National Prevention Week: Suicide prevention

From the Youth Suicide
Prevention Program

This week is National Prevention Week and today's focus is suicide prevention.  While this blog usually focuses specifically on preventing teen drug use, today's post is about suicide because drugs often play a role.  

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Several factors can put a young person at risk for suicide. However, having these risk factors does not always mean that suicide will occur.

• Alcohol or drug abuse
• History of previous suicide attempts
• Family history of suicide
• History of depression or other mental illness
• Stressful life event or loss
• Easy access to lethal methods
• Exposure to the suicidal behavior of others
• Incarceration"

King County overall has a lower rate of suicide when compared nationally; however, it has recently seen an increase in the number of suicides. In 2010, there were 226 suicide deaths, approximately 25% more than in 2001. The most frequent suicide methods include:

• Firearms (38%)
• Poisoning (24%)
• Suffocation (21%)
• Cut/Pierce (4%)

Of poisoning-related deaths, drugs and alcohol make up 75% of them nationally.

The local Youth Suicide Prevention Program can provide additional information about prevention, intervention, and links to resources.

National Prevention Week: Preventing underage marijuana use

This week is National Prevention Week and preventing youth marijuana use is one focus area.  With recreational marijuana retail outlets expected to open this summer, many people are looking for information about how the drug affects teenagers and what parents can do to prevent their children from using.  

Last fall, local experts Drs. Leslie Walker and Kevin Haggerty developed a pamphlet for parents about preventing underage marijuana use. 

This week, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released two updated booklets about marijuana for teens and their parents.

• Marijuana Facts for Teens discusses the health consequences of marijuana use in this age group, its effect on the developing brain, its addiction risk, and what we know about its potential as a medicine.

• Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know has tips for parents on how to tell if their child is using marijuana and how to talk about the issue with their teen. 

Both NIDA publications provide information about marijuana and its impact on adolescent health.  Missing from the parent booklet is information about marijuana concentrates and vaporizing.  Prevention WINS coalition members report that vaporizing marijuana products has become an increasingly popular way for teenagers who use marijuana to consume it.  

Since Washingtonians voted to create a legal commercial marketplace for marijuana, many people have been asking questions about what it means for those under the age of 21.  The Mercer Island Communities That Care Coalition created this video which answers many common questions. 

Key points:

• Marijuana laws did not change for adolescents.  It is still illegal for anyone under 21 to use "recreational" marijuana.  Minors can still obtain "medical" marijuana.    
• It is illegal for minors to drive under the influence of any amount of marijuana.  
• It is illegal for adults to supply minors with "recreational" marijuana.  

Like laws regarding alcohol, WA marijuana laws will change over time.  To keep abreast of marijuana policy, visit the Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention's website.  

National Prevention Week: Preventing prescription drug abuse

This week is National Prevention Week and today’s focus is preventing prescription drug abuse.

This video is from the Partnership at DrugFree.org Medicine Abuse Project:

Among NE Seattle teenagers, the abuse of prescription drugs has steadily increased over the past six years.  While the Prevention WINS Coalition is currently conducting a community assessment to determine what local conditions are contributing to this rise in abuse, the National Institute on Drug Abuse states that “multiple factors are likely at work:

Misperceptions about their safety. Because these medications are prescribed by doctors, many assume that they are safe to take under any circumstances. This is not the case. Prescription drugs act directly or indirectly on the same brain systems affected by illicit drugs. Using a medication other than as prescribed can potentially lead to a variety of adverse health effects, including overdose and addiction.

Increasing environmental availability. Between 1991 and 2010, prescriptions for stimulants increased from 5 million to nearly 45 million and for opioid analgesics from about 75.5 million to 209.5 million.

Varied motivations for their abuse. Underlying reasons include: to get high; to counter anxiety, pain, or sleep problems; or to enhance cognition. Whatever the motivation, prescription drug abuse comes with serious risks.”

Individuals and organizations have roles to play in addressing these factors.  Everyone can: 

• Educate their students, clients, co-workers, friends, neighbors, and families about the harms that are associated with the mis-use of medicines. 

•  Lock up personal medications to prevent theft and the misuse by others in their home.

• Dispose of unused medications either at a Group Health or participating Bartell pharmacy.  Some other pharmacies sell medicine return envelopes and the Drug Enforcement Administration hosts semi-annual medicine take-back days. 

• Recognize and address anxiety, pain, and sleep problems that teenagers may be facing.

National Prevention Week: Communities are the key to preventing teen drug use

Next week is National Prevention Week, an annual health observance sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

What is prevention?  It is more than school-based programs and media campaigns.  This first video highlights organizations, programs, and communities that are working to prevent teen drug use and promote mental health in a variety of ways.



The video ends with a person defining "prevention" as "Community with a capital 'C'."  What does that mean?  This video provides an overview of how community-based prevention involves many people from a variety of backgrounds and addresses specific local conditions.



Prevention WINS receives funding from SAMHSA and members implement prevention activities based on community needs in NE Seattle.  Teen drug use prevention is a community problem that requires individuals and organizations throughout our community to provide support for healthy youth development.