Importance of Youth Drug Testing at High Schools

The problem of drug abuse among the young Americans is widespread and is a major concern for the nation. According to Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey conducted during 2008, nearly 47% of the teens tried an illicit drug by the time they finish their high school. As drug abuse is widespread and the students are more vulnerable, many schools adopt drug-testing programs to deter drug abuse, to identify student drug abusers and to refer them for treatment if necessary.

Vulnerable to abuse
Young people are more vulnerable to drug abuse as they are in their adolescence and not completely matured. They get attracted to the word of supposed benefits rather than understanding the adverse consequences.

Apart from the age, many other factors make particularly youngsters vulnerable. Youngsters are often vulnerable to drugs, specifically young offenders, youngsters in institutional care, students with social or academic problems, and young people who live in disadvantaged families or neighborhoods where multiple risk factors and problems are concentrated.

Commonly abused drugs and testing
According to Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey 2008, the commonly abused drugs are Cigarettes, Alcohol and Marijuana.

MTF states that, nearly 45 percent of the young Americans have tried cigarettes by the end of their high school and one out of five 12th graders were current smokers in 2008. These statistics show the intensity of illicit tobacco abuse by teenagers. Tobacco/cigarette abuse can be detected in urine for 2 to 4 days using cotinine test.

Alcohol abuse is extremely widespread among American teenagers. According to MTF, nearly three quarters i.e. 72 percent of the students consumed alcohol by the end of 12th grade in 2008. Alcohol abusers can be detected using a breath sample with commonly adopted instruments called alcohol breathalyzers.

Marijuana has been widely abused illicit drug by the teens from many years. According to MTF 2008, 42.6 percent of American youth tried Marijuana by the end of their high schooling. Marijuana abuse can be detected within 3 to 5 days and sometimes up to 30 days depending on the amount abused, in urine.

Prevention and treatment
Early intervention by the school authorities is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of drug abuse by the youth. Drug abuse by the students can be prevented by awareness and using drug testing methods which act as deterrents. There are many drug testing methods that schools can choose from, such as urine drug testing, hair drug testing, oral fluid drug testing and blood testing. The drug abusers can be counseled or referred for treatment. The type of treatment required depends on the type and level of the addiction.

As a school administrator or a responsible parent, one should ensure that drug abuse does not become a major concern among the health and safety of the youngsters. Therefore, focus on reducing drug abuse by using suitable methods results positively on the future of the nation.

Rapiddrugdetection.com is an online store offering drug tests and drug screening products in several formats including blood, urine and oral drug test kit. Rapiddrugdetection.com offers FDA-approved urine drug test as well as DOT-approved alcohol testing products. Some of the popular products are marijuana drug testing, breathalyzer , employee drug tests kits, and alcohol tester.

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Importance of Youth Drug Testing at High Schools

The problem of drug abuse among the young Americans is widespread and is a major concern for the nation. According to Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey conducted during 2008, nearly 47% of the teens tried an illicit drug by the time they finish their high school. As drug abuse is widespread and the students are more vulnerable, many schools adopt drug-testing programs to deter drug abuse, to identify student drug abusers and to refer them for treatment if necessary.

Vulnerable to abuse
Young people are more vulnerable to drug abuse as they are in their adolescence and not completely matured. They get attracted to the word of supposed benefits rather than understanding the adverse consequences.

Apart from the age, many other factors make particularly youngsters vulnerable. Youngsters are often vulnerable to drugs, specifically young offenders, youngsters in institutional care, students with social or academic problems, and young people who live in disadvantaged families or neighborhoods where multiple risk factors and problems are concentrated.

Commonly abused drugs and testing
According to Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey 2008, the commonly abused drugs are Cigarettes, Alcohol and Marijuana.

MTF states that, nearly 45 percent of the young Americans have tried cigarettes by the end of their high school and one out of five 12th graders were current smokers in 2008. These statistics show the intensity of illicit tobacco abuse by teenagers. Tobacco/cigarette abuse can be detected in urine for 2 to 4 days using cotinine test.

Alcohol abuse is extremely widespread among American teenagers. According to MTF, nearly three quarters i.e. 72 percent of the students consumed alcohol by the end of 12th grade in 2008. Alcohol abusers can be detected using a breath sample with commonly adopted instruments called alcohol breathalyzers.

Marijuana has been widely abused illicit drug by the teens from many years. According to MTF 2008, 42.6 percent of American youth tried Marijuana by the end of their high schooling. Marijuana abuse can be detected within 3 to 5 days and sometimes up to 30 days depending on the amount abused, in urine.

Prevention and treatment
Early intervention by the school authorities is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of drug abuse by the youth. Drug abuse by the students can be prevented by awareness and using drug testing methods which act as deterrents. There are many drug testing methods that schools can choose from, such as urine drug testing, hair drug testing, oral fluid drug testing and blood testing. The drug abusers can be counseled or referred for treatment. The type of treatment required depends on the type and level of the addiction.

As a school administrator or a responsible parent, one should ensure that drug abuse does not become a major concern among the health and safety of the youngsters. Therefore, focus on reducing drug abuse by using suitable methods results positively on the future of the nation.

Rapiddrugdetection.com is an online store offering drug tests and drug screening products in several formats including blood, urine and oral drug test kit. Rapiddrugdetection.com offers FDA-approved urine drug test as well as DOT-approved alcohol testing products. Some of the popular products are marijuana drug testing, breathalyzer , employee drug tests kits, and alcohol tester.

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Christian Drug Rehab Cleanses our Soul Beautifully

Spirituality is the antidote that can cure a lot of problems, some of which look seemingly insurmountable. Take the instance of drug addiction, a problem that can engulf people to oblivion and rip apart families. However, it is to the credit of Christian drug rehab centers, that they have been able to treat drug addicts and put them back to the road of recovery. Spirituality cleanses our souls and makes us walk along the path of benevolence and righteousness. We come to know that resorting to servile pleasure of drugs is nothing but a form of self-affliction.

Jesus Christ, the savior of human kind, is the answer to our woes and worries. By getting entrapped in materialistic pleasures and harmful pursuits, we have become detached from God. Denying God is the worst thing one can do and accepting the savior Jesus Christ is the most beautiful thing we can ever do. By seeking forgiveness for our sins, we can reach out to our savior Jesus Christ who will cleanse our souls and prevent us from sinking into the rough waters of destruction.

At Christian drug rehab centers, patients are taught to live in faith, to recognize the all-pervading power of the Lord, who can help us fight every form of sinful addiction, including drugs. When you seek forgiveness from the Lord, our soul become strong and beautiful; we give up on vices that weaken us and we become spiritually strong from inside. If the spirit of a person is unwavering, there is nothing that can pull him or her down. By reading the Bible and believing in the heavenly father and mother, we can seek redemption. One should not look at Christianity as a religion but as a spiritual antidote that can help us build resistance against vices like drug addiction.

In the Christian drug rehab center, you are expected to pray to the Lord and ask for forgiveness. Regular reading of the Bible will help us realize where we went wrong and why we became so heavily dependent on drugs. The Bible is the best spiritual book; it will boost our resistance to such a level that we will no longer need to indulge ourselves in destructive vices. The world will look beautiful to us and we will channel our lives in productive activities that are emotionally fulfilling, socially acceptable and pleasing to the God.

Christian drug rehab centers not only help drug addicts get a new lease of life through medication, group therapy, counseling and spiritual strength; they also help these people do work that give them a sense of satisfaction. For instance, they may be asked to work as a team to do a charitable program for the cause of homeless and poor people. Recovering individuals are asked to participate in programs that have a strong social message. This can give a sense of pride and confidence to these people, not to mention respect in the society.

If any one of your near and dear ones is suffering from drug addiction, it is advisable to take them to Christian drug rehab, where you get prompt help and guidance that can help this habit forever and lead joyous and satisfying life in peace with God.

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Medical researchers attempt to treat alcohol abuse and tuberculosis together

• Treatment for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and tuberculosis (TB) is rarely integrated, even though the two diseases have a high co-occurrence.
• American and Russian researchers have jointly designed and are monitoring an innovative program that will deliver alcohol treatment as part of routine TB care.
• The trial study is continuing.

The integration of alcohol screening, treatment and referral into primary care and other medical settings is not routinely done. Nor are there any studies evaluating the effectiveness of integrating care for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) into routine treatment for tuberculosis (TB), despite the high co-occurrence and mortality associated with these two diseases. Accordingly, researchers have designed a trial study to determine the effectiveness of integrating pharmacotherapy and behavioral treatments for AUDs into routine care for TB.

The study will be published in the February 2010 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

"In many primary-care settings, screening for drinking problems is not necessarily a routine part of visits," said Shelly F. Greenfield, director of clinical and health services research and education in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Program at McLean Hospital and corresponding author for the study. "In many specialized medical settings, screening for alcohol problems is even less frequent," she added. "For example, in clinics that treat TB, it would not be common practice to screen for alcohol problems, yet alcohol problems often co-occur among patients with TB."

Greenfield said she and her colleagues chose to conduct their study in Tomsk, Russia because of its high rates of both alcohol problems and tuberculosis. "In Tomsk, we found that alcohol disorders in this population are common, with 50 percent of all TB patients meeting criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence sometime during their lifetime."

"This study is particularly important for Russia where multi-drug resistant TB is common," observed George Woody, a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and Treatment Research Institute, "and where medical specialties are divided into silos that require patients to visit multiple providers for problems that are closely linked and could be better managed by integrated approaches like the one the authors are testing."

"Alcohol disorders not only place individuals at increased risk for acquiring a number of diseases, but once people acquire a disease like TB, alcohol places them at higher risk for poor outcome and death," added Greenfield. "This is because alcohol can suppress the immune system, alcohol hepatitis can complicate TB treatment since many TB medications are potentially toxic for the liver, and people with drinking problems are also less likely to be able to adhere to their TB treatment."

As part of the Integrated Management of Physician-delivered Alcohol Care for Tuberculosis (IMPACT) trial, Greenfield and her colleagues divided 200 patients – confirmed to have alcohol abuse or dependence, newly diagnosed with TB, and initiating treatment in the Tomsk Oblast Tuberculosis Service – into one of four groups: 1) oral naltrexone + brief behavioral compliance enhancement therapy (BBCET) + treatment as usual (TAU); 2) brief counseling intervention (BCI) + TAU; 3) naltrexone + BBCET + BCI + TAU; and 4) TAU alone. The trial is ongoing.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the feasibility of delivering alcohol treatment as part of routine TB care," said Greenfield, "and to assess this treatment model's impact on both TB and alcohol outcomes. If proven feasible and effective, this treatment model could be adapted for patients with AUDs and co-occurring medical conditions in other settings, specifically, anywhere co-occurring AUDs adversely affect TB outcomes, including the United States."

"The idea of integrated treatments is not new, but only just beginning to be studied and implemented in Russia and other countries, including the U.S.," said Woody. "These findings show the universality, practicality, and potential importance of developing integrated treatments for alcoholism, HIV, and other serious health problems. They could be life-saving not only for the affected individuals, but also for the community that is at risk for the spread of TB via cases that are inadequately treated due to poor adherence to prescribed medication. Finally, these findings could easily be applied, would likely be cost-effective, and could contribute to current efforts to reduce overall medical treatment costs."

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