Fewer teens are using cigarettes, alcohol, and most illicit drugs, according to NIDA’s latest Monitoring the Future study. Troubling trends persist in marijuana use, however, and nonmedical prescription drug use remains a concern.
Teens who participated in the intervention Strong African American Families‒Teen at age 16 reported fewer conduct problems and depressive symptoms and less substance abuse at age 17‒18, compared to peers exposed to a control intervention.
El término "sales de baño" se refiere a una clase nueva de drogas que contienen una o más sustancias químicas sintéticas relacionadas con la catinona, un estimulante parecido a la anfetamina que se encuentra normalmente en la planta del khat.
Study findings indicate that children exposed to methamphetamine prenatally show more signs of increased emotionality, anxiety, and depression than nonexposed children at ages 3 and 5 years.
The term “bath salts” refers to an emerging family of drugs containing one or more synthetic chemicals related to cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant found naturally in the Khat plant.
The NIDA-supported Good Behavior Game recently was honored with the 2012 Mentor International Best Practice Award. The game, which focuses on reducing disruptive behaviors in elementary school classrooms, has been shown to prevent drug abuse and other problems in adolescence and young adulthood.
Front: Powerful imagery shows teens and young adults how drugs of abuse damage major organs. A provocative and engaging educational tool. Back: Four critical-thinking activity worksheets and lesson plans on drugs of abuse: a basic neuroscience lesson on how the brain governs the body; an in-depth look at how different drugs damage various vital organs; an activity using a diagram to explore how abusing drugs can damage relationships; and an exercise on how to read a statistical graph on emergency room visits to show the impact of drugs on society. A Spanish/English version of the front of this poster is expected in 2013.
Front: Targets teens and young adults, emphasizing three essential messages about smoking marijuana: it is addictive, it can lead to school failure, and it impairs driving. Back: Four lesson plans for teachers, including critical-thinking activity worksheets and answer keys. Reviews basic marijuana facts. Helps students differentiate between fact and opinion, understand the importance of sources, analyze an editorial cartoon, and realize how messages about drugs are communicated, overtly and hidden, in songs and music videos. See also Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body—Year 11-12 Compilations for Students and Teachers.
Double-sided poster for teens and young adults: one side English, one side Spanish. Emphasizes three essential messages about smoking marijuana: it is addictive, it can lead to school failure, and it impairs driving. See also Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body—Year 11-12 Compilations for Students and Teachers.
New vaccines that aim to promote recovery from cocaine and heroin abuse showed promise in animal testing. Both vaccines induced rats’ immune system to produce high titers of antibodies that inhibit the target drug from reaching the brain. The rats’ behaviors when given access to the target drug indicated that the vaccines reduced the reinforcing effects that, in recovering people, can cause lapses to turn into relapses.