ER Visits for Kids Rise Significantly After Pot Legalized in Colorado

BY MAGGIE FOX

The number of teenagers sent to emergency rooms more than quadrupled after marijuana was legalized in Colorado — mostly for mental health symptoms, researchers reported Thursday.

They found 639 teenagers who went to one hospital system in Colorado in 2015 had either cannabis in their urine or told a doctor they’d been using cannabis. That’s up from 146 in 2005, before the use of marijuana was legalized in Colorado.

The number of teens visiting Colorado ERs with cannabis in their system rose after the state legalized marijuana use. Lucy Nicholson / Reuters

“The state-level effect of marijuana legalization on adolescent use has only begun to be evaluated,” said the University of Colorado’s Dr. George Sam Wang, who led the study.

Wang said people believe marijuana is safe — but it is not.

“The perception of risk has gone down quite a bit,” Wang told NBC News.

“We know that marijuana use at a young age can affect adolescent brains.”

Colorado legalized medical marijuana use in 2010 and made the recreational use of marijuana legal in 2014. Other studies have shown that ER visits involving marijuana use went up after those dates, especially among children and tourists visiting Colorado.

Cannabis is legal for medical use in 28 states and Washington, D.C., and eight states plus D.C. have legalized the recreational use of marijuana and marijuana-derived products.

Wang and colleagues looked at the university hospital’s emergency department and urgent care records between 2005 and 2015 for the study, presented to a meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in San Francisco.

They found 3,443 ER visits by 13- to 21-year-olds to six ERs and urgent care centers over that time. Two-thirds involved psychiatric symptoms, Wang said. More than half also had evidence of other drugs in their systems as well, including alcohol, amphetamines and cocaine.

A federal survey published late last year found 6 percent of high school seniors are using marijuana daily. Wang said it’s important to find out just how harmful it is to them.

Wang has also studied the effects of legalization on younger kids, who are more likely to get hold of marijuana by accident.

In 2016 Wang found that the average rate of marijuana-related visits to the children’s hospital doubled after legalization. Poison center calls about marijuana went from nine in 2009 to 47 in 2015.

The children got the drug from parents, grandparents, neighbors, friends, babysitters or other relatives. Most of the time, the kids ate food containing marijuana. Their symptoms included drowsiness, dizziness, vomiting, agitation, dangerous heart rates and seizures.

Studies suggest that using marijuana and alcohol together impairs driving more than either substance alone and that alcohol use may increase the absorption of THC, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana. 

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Study Finds Patients Receiving Longer Treatment for Alcohol-Drug Misuse Have Significantly Higher Success Rate

Take Control of Your Recovery from Alcohol-Drug Misuse Today!

A new study suggests that the longer patients are enrolled in treatment, the better chance they have of successful recovery after treatment.

The study, published in the current issue of Open Journal of Psychiatry, followed 72 patients with a variety of addiction types over the course of a year. Patients were nearly divided evenly by gender with the mean average age about 30 years old. The patients were treated for a number of chemical dependencies, including alcohol, amphetamine, benzodiazepines and opioids.

Those patients undergoing an industry standard 30-day treatment program exhibited a 54.7 percent treatment success rate after one year. In contrast, patients that participated in a treatment program lasting more than 30 days experienced a success rate of 84.2 percent.

The study is significant, as most private and government insurance programs only reimburse the patient for 30 days of addiction treatment.

“Aftercare is crucial once an individual has completed drug or alcohol treatment and is in recovery. There is a continuity of care that should be followed once initial treatment is completed. This usually involves a lower level of treatment such as outpatient care and a sober living environment. Our study shows that the absence of such treatment after 30 days significantly reduces the chances of the patient maintaining their sobriety,” said Akikur Mohammad, M.D., lead researcher.

Source: CADCA

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Alcohol and drug addiction information

Addiction comes in many forms, alcohol and drug addiction being the most well-known. Alcohol and drug addiction is defined as the loss of control over the use of a substance. There are other ways of acting out in addiction that can be just as harmful to the person suffering in active addiction. Gambling, sex addiction, food addiction and other addictive behaviors are the equivalent of drug and alcohol addiction to the person struggling with the loss of control and powerlessness over their addictive behavior.

Loss of family support, financial security, legal problems and the possibility of contracting sexual transmitted diseases resulting from promiscuity can be consequences of addictive behavior, and when they do occur are very real and devastating to the addict and their families.

Alcohol Addiction/Alcoholic

Alcoholism is characterized by compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcohol, binge drinking, blackouts and irresponsible behavior when under the influence. Missing work, school or important occasions, social withdrawal and isolation are all symptoms of alcohol addiction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism
http://www.aasouthafrica.org.za/

Drug Addiction

Drug addiction is the compulsive use of a chemical substance despite the negative effects, health risks, and financial risks, loss of financial and social standing, which may lead to an active engagement in criminal activities to support a drug habit. This may be followed by arrests and confinement in prison or institutions, loss of family and friends, social withdrawal and isolation. Commonly used drugs are heroin, cocaine, marijuana, crack cocaine, KAT, crystal methamphetamine or tik, prescription medication, GHB, ecstasy and LSD.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_dependence
http://www.na.org.za/
http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/cocaine.html
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/tik-meth-in-cape-town.html

Sex addiction

The term “sexual addiction” is used to describe the behavior of a person who has an unusually intense sex drive or an obsession with sex. Sex and the thought of sex tend to dominate the sex addict’s thinking, making it difficult to work or engage in healthy personal relationships.

Sex addicts engage in distorted thinking, often rationalizing and justifying their behavior and blaming others for problems. They generally deny they have a problem and make excuses for their actions.
Sexual addiction is also associated with risk-taking. A person with a sex addiction engages in various forms of sexual activity, despite the potential for negative and/or dangerous consequences. In addition to damaging the addict’s relationships and interfering with his or her work and social life, a sexual addiction also puts the person at risk for emotional and physical injury.

http://www.sexaa.org/
http://www.slaafws.org/

Gambling

Addictive Gambling is as destructive if not more so then any drug or alcohol addiction. Compulsive gamblers lie, steal and wreak havoc with their finances in order to get there “fix”. Unable to control themselves, they will gamble their life savings away and in the process, put tremendous strain on their relationships with friends and families. The next big win is always only one bet away and sadly never comes. There is no such thing as a big enough win for the addicted gambler to stop. Unfortunately this addiction does often not receive the attention it deserves and many gamblers may resort to suicide as the only way out of their addiction.

http://www.responsiblegambling.co.za/

Food addiction

Food addiction is a contemporary term used to describe a pathological disorder; the compulsive, excessive craving for and consumption of food. This condition is not only manifested by the abnormal intake of food, but the intake and craving for foods that are, in themselves, harmful to the individual. While society and the medical profession have readily understood alcoholism and drug abuse, it is only in recent years that there is an equal acceptance of the fact that persons may be addicted to food in the same way. When any substance is taken into the body regardless of its potential for harm or in excess of need, that substance is said to be abused. Individuals who abuse substances in such a way are addicts; these persons become physiologically and mentally dependent upon certain substances, in this case food.

http://www.foodaddicts.org/

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• The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
  Oliver VG
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• On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
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• I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
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• "Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
  Angelique J
  Read more

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