Smoking Marijuana = Supporting Drug Cartels

As the drug war rages in Mexico, some antidrug advocates are using the occasion to jump-start a movement against marijuana.

From the Wall Street Journal - Every April 20, marijuana smokers around the country light up for an unofficial holiday celebrating pot that stems from the smoker slang "420." This year, as the drug war rages in Mexico, the festivities fall against an increasingly violent backdrop. Some antidrug advocates are using the occasion to jump-start a movement against marijuana not just for health and legal reasons, but on moral grounds. American pot smokers, they say, are unwittingly supporting drug cartels in Mexico.

Aaron Byzak, president of the North Coastal Prevention Coalition, an antidrug group in north San Diego County, says he'll focus on the Mexican drug war when he addresses 1,000 seventh- to 10th-graders at the group's annual antidrug festival, also held on April 20, at an amusement park in Vista, Calif. Mr. Byzak will urge the kids to think of Mexico's drug lords if they're offered a puff.

To read the complete story in the Wall Street Journal click here.

What do the numbers say about marijuana use by young people? Click here to find out from the latest Monitoring the Future survey.

Marin Institute Publishes New Guide For Regulating Alcohol Advertising

Critical Tool for Advocates and Policymakers to Protect Youth

From Marin Institute - Marin Institute, the alcohol industry watchdog, today released the country’s first guide to restricting out-of-home (OOH) alcohol advertising. The guide will help policymakers draft effective state and local laws to minimize youth exposure to ubiquitous alcohol advertising in the 21st Century.

“Decades of research and common sense tell us that the more often youth are exposed to alcohol ads, the more likely they are to drink,” stated Marin Institute’s Research and Policy Director Michele Simon. “Marin Institute’s new guide offers new tools to local and state advocates and lawmakers to enact legally-defensible policies to protect youth from harmful messages that lead to problem drinking.”

Out-of-home advertising encompasses traditional billboards, ads plastered on public transit vehicles, buildings and “street furniture” such as newspaper stands and kiosks, as well as new high-tech options like video display terminals, digital billboards, and ambient advertising. Spending on such advertising venues grew to over $8 billion dollars in 2008, with the alcohol industry being one of the largest purchasers.

To read the complete press release and to download a copy of the guide click here.

SAMHSA Report: Exposure to Substance Use Prevention Messages and Substance Use among Adolescents 2002 to 2007

Survey Finds a Decrease in the Percentage of Adolescents Seeing Substance Use Prevention Messages in the Media

SAMHSA News Release - A new national report issued during National Alcohol Awareness Month provides both discouraging and encouraging news about the state of efforts to inform young people about the risks of underage drinking and illicit substances.

The report, based on a series of national surveys, finds that a smaller percentage of adolescents (age 12-17) were exposed to substance use prevention messages in 2007 (77.9 percent) than in 2002 (83.2 percent). Similarly, a smaller percentage of adolescents are participating in out of school substance use prevention programs (from 12.7 percent in 2002 to 11.3 percent in 2007), according to the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

However, the report shows a significant rise during this same period in the level of adolescents who engaged in substance abuse-related conversations with at least one parent (from 58.1 percent in 2002 to 59.6 percent in 2007). The report shows that these conversations are associated with lower rates of current substance use by an adolescent.

To view the complete SAMHSA press release and to access the full report click here.

What Kids Need: Spiritual Development

Spiritual development involves core issues of meaning, purpose, belonging, and identity that give young people a sense that they matter and are part of something bigger than themselves.

From Search Institute - The Center for Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence is a global initiative to advance the research and practice of this important and understudied domain of human development. Search Institute, with major support from the John Templeton Foundation, is designing the center to become an international hub of theory, research, and practice.

What Makes the Center Unique?
- The center integrates current understandings of human development with spiritual development.
- The center recognizes spiritual development as linked to, but not the same as, religious development. It seeks to engage both religious and secular thought leaders, scholars, and practitioners in examining and attending to young people’s spiritual development.
- The center is intentionally multi-faith, multicultural, and interdisciplinary, bringing together insights and perspectives from the social sciences, religious studies, and other fields.
- The center is international, seeking to examine spiritual development in a global context.

To learn more about Search Institute's approach, research, and commitment to spiritual development in young people click here.

Spiritual development is one of four innovations the Search Institute supports to help kids succeed. To learn more about what it takes to help young people grow up successfully click here.

What Kids Need: Thriving and Sparks

A spark is something that gives your life meaning and purpose. It's an interest, a passion, or a gift. What do you bring to the world that is good, beautiful, and useful?

From Search Institute - Thriving highlights the unique gifts and capacities of each young person. A thriving life involves discovering and nurturing one’s own “spark” and being supported and guided by a family and community that celebrate that spark.

What Are “Sparks”?

SPARKS are…the hidden flames in kids that excite them and tap into their true passions.
SPARKS come from…the gut. They motivate and inspire. They’re authentic passions, talents, assets, skills, and dreams.
SPARKS can…be musical, athletic, intellectual, academic, relational—from playing the violin to enjoying working with kids or senior citizens.
SPARKS can…ignite a lifelong vocation or career, or balance other activities to create an emotionally satisfying, enriched life.
SPARKS get…kids going on a positive path, away from the conflicts and negative issues—violence, promiscuity, drugs and alcohol—that give teens a bad name and attract so much negative energy.
And SPARKS give you the five steps for igniting sparks in your teens.

To learn more about Sparks and to access valuable downloads and resources click here.

To read about the current research on thriving and sparks click here.

Campus Crime Stoppers Hits the Modesto Area

From The Modesto Bee - As of Feb. 1, students at junior high and high schools in Modesto and Ceres are now part of Campus Crime Stoppers. The Crime Stoppers program, which lets tipsters share information anonymously and gives them a chance to claim rewards, has been in the county since 2005. It has led to more than 136 arrests, including several related to homicide investigations.

Authorities said they hope that encouraging students and their families to get involved will make campuses safer and potentially tap into a gold mine of clues. Now that Crime Stoppers accepts tips via the Web and text messaging, officials say, the program should be easy for students to access.

To read the complete story in The Modesto Bee click here.

To learn more about Campus Crime Stoppers visit the official website here.

What Kids Need: Developmental Assets

“If you breathe, you’re on the team!” - Peter L. Benson

From the Search Institute - Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets® are common sense, positive experiences and qualities that help influence choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible adults. Grounded in extensive research in youth development, resiliency, and prevention, the Developmental Assets represent the relationships, opportunities, and personal qualities that young people need to avoid risks and to thrive.

What is an asset builder? Are you one and don't even know it? Do you want to become one? It's easy! Find out more here.

Already on the team? We want to hear your asset-building success stories! Share them below or email them to your BHRS Education and Prevention Team.