During 2008-2009, approximately 850,000 New yorkers over the age of 12, who constitute 14% of the population revealed that marijuana is the most common drug which is abused by them in the past year. Secondly 263,000 users are estimated for pain killer drugs like opioids, oxycodone and prescription drugs like oxycontin, vicodin and percocet.

Cocaine is the third with the estimated number of 180,000 users in the past year, followed by 90,000 users who revealed that they took pills containing anti anxiety drug called benzodiazepine.

The report also stated that between 2004 and 2009, the number of narcotic related emergency cases in the New york city has been increased by 40% due to the increase in the number of people abusing prescription pain killers and anti anxiety pills. During the six year period, the emergency-room visits doubled for opiod pain killers and the number of benzodiazepine related cases rose to 59%.

Between the years of 2005-2009, the death rate related to opioid poisoning increased by 20% and the death rate related to benzodiazepine poisoning went up to 17%. Finally, the overall report showed that there are more than 1 million New yorkers who illegally used drugs in the past year, constituting 16% of the total population, a bit higher than the nationwide average of 15%.

The present story is about the Washtenaw County where this drug is mostly in use. It is available in almost all the households which is making the situation even more worse. This drug is gaining popularity since it is easily accessible, untraceable and is more potent than the other drugs from the same origin.

K2 is widely available across many US stores with the labels mentioning not for human consumption.

According to the Washtenaw Substance abuse agency, teens are often unaware of the dangerous effects caused by this drug. They think that these substances are safe since many of them are using it and it is easily available. This agency has seen many kids abusing K2 becoming more violent, aggressive, and uncontrollable in many situations. Often they found kids with psychotic disorders and rushing to emergency rooms. And the parents of these kids who have no idea about their abuse, were shocked about their sudden behaviors.

The other side effects for this drugs are reported as heart palpitations, respiratory issues, panic attacks, hallucinations, delusions, vomiting and increased agitation. These symptoms help parents recognize their child’s unhealthy habits.

After observing the cases which are admitted with severe complications, they reported some of the symptoms of serious conditions. The symptoms vary from high agitation and anxiety to hallucinations and paranoia. And the most common thing was the elevated heart rates. While the normal heart rates stand at 60-80, the rates of synthetic cannabis patients will experience 120-140.

The experts from the medical center also added saying that there is no good treatment for the patients admitted for smoking pot. The staff of the emergency department are mostly observing patients until the chemicals are flushed from the system. Unlike other drugs, K2 will not show up on drug screening and even though the patients admitted that they used K2, it leads to further complications in treating the patients.

Many of the patients fear to come to the treatment by thinking that becomes legal. To avoid this situation the management is planning to educate the staff. Since K2 use is not illegal, the patients can undoubtedly get treatment for that .

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency has taken emergency measures to ban several chemicals present in the synthetic product, however the temporary court injunction has halted DEA’s emergency efforts. Since several states have already banned fake pot, New York is also considering the case.

It was found that, on the whole, there was no change in the measures of illicit drug use from 2009 to 2010. Marijuana use rose among the 8th, 10th and 12th graders from 2009 to 2010. It was found to be at the highest point (6.1%) since the early 1980s among the 12th graders. The marijuana use increased among the 8th graders and decreased among the 10th and 12th graders in 2010.

After several years of decline, the use of ecstasy in 2009 and 2010 had increased among the 8th and 10th graders. The survey revealed that the lifetime use of ecstasy from 2009 to 2010 among the 8th graders increased from 2.2 to 3.3 percent. There was a rise in the past-year use of ecstasy from 2009 to 2010 from 1.3 to 2.4 percent. The current use was found to increase from 0.6 percent to 1.1 percent.

It was known from the MTF survey that there was a steady decline in the current, annual and lifetime prevalence of cocaine and crack abuse among the 8th, 10th and 12th graders in 2010. Also, the amphetamine use which was at its peak (15.5%) in 2006 declined to 8.9% in 2010. Use of methamphetamine decreased from 6.5% in 1999 to 2.2% in 2010. From the surveys of 2010 it was found that marijuana and ecstasy use had increased and amphetamine, methamphetamine and cocaine use had decreased in 2010.

Different types of vitamin B, especially, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B12 are linked with weight loss. They are essential in creating new blood cells, increasing energy levels, and regulating metabolism. Vitamins B2, B3, and B6 are involved in regulating the thyroid function and metabolism. Vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid plays an important role in energy production and assists adrenal function. Hence, having foods such as egg yolk, dairy products, fortified grain products, leafy vegetables, and legumes help in weight loss.

Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, plays a role in maintaining metabolism. It even increases the levels of good cholesterol that help remove the bad cholesterol from the body. Hence, it prevents accumulation of plaques in blood vessels. The best sources of this vitamin are seeds, nuts, avocado, vegetable oil, wheat germ oil, leafy or green vegetables, and whole grains.

Vitamin C also plays a role in proper conversion of glucose to energy in the cells. It even burns more fat. It even strengthens the immune system. Hence, including vitamin C-rich foods such as broccoli, green peppers, oranges, strawberries, cabbage, and so on in your diet can help you in losing weight. In addition to these, vitamin D is also considered to aid in weight loss.

It should, however, be remembered that any of these vitamins should be taken in adequate amounts as excessive dosage may otherwise show adverse effects.

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An alcoholic is considered as a person who suffers from alcoholism. Alcoholism is a serious illness which is characterized by craving, loss of control, physical dependence, and tolerance. A study was conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) on alcohol users. It revealed that majority of people using alcohol were young adults. However, there are even people of other age groups who are habituated to drinking. It has classified the alcoholics into five different types.

• The young adult alcoholics who are the largest group of alcohol users. They are least likely to seek help for their problems with alcohol.

• The young antisocial alcoholics are the other category which includes mostly those in mid-twenties. They are categorized by the early onset of drinking and alcohol related problems. They are often associated with depression, anxiety problems and other mental health issues.

• Functional alcoholics are those which are middle aged, well educated and employed. They have stable jobs and families and are however, found to have multi-generation family history of alcoholism.

• Intermediate familial subtype of alcoholics are those with multi-generation family history of alcoholism. They never seek treatment for their drinking problem.

• Chronic severe alcoholics are those who are the least among the subtypes of alcoholics. They are associated with higher rates of antisocial personality disorder and criminality. They also have psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Alcoholism is therefore different in different groups of individuals and may also vary with personal problems.

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How is it possible to know whether your kid is using tobacco products? Here are some major warning signs which help you to indicate nicotine usage in your teens.

Smell of tobacco on their clothes and from their mouth is one of the primary indications. In addition, excessive and frequent tobacco usage, both smoking and chewing tobacco, can stain the teeth. The color of teeth changes from white to yellowish shade. The color may further turn to brown color if they use tobacco for a longer period of time. As they handle cigarettes and chewing gums, their fingers may also get stained. Discolored skin and teeth are the easy identification signs of nicotine usage. Chewing tobacco products can cause cracked lips, sores, white spots and bleeding in mouth. It may even cause difficulty in chewing, swallowing, or moving of the tongue or jaw. Tooth and gum decay problems also arise with nicotine use.

Smelling bad and bad breath is the other major indication of tobacco smoking. In addition, increased vulnerability to illness, decreased athletic performance, shortness of breath and asthma, premature skin aging, hair loss and hair discoloration, and decreased sense of smell and taste are some other warning signs of tobacco use. It is better to check and confirm the tobacco use in your teens when you observe some of these indications. Otherwise, the occasional usage may turn into a habit and even addiction which give rise to many health risks.

An rehabilitation officer from Caura Hospital, attended a seminar on alcohol abuse conducted by fellowship members of Alcoholics Anonymous. In this seminar Mr. Ojeer, the rehabilitation officer responded to the members of public about the questions asked about substance abuse.

Mr. Ojeer, addressed to the public that the preferred drug of secondary school students is marijuana but not the alcohol. The reason behind the preference is marijuana use is, it easy to conceal in and outside the classroom. He find the people who come for treatment to them are as young as 16-17 years old.

He also mentioned the adverse effects of certain drugs, stating that while crack cocaine and cocaine affect the body instantaneously, marijuana takes a longer period. It stays in the system for three days and more to go through it. In case of abusing it, it may show even more negative effects on the body, he added.

After facing a number of addicts every day he admitted that for tax payers it costs $800 a day to treat a recovering addict and he himself teaches those affected people how to cope up and to recover.

From these facts, one has to be careful with growing children and parents need to supervise the habits of their children most particularly when they are in teen age.

Vitamin A is rich in animal food sources including beef, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese and sea foods. Liver and liver pate of any animal is a rich source of vitamin A. It is mostly found in the form of retinol and is often converted to retinal (aldehyde form) and retinoic acid (acid form).

However, in various plant sources, it is found as a provitamin called carotenoids. They get converted to vitamin A after reaching your body. Excellent plant sources include orange, yellow and green vegetables and fruits. Orange, apple, watermelon, plum, blackberry, peach, kiwi, apricot, mango and cantaloupe are the essential fruit sources of vitamin A. Coming to vegetables, vitamin A is found in carrot, pumpkin, peas, spinach, broccoli, sweet potato, tomatoes, turnip, wheat germ, mustard green, aloe vera, collards, etc. Crisp, fresh and delicious dark leafy greens are considered to be the best sources of vitamin A and ensure perfect maintenance of eye health. However, remember that raw fruits and vegetables have high content of vitamin A when compared to cooked or fried ones. Consider the importance of vitamin A for your overall health and be sure to include these sources in your daily diet routine.

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According to the report ,the percentage of eight graders who used an illicit drug increased from 14.5% in the last year to 16%percent, with a daily marijuana use going up in all grades. Again many eighth graders are trying to follow many means of marijuana use and on the other hand students from all the grades are consuming marijuana on a daily basis.

In 2010, 21.4 percent of high school seniors used marijuana in the past 30 days. On a whole 6.1 percent of high school seniors, 3.3 percent of 10th graders, and 1.2 percent of eighth graders are abusing marijuana.

Along with the statistics on consumption, MTF also found the future abusing attitudes of the teens basing on the data collected. It also included perceived harmfulness, perceived availability and disapproval of smoking marijuana. The perception that the regular marijuana smoking is harmful decreased for 10th graders from 59.5 % in 2009 to 57.2 % in 2010, and in 12th graders it dropped from 52.4% to 46.8%. In case of eight graders, disapproval of smoking marijuana decreased significantly.

These stats show the increased abuse of marijuana among the younger ones. Many studies say that the child tendency of experimenting unknown things tend them to involve in such kind of activities and the parents are required to take care of them and help them to stay away from unhealthy habits.

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