Use of Pot in Teen Years Linked to IQ Decline by Age 30

As recent studies have shown that marijuana use is extremely popular with adolescents, more so than alcohol and tobacco, further research, just released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that habitually smoking marijuana before age 18 showed an eight-point drop in IQ between the ages of 13 and 38, a considerable […]

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Sacrificing Sleep to Study Causes Academic Issues

A recent study by UCLA finds a direct correlation between lack of sleep, due to over-studying the night before, and poor results in school the following day. “Sacrificing sleep for extra study time is counterproductive,” says Andrew J. Fuligni, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and a senior scientist at the Jane and Terry Semel […]

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California Suburban Teens Transition from Painkillers to Heroin

KQED, the public media station for Northern California recently did a series of stories on the increase of suburban California teenagers who are transitioning  from using painkillers to black tar heroin. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhgdZHPxYds&w=560&h=315] California Watch, a reporting initiative started by the Center for Investigative Reporting, posted this story and video (shown above) on August 15th, […]

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Anti-bullying Campaign Targets Parents

Starting in October of 2012, a series of print and web ads, targeting parents, will run with the message: Teach your kids to put a stop to bullying. The ads are a joint effort by the Ad Council, a non-profit that produces and distributes public service announcements, and the Free to Be…You and Me foundation. […]

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US Law Enforcement Begins Major Crackdown of Synthetic Drugs

As posted on Teen Talk in July 2011 and January 2011 the rise in the popularity of synthetic marijuana and bath salts, has increased immensely over the last year and has brought with it troubling stories of the affects the drugs have on users. These synthetic drugs are typically sold over-the-counter as “legal highs” in […]

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Prying or Protecting; Online Software for Parents to Monitor their Teenagers

It is hard to imagine these days an American adolescent that is not connected in some way to the internet. Whether by smart phone, personal laptop, school computer, or shared-family computer; adolescents are “plugged in.” The internet is of course a useful learning tool that in this day and age is necessary in classrooms and […]

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Study Shows that Treating Depression in Teens Wards off Future Substance Abuse

A study recently released in the  Journal of Consulting and Clinicial Psychology found a correlation between the treatment of severe depression in teens and the likelihood of future substance abuse. Nearly 200 youths at 11 sites across the United States were studied for five years. The participants analyzed by the study were ages 17-23 at the […]

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Health care costs drop if adolescent substance abusers use 12-step programs

A recent study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, shows that the use of 12-step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, by adolescents with a history of drug and alcohol abuse not only reduces the risk of relapse but also leads […]

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How to Manage the Issue of Drinking in College With Your High School Senior

Many parents worry that when their adolescents go off to college they will lose all control and begin experimenting with substances that they were not allowed in high school. According to Jeff Wolfsberg, author of the new book “Message in a Bottle: Questions from Parents About Teen Alcohol and Drug Use” and a drug education […]

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How to Make a Safe Teen Driver

With graduation and summer around the corner, AAA and Volvo want to make sure that parents speak to their kids about safe driving habits. According to research from the AAA Foundation seven of the 10 deadliest days of the year for teens fall between the holidays Memorial Day and Labor Day. July and August are […]

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