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The Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine will host its annual conference on October 16 through 18, 2014 in Ottawa. This year's conference theme of “Evolving Perspectives on Addiction” will look at addiction care from various points of view that have changed over time.
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The conference aims to map current FASD programmes and services in Saskatchewan and brainstorm future possibilities. This conference will be of interest to family members, professionals, clinicians, paraprofessionals, and service providers in health/mental health, addictions, justice, education, prevention, child welfare, and anyone interested in FASD. Registration is available online.
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The annual Many Faces of Addiction Symposium is recognized as one of Canada's leading addiction education events, and brings together thought leaders from across North America to share research and best practices around the treatment of addiction and mental health. The Symposium is a dynamic forum for examining addiction and behavioural disorders, exploring treatment, workplace management, and recovery best practices. Whether you are a healthcare or corporate professional, or an individual whose life has been touched by addiction, this symposium will provide education, training and information about new tools and emerging practices to help people heal from addiction.
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A study conducted by the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that individuals who had started taking drugs early on in life were more likely to develop mental disorders and become polydrug users. At the time of clinical admission, three quarters of drug users between 18 and 30 years of age had started taking drugs at age 17 or younger. A tenth of drug users had started at an even earlier age. 78.1% of drug users that had started taking drugs at age 11 or younger were taking more than one drug compared to 30.4% of individuals that had initiated drug use after the age of 25. 38.6% of drug users that had begun taking drugs at age 11 or under had developed some form of mental disorder. These results underline the importance of prevention programmes in childhood and early adolescence, phases that are critical for young people’s development.
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In an effort to document the prevalence of the use of human growth hormones among youth, the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids surveyed around 4,000 American high school students aged 15 to 18. The study found that 9% of girls and 12% of boys had taken human growth hormones in the past. In order to reduce the practice of doping among young athletes, researchers call on parents as well as high school coaches to raise awareness of the harms of doping and discourage young people from taking performance enhancing drugs. While enhancing their athletic performance continues to be among the principal reasons for taking human growth hormones, a growing number of teenagers are turning to these drugs to improve their looks. Steve Pasierb, President of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, commented about motives for using these substances: "This is about how you feel, how you look. They're doing this thing to get ahead. Girls want to be thin and toned. For a lot of boys, it's about their six-pack."
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The findings of a report released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) reveal a promising downward trend regarding drug use among secondary school students in England. Tobacco, alcohol and drug use among students have been cut in half in the past ten years. Smoking rates have dropped from 9% to 3% and alcohol rates have dropped from 25% to 9%. Illicit drug use has fallen by 50% between 2003 and 2013. The growing concern that e-cigarettes might fuel the uptake of smoking in teenagers was not supported by the report.
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The results of a survey conducted by the Chilean government closely mirror the trends seen in teen drug use in the Latin American region. The figures show that marijuana use is booming in Chile with a third of students having used it in the past. As marijuana use is on the rise, teenagers views of the drug are rapidly changing. The number of teens considering regular marijuana use harmful has more than halved in the past three years. Prescription drug abuse is also becoming more widespread and is already affecting a tenth of young people. Little has changed regarding alcohol consumption over the past few years (35% of teenagers reported drinking in 2013). The use of cocaine and coca paste has remained fairly stable at 3.6% and 2.3% respectively. At 7.2 % tobacco use is the only drug trending downwards since 2011.
This issue of The TEDS Report presents 2011 data comparing demographic and other characteristics of admissions across five age-of-initiation groups: those initiating at the age of 11 or younger; between 12 and 14; between 15 and 17; between 18 and 24; and 25 or older. In 2011, there were 678,432 substance abuse treatment admissions aged 18 to 30 that reported age of initiation for at least one substance of abuse.
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The Attorney General's Office, in partnership with other agencies, will host the 3rd annual Prescription Drug Abuse Summit on September 10th at 8:30 a.m. at the Statehouse Convention Center. The goal of the summit is to help reduce the number of deaths and addiction caused by prescription drug misuse and abuse, by raising public awareness of the epidemic through partnerships with educational, medical, prevention and treatment entities. The summit will bring together and engage civic and community leaders, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, school resource officers, educators and law enforcement to work toward ending prescription drug abuse and misuse. Registration is available online.
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Experiential learning labs for social workers, social practitioners working on addiction, researchers and NGOs interested in getting to know the rehabilitation and social reinsertion model of the biggest community in Europe. San Patrignano welcomes NGOs, government delegates, academia, social workers, students, professionals and individuals interested in deepening their knowledge on drug rehabilitation and social integration, studying our model and educative approach. The workshop has been developed to response to the large request of visits and internships in San Patrignano, to share our expertise and offer a unique experience of community.
San Patrignano, the world’s largest residential treatment centre, has been working for the last thirty years for the full recovery of those suffering from drug addiction. Offering a programme of rehabilitation, skills training and full social reintegration completely free of charge, the community has given a new chance to more than 20,000 young people, with an independently verified drug free success rate of over 70%. Currently San Patrignano is home to roughly 1300 residents, the average age of which is dropping year by year.
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