A Drug Dealer in your own medicine cabinet? You?

This week we have been working on a 4 part series of blog posts for The Mommies Network for education on the upcoming DEA "Take Back Day" April 28th, 2012. As parents and health providers we are the gatekeepers of many dangerous substances and do not even realize it. Today's society of kids and teens are so much smarter that we were ever at that age, so they are very aware of what lurks in the medicine cabinet at home. Are you are a drug dealer and don't even know it?

AWARxE is an awesome resource website. AWARERX.ORG is an information source providing authoritative resources about medication safety, prescription drug abuse, medication disposal, and safely buying medications on the Internet. 

Inspiration for AWARxE: The Story of Justin Pearson

Justin Pearson’s story was the inspiration for the AWARxE consumer protection program. Justin Pearson, a resident of St Cloud, MN, died tragically at age 24 because of a prescription drug overdose. Justin died on December 25, 2006, after taking a mix of prescription drugs, which he ordered from an illegal Web site. Web sites like these are illegal and sell prescription drugs without requiring prescriptions from the doctor. In Justin’s case, he was able to easily order drugs from an illegal Web site and the drugs were mailed to him. Taking the drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and mixing a high dose of different prescription drugs led to Justin’s death.
For more information about Justin’s story, please visit Justin’s Web page at jvp1.com.
AWARERX.ORG aims to prevent more tragic stories like Justin’s by providing information that will raise AWARxEness among consumers.

Become AWARxE!

“Prescription” Does Not Mean the Drugs are Safe For Everyone!
Many teens believe that taking prescription drugs to get high is safer than using street drugs. Be AWARxE! Prescription drugs are dangerous when they are not used correctly as directed by a doctor.

• One in five teens have taken a prescription drug that was not theirs to get high or to deal with problems.
• Teens are abusing pain pills (Vicodin^®, OxyContin^®), stimulants (Ritalin^®, Adderall^®), and tranquilizers (Xanax^®, Valium^®).
• Teens take these drugs right out of the medicine cabinet – at home, at a friend’s house, or when visiting family.
• 5.2 million people, including kids ages 12 and older, said they had abused prescription pain relievers, as reported in a 2007 survey.
• More people are visiting the emergency room because they misused prescription pain medication. From 2004 to 2009, emergency room visits due to misusing narcotic pain pills increased by almost 100%.

Be AWARxE! Prescription medications should only be used when your doctor prescribes them for you. Follow your doctor’s directions when taking prescription medications – make sure to take the correct amount of medication each day. Ask your doctor or pharmacist when you have questions taking drugs that are prescribed for you.

Learn How to Protect Yourself, Family, and Friends.

How can misusing the drug products in your medicine cabinet harm you, your family, or your friends? Medications can provide great health benefits when used as the doctor ordered, but there are big risks when they are abused or not taken as directed. Click on Get Informed to find facts about the dangers of misusing or abusing prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Illegal Prescription Drugs Were Deadly for Justin Pearson – Read Justin’s Story

Justin Pearson, a resident of St Cloud, MN, died tragically at age 24 because of a prescription drug overdose. Justin died on December 25, 2006, after taking a mix of prescription drugs which he ordered from an illegal Web site. Web sites like these are illegal and sell prescription drugs without requiring prescriptions from the doctor. In Justin’s case, he was able to easily order drugs from an illegal Web site and the drugs were mailed to him. Taking the drugs without a doctor’s prescription, and mixing a high dose of different prescription drugs led to Justin’s death.
Justin Pearson’s story was the inspiration for the AWARxE campaign. For more information, please visit Justin’s Web page at jvp1.com.
Get informed and learn how to prevent more stories like Justin’s. Read more about Not Recommended Web Sites and VIPPS Recommended Internet Pharmacies from NABP.


What's in your medicine cabinet? you might need to start looking and reevaluate how you keep meds and store them away from small children and teens.

Sniff me, Snort me, Suck me up

 

What Types of Products Are Abused as Inhalants?

 Inhalants are commonly known as Glue, Kick, Bang, Sniff, Huff, Poppers, Whippets, and Texas Shoeshine.

Chance are most of these substances are right there in your kitchen,garage or pantry. If I try it just one time to see what if might do to my body, it won't hurt..............or will it? 

Magic question~ do you want to find out?  

Inhalants generally fall into the following categories:
Volatile solvents—liquids that vaporize at room temperature

• Industrial or household products, including paint thinners or removers, degreasers, dry-cleaning fluids, gasoline, and lighter fluid
• Art or office supply solvents, including correction fluids, felt-tip marker fluid, electronic contact cleaners, and glue

Aerosols—sprays that contain propellants and solvents

• Household aerosol propellants in items such as spray paints, hair or deodorant sprays, fabric protector sprays, aerosol computer cleaning products, and vegetable oil sprays

Gases—found in household or commercial products and used as medical anesthetics

• Household or commercial products, including butane lighters and propane tanks, whipped cream aerosols or dispensers (whippets), and refrigerant gases
• Medical anesthetics, such as ether, chloroform, halothane, and nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”)

Nitrites—a special class of inhalants that are used primarily as sexual enhancers

• Organic nitrites are volatiles that include cyclohexyl, butyl, and amyl nitrites, commonly known as “poppers.” Amyl nitrite is still used in certain diagnostic medical procedures. When marketed for illicit use, organic nitrites are often sold in small brown bottles labeled as “video head cleaner,” “room odorizer,” “leather cleaner,” or “liquid aroma.”

These various products contain a wide range of chemicals such as—

• toluene (spray paints, rubber cement, gasoline), 
• chlorinated hydrocarbons (dry-cleaning chemicals, correction fluids),
• hexane (glues, gasoline),
• benzene (gasoline),
• methylene chloride (varnish removers, paint thinners),
• butane (cigarette lighter refills, air fresheners), and
• nitrous oxide (whipped cream dispensers, gas cylinders).

How Do Inhalants Affect the Brain?

The effects of inhalants are similar to those of alcohol, including slurred speech, lack of coordination, euphoria, and dizziness. Inhalant abusers may also experience lightheadedness, hallucinations, and delusions. With repeated inhalations, many users feel less inhibited and less in control. Some may feel drowsy for several hours and experience a lingering headache. Chemicals found in different types of inhaled products may produce a variety of additional effects, such as confusion, nausea, or vomiting.
By displacing air in the lungs, inhalants deprive the body of oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia. Hypoxia can damage cells throughout the body, but the cells of the brain are especially sensitive to it. The symptoms of brain hypoxia vary according to which regions of the brain are affected: for example, the hippocampus helps control memory, so someone who repeatedly uses inhalants may lose the ability to learn new things or may have a hard time carrying on simple conversations.
Long-term inhalant abuse can also break down myelin, a fatty tissue that surrounds and protects some nerve fibers. Myelin helps nerve fibers carry their messages quickly and efficiently, and when damaged, can lead to muscle spasms and tremors or even permanent difficulty with basic actions such as walking, bending, and talking.

Lethal = Dead -- one way road to your coffin

Sniffing highly concentrated amounts of the chemicals in solvents or aerosol sprays can directly induce heart failure and death within minutes of a session of repeated inhalation. This syndrome, known as “sudden sniffing death,” can result from a single session of inhalant use by an otherwise healthy young person. Sudden sniffing death is particularly associated with the abuse of butane, propane, and chemicals in aerosols.

Sudden Death can occur the first time you try inhalants! or the 100th time you try them, it's not choosy. All your luck it will be your first time!

Sniff Me, Snort Me, Suck me Up and Die!! Stupid is as Stupid Does!! Don't Be Stupid!!

Choose Life!! 

Support Autism Awareness month

Educate yourself about others who might be different, but they deserve all the love we have. Be Aware!