Prescription painkillers, antidepressants and stimulants are easier for teens to get their hands on than beer, according to an annual back-to-school survey released yesterday by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
The researchers surveyed 1,002 teens, ages 12-17, and found a 46 percent increase from last year in the number of kids who say prescription drugs (that are not prescribed to them) are the easiest illicit substance to access.
One-third of the kids surveyed who know a teenage prescription drug abuser said the teen got their drugs from home. The study’s authors call those parents “passive pushers.” Read the rest of this entry »
School starts just two weeks from today, but not for new students without immunization cards.
Sherri Willis, the public information officer for the Alameda County Public Health Department, said that when she worked in OUSD, hundreds of kids would miss the first few days of school — in some cases, more — as a result.
Some families wait until mid-summer to make an appointment with their pediatrician and can’t get one in time, or they misplace their records, she said.
But don’t panic! You can take advantage of the public health department’s free and low-cost immunization program. It’s designed for uninsured families, but everyone can use the service — no questions asked, Willis said.
I was scanning through You Tube this afternoon and came across a music video made by a group of Oakland kids, titled, ”My Life.” It was a project of Beats, Rhymes and Life, which describes its work as a “strengths-based, teen-friendly, culturally sensitive approach to social work with at-risk teens.”
Beats, Rhymes and Life uses rap therapy to reach teens who need help, but who are put off by the idea of traditional forms of counseling. Check it out for yourself, if you have six minutes:
Michael Moore Sr. told me this morning that he didn’t know whether the 89-year-old Oakland Athletic League would have fizzled if it continued without a full-time commissioner. But, he said, “I didn’t want to leave it to chance.”
A year after OAL’s last commissioner retired, Roberta Mayor, Oakland’s new interim superintendent, announced this morning that she had named Moore, a district administrator, to the post.
Jerry Luzar, the previous commissioner, stepped down in 2007 after 12 years. The Oakland league — which has its own high school section, the smallest in the state – struggled last year without someone in charge. Many worried that the Oakland Section, and eventually the league, itself, would dissolve.
In comes Moore, a 28-year district employee and a 1975 graduate of Oakland High School. Read the rest of this entry »
The Trib ran two stories today about a $15 million Atlantic Philanthropies grant to fund health clinics, family services and more after-school and summer programs at seven Oakland middle schools (five campuses). Above is a video posted on YouTube about the kids who have been involved in researching their peers’ behavior — and weighing in on what services each school should offer.
Prescription painkillers, antidepressants and stimulants are easier for teens to get their hands on than beer, according to an annual back-to-school survey released yesterday by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
