is to have a transport company show up in the middle of the night and drag the child out of bed into a treatment program in the middle of nowhere. The intervention program at Scripps Treatment Program combines family intervention and professional intervention, recommending transport only if necessary. We offer the adolescent the opportunity to get help or consider the consequences if they don’t. And, we guide parents through the often murky waters of getting the child into a treatment program.

Too often, families let denial, shame or embarrassment hold them back from getting the help they need. The fact is, even parents who do everything “right” when raising their kids cannot always prevent their child from being exposed to drugs or alcohol at school, friends’ homes, parties and so on. Families need to know they did not create this problem, they cannot control it and they cannot cure it. What they can do is facilitate the opportunity for their child to learn the tools to living a substance-free life.

The bottom line: If your gut tells you something is not right with your child’s behavior, trust it. Get the information and assistance you need to take action.

Article by Nancy Knott, CADC-I, a board-registered interventionist. The Scripps Treatment Program at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla offers free informational seminars on adolescent interventions every week. For more information, please call 1-800-382-4357.

Media Contact: Lisa Ohmstede
Phone: 858-626-7142
E-mail: ohmstede.lisa@scrippshealth.org

Ten Signs Your Teen May Be Using Drugs

2012-03-30T14:21:14-07:00

Ten Signs Your Teen May Be Using Drugs

You’ve caught your high school student smoking marijuana. He swears it is the first time he’s tried it, and it won’t happen again. Is this just an adolescent “rite of passage”—or something far more serious?

“The drugs of choice among adolescents today are far different and much more powerful than those with which their parents may have experimented with as teenagers,” says Nancy Knott, MA, a Scripps substance abuse counselor and interventionist. “And the consequences of using them can be far more destructive, and even deadly.”

Drugs are more plentiful—and powerful—than ever before

The drugs of choice among adolescents today are far different and much more powerful than those parents experimented with as teenagers. Alcohol, marijuana and MDMA (“ecstasy”) are at the top of the list of the most popular drugs among adolescents. Prescription medications such as Oxycontin and Vicodin, along with over-the-counter cold medicines, are simply recreational drugs for some adolescents. Heroin began making a comeback several years ago and is now reaching epidemic proportions in some areas of the country.

Teen substance abuse is a significant problem. According to The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2009, 24 percent of high school students reported episodic heavy or binge drinking, and 10 percent reported driving a vehicle during the past 30 days after drinking alcohol. A 2010 survey conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), reported daily use of marijuana had increased among high school students from 2009 to 2010; among 12th graders, usage was at its highest point since the early 1980s

With increasing heroin use come other concerns. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports the purity of heroin in the U.S. increased from an average of approximately 7 percent a couple of decades ago to approximately 69 percent today. The increased purity, together with a decreased street price, are likely responsible for the growing number of young heroin users, who can snort the drug rather than inject it. Eventually, they may graduate to injecting the drug as their bodies become conditioned to its effects and they need stronger doses to get high.

How to recognize a problem before it’s too late

Adolescent substance abuse can lead to number of other significant problems. Users are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex or driving while under the influence.

How can you tell if your child is using drugs or alcohol? Finding drug paraphernalia is an obvious sign of substance abuse, but many other warning signs mirror typical adolescent behavior, such as:

Mood swings or depression
Dishonesty and secretiveness
Anger, irritability or defensiveness
Short-term memory loss
Money missing in the home
Suspicious phone calls or seemingly nonsensical text messages
Unexplained weight loss, red eyes, poor hygiene
Missing school or not coming home after school
Associating with a new group of friends you barely know
Trouble in school or with the police

Often, these warning signs go undetected for years. When parents write off such behaviors as “normal” without considering the possibility of a deeper problem, they miss the opportunity to recognize substance abuse until child has an addiction until it causes serious health, financial, or legal consequences.

Learn more

On April 20, 2012 at 7 pm on the Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla campus, Knott will present The State of Our Youth, a free presentation on adolescent substance abuse.

If you suspect your child may have a problem, help is available. To attend the event, register at 858-626-4403. Or, to contact qualified adolescent substance abuse counselor, call the Scripps Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center at 858-626-4300.

Bath Salts: The Newest Designer Drug

2012-02-14T12:49:52-08:00

By Nancy Knott, M.A., Scripps Health

Imagine someone using meth, cocaine, LSD and ecstasy (MDMA) at the same time, and you’ll get an idea of the effects of the latest synthetic or “designer” drug to become popular with adolescents and young adults: bath salts.

Don’t let the name fool you. These aren’t the fragrant granules you sprinkle in bath water to soothe tension. Sold as “bath salts” or “plant food” to evade drug laws, these products are actually synthetic versions of cathinone, a naturally occurring amphetamine that comes from the leaves of the Catha edulis plant. Among the amphetamine-like derivatives commonly found in bath salts are pyrovalerone, methylone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and mephedrone. When smoked, injected, snorted, or mixed with food or drink, they act like stimulants in the brain. Like amphetamines, they can produce effects similar to that of several powerful street drugs—including methamphetamines (meth), cocaine and ecstasy—combined. Users have described feelings of increased energy, euphoria, heightened libido, and empathy.

However, the risks far outweigh any perceived benefit. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, bath salts have been linked to an alarming number of ER visits across the country, and poison centers have reported increasing numbers of calls related to these products. In addition to the elevated blood pressure and heart rate often linked to stimulant drugs, bath salts have been shown to cause agitation, increased blood pressure, rapid heart rate, chest pains, hallucinations and paranoia. Mephedrone in particular is associated with a high risk for overdose.

Another concern is suicidal behavior. There have been reports of several suicides linked to MDPV use, even several days after the drug has worn off.

Because these products are relatively new on the streets, there is limited knowledge about their short and long-term consequences. Currently, no tests are available to detect these drugs, so emergency medical personnel must rely on users to self-report whether they have taken them.

Given the significant risks and dangers of bath salts, why have they been able to be sold and purchased legally? It’s all about labeling. Because the product labels state that they are “not for human consumption,” they avoid being subject to drug laws, even though they are clearly intended for that use. These products are widely (and legally) available online, in drug paraphernalia stores and even in many convenience stores under a variety of names, such as “Ivory Wave,” “Purple Wave,” “Red Dove,” “Blue Silk,” “Zoom,” “Bloom,” “Cloud Nine,” “Ocean Snow,” “Lunar Wave,” “Vanilla Sky,” and “White Lightning.”

In October of 2011, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) exercised its emergency scheduling authority to control three of the synthetic stimulants commonly used in bath salts: mephedrone, MDPV, and methylone. This temporary action made possessing and selling these chemicals or products that contain them illegal in the United States, and will remain in effect for at least one year. Further studies will be conducted to determine whether these chemicals should be permanently controlled.
However, this shouldn’t be considered a final solution to the problem. One of the greatest challenges to law enforcement is that drug makers continually create new combinations of chemicals for these substances, so that as soon as one is outlawed, a new version becomes available.

The more parents know about these ever-changing designer drugs, the more they can recognize the signs of use and take action. Scripps Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center, located on the campus of Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, offers free, educational intervention seminars every Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Parents and family members can learn about the current drugs of choice, signs and symptoms, and resources available if they suspect their child may be using drugs.

Nancy Knott, M.A., is an interventionist and counselor with Scripps Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center. “To Your Health” is brought to you by the physicians and staff of Scripps. For more information or a physician referral, please call 1-800-SCRIPPS.

Scripps Drug and Treatment Center Discusses First Time Marijuana Use

2011-11-21T13:49:07-08:00

James Profit, a counselor with the Scripps Drug and Alcohol Treatment Program, discusses first time marijuana use in a segment that aired on NBC 7 on Nov. 16 about a Poway teen’s suspicious death.

As seen on NBC 7/39

Scripps Counselor Discusses the Holidays and Sober Living

2010-12-20T10:30:00-08:00

The holidays are a often a difficult time for patients in early recovery from alcohol or substance abuse. Addiction counselor Nancy Knott from Scripps McDonald Center shares tips on KPRI on how to enjoy the holidays while staying committed to the holidays.

Listen to the broadcast

KPRI Sober Living for the Holidays

Media Contact: Lisa Ohmstede
Phone: 858-626-7142
E-mail: ohmstede.lisa@scrippshealth.org

25 Tips for Sober Living During the Holidays

2010-12-10T13:12:53-08:00

By Sandy Boller-Bilbrey, RN, Scripps McDonald Center

As anyone who has been through it themselves or with a loved one knows, getting—and staying—sober is no small feat. It takes strength, determination and dedication to live a life of sobriety, especially during the holiday season. The following tips can help reinforce your commitment to sober living and give you valuable tools to stay on track.

1. Stay away from the first drink. If you don’t start drinking, you won’t have to worry about stopping.

2. Easy does it. When you feel overwhelmed or anxious, relax. Take a deep breath and a few minutes to physically and mentally calm yourself, and you will feel more in control.

3. Remember the serenity prayer. Ask for the strength to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

4. Change old routines. If your usual holiday celebrations include parties and events where you know there will be alcohol served, change it up. Seek out get-togethers that do not center around drinking, and avoid temptation by celebrating the season with others in recovery to remove the temptation.

5. Use the 24-hour plan. It is much more realistic to pledge that you will not take a drink in the next 24 hours than never again. Decide that for today, you will not drink, no matter what.

6. Don’t test your willpower. Get rid of all of the alcohol in your house, including bottles “for guests” or special occasions.

7. Remember your last drink. Or your last hangover, DUI, job loss, or drunken fight. Be honest with yourself about these memories and remember how ugly the “good old days” truly were.

8. Find a sponsor. Check with Alcoholics Anonymous, your rehabilitation center or church group to locate a sponsor who can guide you on the path to sobriety and provide the support only a fellow addict can give.

9. Fend off loneliness. Isolation can be dangerous. Spend time with family and friends who will support your recovery and provide companionship and positive reinforcement.

10. Get active. When your mind and body are engaged, there is no room for them to want a drink. Go for a run or swim, play basketball with friends, or kick a soccer ball around with the kids. You’ll feel energized, alive, and best of all, sober.

11. Watch out for hidden alcohol. Some baked goods, such as rum cake, may contain liquor. Ask the host if any of the food may have alcohol, and have something else instead.

12. Eat or drink something yummy. Instead of having a drink, treat yourself to a food or non-alcoholic beverage that you enjoy.

13. Get plenty of rest. A rested body and clear mind make it much easier to stay strong and make smart decisions. It’s common for people in recovery to have sleep problems at first, but give yourself time, relax with something non-alcoholic (such as caffeine-free tea and a book), and your sleep will return to normal.

14. Make use of “telephone therapy.” Exchange numbers with others who are in recovery, and use them—not just when you are feeling challenged, but to share good news and even just check in with each other every day or so.

15. Be good to yourself. Addiction beats you up. Now that you’re in recovery, treat yourself kindly. Buy a new shirt or shoes, get a massage, or whatever else makes you feel good about yourself and how far you’ve come.

16. Clean your mental house. Get rid of the negativity. Think positive thoughts, and speak to yourself with supportive, loving words instead of harsh, critical ones.

17. Take responsibility for your actions. Make a list of those you have harmed, and make amends whenever possible.

18. Keep commitments. Prove to yourself and others that you are honest and dependable.

19. Be grateful. Be thankful for the littlest things that bring joy, like a beautiful day, a dependable friend or one more day of sobriety.

20. Live in the now. You cannot change yesterday or control tomorrow. Just do your best right now.

21. Heal yourself by helping others. Volunteer your time at a soup kitchen, animal shelter, hospital or charity. When you help others, you feel better about yourself. Keep it simple.

22. Listen. Be willing to hear the words of your sponsor and others who have long-term sobriety. Keep an open mind to new ideas and viewpoints.

23. Embrace change. Change is good, especially when you are becoming a better person. Allow yourself to let go of the past.

24. Share your happiness. Let others know when you feel good—about yourself, your sobriety, your life. A joyful life is the reward for sobriety.

25. Find your own way. Realize that everyone has his or her own tools for staying sober, and they may not be right for you. The “best” way is the one that works for you.

Sandy Boller-Bilbrey, RN, is the director of the Scripps McDonald Center, a nationally recognized for excellence in treatment of alcohol and drug abuse. “To Your Health” is brought to you by the physicians and staff of Scripps Health. For more information, please call 1-800-SCRIPPS or visit Scripps.org.

Scripps Counselor Discussus Teen Oxycontin Abuse

2010-11-09T16:59:53-08:00

Teens are finding it easier than ever to access prescription drugs including the highly addictive pain killer Oxycontin. Nancy Knott, an addiction counselor at Scripps McDonald Center, is featured in this KUSI report about prescription drugs and addiction in teens.

Watch the news clip

Media Contact: Lisa Ohmstede
Phone: 858-626-7142
E-mail: ohmstede.lisa@scrippshealth.org

Scripps Counselor Discusses Teens and Oxycontin

2010-04-02T13:46:42-07:00

Nancy Knott, a substance abuse counselor at Scripps McDonald Center at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla was recently interviewed on the NBC 7/39 on the topic teens going to Mexico for prescription drugs, including the highly addictive Oxycontin. As seen on NBC Channel 7 on March 29, 2010.

Watch interview on teens seeking Oxycontin in Mexico

Media Contact: Lisa Ohmstede
Phone: 858-626-7142
E-mail: ohmstede.lisa@scrippshealth.org

Your Child. Under Pressure. Under Your Radar.

2010-03-29T12:43:55-07:00

We haven’t learned much in fifty years. Kids are still using marijuana as their first step toward
other, more deadly highs. Parents are still saying, “It can’t happen to my child.” Interventionist Nancy Knott from the Scripps McDonald Center discusses the warning signs of drug and alcohol abuse in this article featured in Good Housekeeping, Redbook and Woman’s Day.

Read Your Child. Under Pressure. Under Your Radar (PDF, 1.9 MB)

Media Contact: Lisa Ohmstede
Phone: 858-626-7142
E-mail: ohmstede.lisa@scrippshealth.org

Scripps McDonald Center Counselor Speaks on Teen Addictions

2010-02-08T12:04:36-08:00

Nancy Knott, a substance abuse counselor at Scripps McDonald Center at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, was recently interviewed on the issue of teen substance abuse.

Watch interview on teen substance abuse

Knott talks about how the rise in chemical dependency among San Diego teens. As seen on CW 6, January 29, 2010.

Media Contact: Lisa Ohmstede
Phone: 858-626-7142
Email: ohmstede.lisa@scrippshealth.org